Still can't get to your Outlook mailbox? You aren't alone
(2025/03/06)
- Reference: 1741278726
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/03/06/outlook_outage_day_5/
- Source link:
Problems with Outlook.com are continuing, with users reporting being unable to access their emails or authenticate themselves.
Part of the issue appears to be related to the initial [1]wobble over the weekend. Some of the users affected by that outage were locked out of their accounts after repeated login failures, and Microsoft's status center for Microsoft 365 continues to report that users might be unable to access their email using the native mail app on iOS devices.
As of today, issues persist, and Microsoft has promised another update by 2300 UTC. On the plus side, the current status has changed from "We're analyzing available data and attempting to determine the underlying source for users' problems" to "Our analysis of available data is ongoing as we attempt to determine the underlying source of users' problems."
[2]
So that's OK then.
[3]
[4]
Affected users have taken to social media to vent their spleens, with one [5]calling the situation an "absolute shambles" earlier today.
Another complained of a lack of responsiveness from the Windows giant and [6]said : "No resolution and no response to my recovery form. When will this be actually taken seriously?"
[7]
A Register reader got in touch to complain about passwords not working anymore, saying: "Authenticator codes not being sent to phones and sms/email authentication codes failing/sessions expiring/code limits being reached artificially."
Our reader added: "I, for one, am in a personal hell with no personal email access since the weekend and absolutely no Microsoft support."
"Other than what appears to be my password suddenly becoming invalid, the biggest headache is the two-factor authentication options not working."
[8]iOS users left refreshing in vain as Microsoft Outlook woes drag on
[9]Microsoft teases sales agent automation for M365 and Dynamics 365
[10]Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus promises Cloud PC comebacks in 30 minutes
[11]Microsoft blames Outlook's wobbly weekend on 'problematic code change'
Microsoft has not responded to our query regarding the ongoing problems being experienced by some of its users; only its status center gives a clue that something might still be amiss with Outlook.com. There is no indication when the situation will be resolved.
In the meantime, affected users could use a different email service, such as Gmail. However, this will not help in scenarios where mailbox access is needed or when checking for new emails rolling in. ®
Do you have information about Microsoft that needs to be shared with your colleagues in the IT industry? Tell us [12]in confidence here , or via Signal securely: diodesign.26.
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/03/microsoft_outlook_outage/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z8nUsc-50EBNIS38RKs7OwAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z8nUsc-50EBNIS38RKs7OwAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z8nUsc-50EBNIS38RKs7OwAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://x.com/wesleysinnamon/status/1897539971667407217
[6] https://x.com/niamhjcc/status/1897193213011898738
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z8nUsc-50EBNIS38RKs7OwAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/05/outlookcom_ios/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/05/microsoft_teases_sales_agent_automation/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/04/windows_365_disaster_recovery_plus/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/03/microsoft_outlook_outage/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/Profile/contact/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Part of the issue appears to be related to the initial [1]wobble over the weekend. Some of the users affected by that outage were locked out of their accounts after repeated login failures, and Microsoft's status center for Microsoft 365 continues to report that users might be unable to access their email using the native mail app on iOS devices.
As of today, issues persist, and Microsoft has promised another update by 2300 UTC. On the plus side, the current status has changed from "We're analyzing available data and attempting to determine the underlying source for users' problems" to "Our analysis of available data is ongoing as we attempt to determine the underlying source of users' problems."
[2]
So that's OK then.
[3]
[4]
Affected users have taken to social media to vent their spleens, with one [5]calling the situation an "absolute shambles" earlier today.
Another complained of a lack of responsiveness from the Windows giant and [6]said : "No resolution and no response to my recovery form. When will this be actually taken seriously?"
[7]
A Register reader got in touch to complain about passwords not working anymore, saying: "Authenticator codes not being sent to phones and sms/email authentication codes failing/sessions expiring/code limits being reached artificially."
Our reader added: "I, for one, am in a personal hell with no personal email access since the weekend and absolutely no Microsoft support."
"Other than what appears to be my password suddenly becoming invalid, the biggest headache is the two-factor authentication options not working."
[8]iOS users left refreshing in vain as Microsoft Outlook woes drag on
[9]Microsoft teases sales agent automation for M365 and Dynamics 365
[10]Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus promises Cloud PC comebacks in 30 minutes
[11]Microsoft blames Outlook's wobbly weekend on 'problematic code change'
Microsoft has not responded to our query regarding the ongoing problems being experienced by some of its users; only its status center gives a clue that something might still be amiss with Outlook.com. There is no indication when the situation will be resolved.
In the meantime, affected users could use a different email service, such as Gmail. However, this will not help in scenarios where mailbox access is needed or when checking for new emails rolling in. ®
Do you have information about Microsoft that needs to be shared with your colleagues in the IT industry? Tell us [12]in confidence here , or via Signal securely: diodesign.26.
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/03/microsoft_outlook_outage/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z8nUsc-50EBNIS38RKs7OwAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z8nUsc-50EBNIS38RKs7OwAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z8nUsc-50EBNIS38RKs7OwAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://x.com/wesleysinnamon/status/1897539971667407217
[6] https://x.com/niamhjcc/status/1897193213011898738
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/saas&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z8nUsc-50EBNIS38RKs7OwAAAZA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/05/outlookcom_ios/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/05/microsoft_teases_sales_agent_automation/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/04/windows_365_disaster_recovery_plus/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/03/microsoft_outlook_outage/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/Profile/contact/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Peter2
Has anybody else found that they have problems problem emailing outlook.com or hotmail.com addresses this week?
They seemed to be returning NDR's with:-
550 5.7.1 Unfortunately, messages from [IP] weren't sent. Please contact your Internet service provider since part of their network is on our block list (S3150).
And that "part of the ISP's network" was seemingly a fairly large chunk of the UK address space, which is the most stupid thing that i've seen since an antispam blocklist which blocked ~40% of the total IPv4 pool.
WTF El Reg???
MiguelC
"In the meantime, affected users could use a different email service, such as Gmail. However, this will not help in scenarios where mailbox access is needed or when checking for new emails rolling in."
So, except for burner mailboxes for subs, which probably were already out of scope for your main Outlook box, you can use Gmail for everything except all typical email use scenarios, like reading and answering emails?
As Mrs Thatcher once said
"If someone is using Outlook at the age of 25 then they can consider themselves a failure"
I appreciate for home users it may be the simplest route.
But no one in any grown up capacity should be (a) promoting or (b) using any form of cloud based webmail. Unless they are prepared for the inevitable "oh dear, how sad, too bad" moment.