Microsoft outage disrupts Lancashire businesses and public services

Summarised from 4 outlets · 6 reports · Updated 13 Nov, 17:34 · Archive

A global Microsoft outage has disrupted Outlook, Teams and other services across Lancashire businesses, schools and councils.

A global Microsoft outage beginning on Thursday evening has disrupted services across Lancashire. The outage affected Outlook, Microsoft 365, Teams and Copilot. By its height on Thursday evening, Downdetector recorded over 130,000 reports of Outlook difficulties in the United States and more than 3,000 in the UK, though reports subsequently decreased.

Microsoft acknowledged that a proposed fix was 'not taking as expected'. The company did not provide a timeline for full restoration of services.

Lancashire councils confirmed disruption to their operations. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Wyre Council said that Outlook and email services were affected. The councils advised residents to contact them by telephone, chat services and through their websites, and urged people not to resend enquiries already submitted by email until services were restored.

Public services were also affected. Lancashire Fire and Rescue and local police forces urged people to contact them by telephone. Fleetwood High School and other schools warned parents and pupils about email disruption.

Businesses reported significant disruption. East Lancashire Apprenticeships said all its campuses remained open and classes would continue as normal despite online service disruptions. The Blackburn Bus Company reported that its customer service team was unable to send or receive emails. West Lancashire College in Skelmersdale said it was experiencing IT disruption but that classes would continue as planned. Affinity Lancashire Outlet Shopping in Fleetwood said it was unable to receive or respond to emails.

How it is being reported

• Microsoft outage causing issues for Blackpool, Wyre & Fylde councils and Blackpool Teaching HospitalsOrganisations across the world have been left without access to emails, Teams, AI assistant Copilot, and the tech giant said it was working with “urgency” to resolve the problem.Blackpool Gazette · 13 Nov, 11:20
• Police, fire service, and local councils face disruption amid Microsoft outageLancashire Fire and Rescue, police, and local councils have urged people to contact them over the phone instead of online.Chorley Guardian · 13 Nov, 10:52
• Global Microsoft outage hits Lancashire councils and businesses - all we know so farA global Microsoft outage has disrupted businesses across Lancashire, affecting key services and operations.Lancashire Telegraph · 13 Nov, 10:24
• Microsoft global LIVE as outage effects Lancashire businesses and council websitesThe outage has effected Microsoft 365 suite, Teams, Outlook and CopilotLancsLive · 13 Nov, 10:14
• Microsoft outage hits Fylde coast schools and businesses as Outlook and Teams affectedFleetwood High School has warned parents and pupils about email disruption as Microsoft works to restore services including Outlook, Teams and Copilot.Blackpool Gazette · 13 Nov, 08:11
• Microsoft outage hits Lancashire businesses and schools as Outlook and Teams suffer disruptionA Lancashire school has warned parents and pupils about email disruption as Microsoft works to restore services including Outlook, Teams and Copilot.Chorley Guardian · 13 Nov, 07:59

In this story: Microsoft · Lancashire · Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council · Wyre Council · Fleetwood High School · Lancashire Fire and Rescue · East Lancashire Apprenticeships · Blackburn Bus Company

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log