Unexpected

Submit the outage-banner request through Outlook.com’s Help → Feedback option, and include the November 12 incident details so it reaches the Outlook product team rather than being treated as an account-support case.

Submit the product improvement

1. After Outlook.com access is restored, sign in on the web.
2. Select Help to open the Help pane.
3. Select Feedback at the bottom.
4. Choose the option for a suggestion and request:
   • A prominent outage warning on the consumer sign-in page.
   • A timestamped status message identifying affected services, including Outlook.com, Hotmail, and MSN Mail.
   • Updates during mitigation and a clear “service restored” notice.
5. Include the date, approximate time, region, affected clients, and a screenshot of any uninformative sign-in error. Microsoft recommends screenshots and, optionally, permission to contact you for clarification.^1^

Suggested wording:

During the November 12 Outlook.com/MSN Mail outage, the sign-in page did not clearly identify a service incident. Please add a prominent consumer outage banner with the affected services, incident start time, last-update time, and a link to current service health. This would prevent unnecessary password resets and device troubleshooting.

If Outlook.com cannot be opened, use the support/contact options on Microsoft’s Outlook.com known-issues page. That page specifically provides a separate support path for users who cannot sign in.^2^

Check an outage before changing account settings

For simultaneous failures across the browser, desktop client, and mobile app, check the public Microsoft Service Health Status page before resetting a password or removing the account. Microsoft’s Outlook.com support guidance directs access problems to that status page.^2^

Reports for November 12–13 described a widespread Outlook.com/Hotmail/MSN disruption affecting sign-in and mailbox access.^3^ During a confirmed service interruption, local password resets, app reinstallation, and repeated account removal/re-addition will not restore the service; wait for Microsoft’s status to return to normal.

If the public status is normal and Outlook.com works in a computer browser but not on a phone, then troubleshoot the mobile app—the official guidance treats that pattern as a possible app-specific issue.^4^

References

1. How do I give feedback on Microsoft 365?
2. Fixes or workarounds for recent issues on Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
3. Is Outlook down....again? - Microsoft Q&A
4. Troubleshoot Outlook mobile issues | Microsoft Support