Millions woke up on Thursday to find themselves locked out of their Hotmail and Outlook accounts. Early on 10 July, reports poured in from the UK, US, India, Canada, Germany and beyond. Many could not log in at all, while others faced endless error messages about invalid passwords or invalid licences.
Outage trackers like DownDetector logged spikes through Wednesday night into Thursday morning. In London, New York, Toronto, Delhi and Sydney, both the mobile app and desktop sites failed for thousands.
Hotmail Outage: Where things stand now
Microsoft’s initial statement on its 365 status page said it was looking into the fault. By Thursday morning, the company admitted that its first fix fell short. In its words, “We identified an issue with the initial fix, and we’ve corrected it,” the Microsoft 365 Status account posted on X. It added, “We’re continuing to deploy the fix, and we’re closely monitoring the deployment to ensure no further issues are encountered.”
That was meant to reassure, but users across forums like Reddit and X kept flagging fresh problems. Some found their accounts asking for passwords again and again. Others complained about a license error that locked them out completely.
Microsoft Outlook down: How bad is it?
DownDetector data paints a clear picture. Just before noon Eastern Time, reports peaked at over 2,700 complaints for Outlook alone. About 60 percent flagged login trouble, while 35 percent noted server glitches. Around 11 percent pointed to broader connection failures.
This isn’t just a nuisance. Many rely on Hotmail and Outlook to check work emails first thing in the morning. For small businesses and freelancers, hours of downtime mean missed messages, lost opportunities and rising frustration.
What's causing the email outage?
The truth is, no one outside Microsoft knows yet. Cyberattack rumours do the rounds every time a big service goes dark, but there’s no evidence so far. Only last month, Microsoft blamed a smaller Outlook meltdown on an issue with its Forms Library. Nothing that dramatic has come out this time.
The company has not offered any root cause explanation yet. Its support page only says teams are working on it. There’s also no link to the planned password changes coming with Microsoft Authenticator this August, despite speculation.
Hotmail-Outlook outage: How users can to resolve the issue?
While some have tried resetting their passwords, Microsoft has warned against doing that too often. The company’s advice is to sit tight, avoid repeated login attempts and keep an eye on official updates.
The Office service health portal confirms the same: the fix is rolling out, but normal service will take time to restore for everyone. Affected platforms include Outlook.com, the Outlook Mobile app and the desktop client.
Microsoft outages aren’t rare. In recent months, Windows Firewall bugs, messy security update alerts and other slip-ups have made headlines. But this one feels bigger because it hits people where it hurts most: their daily email.
For now, the only thing millions can do is wait. As Microsoft put it, “We’ve determined the cause of the issue and have deployed a fix. We're closely monitoring its deployment and expect the issue to gradually resolve as deployment progresses.”
Until then, many will be refreshing their screens, hoping today’s urgent mail finds its way through.
Outage trackers like DownDetector logged spikes through Wednesday night into Thursday morning. In London, New York, Toronto, Delhi and Sydney, both the mobile app and desktop sites failed for thousands.
Hotmail Outage: Where things stand now
Microsoft’s initial statement on its 365 status page said it was looking into the fault. By Thursday morning, the company admitted that its first fix fell short. In its words, “We identified an issue with the initial fix, and we’ve corrected it,” the Microsoft 365 Status account posted on X. It added, “We’re continuing to deploy the fix, and we’re closely monitoring the deployment to ensure no further issues are encountered.”
That was meant to reassure, but users across forums like Reddit and X kept flagging fresh problems. Some found their accounts asking for passwords again and again. Others complained about a license error that locked them out completely.
Microsoft Outlook down: How bad is it?
DownDetector data paints a clear picture. Just before noon Eastern Time, reports peaked at over 2,700 complaints for Outlook alone. About 60 percent flagged login trouble, while 35 percent noted server glitches. Around 11 percent pointed to broader connection failures.
This isn’t just a nuisance. Many rely on Hotmail and Outlook to check work emails first thing in the morning. For small businesses and freelancers, hours of downtime mean missed messages, lost opportunities and rising frustration.
What's causing the email outage?
The truth is, no one outside Microsoft knows yet. Cyberattack rumours do the rounds every time a big service goes dark, but there’s no evidence so far. Only last month, Microsoft blamed a smaller Outlook meltdown on an issue with its Forms Library. Nothing that dramatic has come out this time.
The company has not offered any root cause explanation yet. Its support page only says teams are working on it. There’s also no link to the planned password changes coming with Microsoft Authenticator this August, despite speculation.
Hotmail-Outlook outage: How users can to resolve the issue?
While some have tried resetting their passwords, Microsoft has warned against doing that too often. The company’s advice is to sit tight, avoid repeated login attempts and keep an eye on official updates.
The Office service health portal confirms the same: the fix is rolling out, but normal service will take time to restore for everyone. Affected platforms include Outlook.com, the Outlook Mobile app and the desktop client.
Microsoft outages aren’t rare. In recent months, Windows Firewall bugs, messy security update alerts and other slip-ups have made headlines. But this one feels bigger because it hits people where it hurts most: their daily email.
For now, the only thing millions can do is wait. As Microsoft put it, “We’ve determined the cause of the issue and have deployed a fix. We're closely monitoring its deployment and expect the issue to gradually resolve as deployment progresses.”
Until then, many will be refreshing their screens, hoping today’s urgent mail finds its way through.
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