Microsoft is working to restore access to its online services following widespread connectivity problems affecting users in Canada and around the world.
The company confirmed Thursday afternoon that it was investigating issues involving Exchange Online mailboxes and Microsoft 365 service connectivity.
Reports of problems began increasing shortly after noon Eastern, with outage-tracking website Downdetector recording more than 100,000 user reports by approximately 1:30 p.m.
In updates posted to X, Microsoft said its investigation had identified problems affecting servers across multiple regions.
“We’ve determined a portion of infrastructure is experiencing elevated load across multiple regions, which is likely contributing to the connectivity errors,” the company said.
Microsoft later clarified that the disruption was not caused by an unexpected increase in user traffic.
Instead, the company said several servers had become unavailable, placing additional pressure on the remaining infrastructure.
Microsoft says its response includes redirecting traffic away from affected infrastructure and restarting servers to bring them back online.
The company has also paused deployments while investigating the disruption.
The disruption has the potential to affect Microsoft 365 users in any region, according to the company.
Microsoft has not provided a confirmed timeline for full restoration.