Microsoft’s Outlook email client is estimated to have more than 400 million users worldwide. Considering the fundamental role email plays in the modern workplace, any issues are likely to have a widespread impact.
Here’s all you need to know about the current status of Outlook, and the steps you can take.
Is Outlook down now?
The most recent Outlook outage was on 1 October 2020, with many users around the world reporting problems accessing their email, both on desktop and mobile. Problems are believed to have started at around 7am UK time, with many having to wait until around 11am for the issues to be resolved.
Microsoft acknowledged the problem on Twitter, although curiously the official Microsoft 365 status website indicated “there are currently no known issues” throughout.
However, a quick glance at Downdetector would suggest problems have persisted for some users into 2 October. Not being able to log in was the most widely reported issue, followed by an inability to access emails.
How to check if Outlook is down?
While there have been problems with Outlook recently, there are some things you can do anytime you suspect there might be a wider issue.
Firstly, we’d recommend checking the official Microsoft 365 Status Twitter account, which would indicate if the company is aware of any issue. It’s also worth searching for “outlook down” on Twitter, although that’s dependent on people tweeting about their issues.
Microsoft also has a guide on how you can check the service health of Microsoft 365 apps, which involves signing in to your admin account if you have one.
Checking a third-party website can also be an effective way of monitoring the service. We recommend downdetector.co.uk:
How can I still access Outlook?
Some people are reporting that they still have full access to their Outlook email accounts if using them via third-party mail apps, including Gmail.
Check out our guide to the best alternatives.
This is unlikely to work if you’re setting it up for the first time, but might be worth considering in order to prevent future issues.
Besides that, your best bet is just to sit tight and hope it starts working again soon. It’s rare that issues are resolved for every user at once, so you might be lucky enough to regain access before the issue has been officially reported as fixed.
Author: Anyron Copeman, Senior Staff Writer
As the resident expert on Windows, Senior Staff Writer Anyron’s main focus is PCs and laptops. Much of the rest of his time is split between smartphones, tablets and audio, with a particular focus on Android devices.