Microsoft 365 Services Affected: Web Apps and Admin Center Down

Microsoft is investigating a widespread outage that impacted access to Microsoft 365 web apps and the admin center. Users experienced issues connecting to services like Outlook, OneDrive, and other Office 365 apps via web browsers.

Outage Impact and User Feedback

The outage, which started several hours ago, caused error messages such as, “We’re experiencing a service outage. All of your open files have been saved. It may be some time before the outage is resolved.” Many users reported connectivity issues on platforms like Downdetector.

The issue was mainly affecting specific users on certain parts of Microsoft’s infrastructure. Desktop apps were not impacted, and Microsoft suggested users switch to them as a temporary solution if they had the necessary licenses.

Microsoft’s investigation is focused on token generation issues within its authentication system, with the company also reviewing recent changes to identify the cause of the incident. The impact is limited to certain users trying to access Microsoft 365 apps on the web through the affected infrastructure, as noted in the service alert.

Resolution Timeline

At 7:55 AM EST, Microsoft began testing a fix for a token generation issue causing authentication failures. They disabled proactive caching and used an alternate token flow.

By 8:18 AM EST, the fix was in place, and Microsoft expected resolution in about two hours. At 9:54 AM EST, the issue was declared resolved.

Microsoft has faced several outages recently. Two weeks ago, a global Microsoft 365 outage affected services like Teams and Outlook, lasting over 24 hours. In July, a DDoS attack caused a nine-hour disruption to services like Azure and Power BI.

After today’s issue, Microsoft confirmed full restoration with a fix and monitoring, but the recurring outages highlight ongoing challenges in maintaining stable services.