How soon outlook can resume operation?

Jerry Zhang 0 Reputation points
2026-11-13T12:35:57.2266667+00:00

I can not access hotmail.com since yesterday. How soon it can resume operation? Can I receive the incoming emails during this period?

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Email
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  1. DaveM121 948.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-11-13T13:08:58.1233333+00:00

    Hi Jerry,

    This forum is just a user to user forum, no-one here knows when this huge outage will be resolve, Microsoft indicate they are working to resolve the server side problem that is causing servers to spike CPU usage, causing racks to go into maintenance mode and creating cascading failures

    There are some indications at the moment that some services are becoming accessible again.

    Also, some people indicate they can now access their Email on a mobile device, while it is still not working on a PC.

    You can monitor their progress on this link https://status.cloud.microsoft/ or on the Microsoft Twitter page: https://x.com/MSFT365Status/status/2120938282204688468

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  2. AI answer

    2026-11-13T12:36:59.01+00:00

    Check Microsoft’s Service Health Status page and expand Microsoft consumer products → Outlook.com; if Outlook.com is not green, there is no dependable fixed recovery time beyond the latest estimate shown there, so wait for normal status and retry signing in.^1^

    Public reports dated November 12–13, 2026 describe a widespread Outlook/Microsoft 365 disruption with recovery underway, but not yet complete.^2^ The official status page remains the appropriate source for the current recovery state.

    Incoming email during the outage

    Loss of web access does not by itself prove that incoming mail has stopped. Messages may become visible when mailbox access returns, but Microsoft’s available guidance does not guarantee delivery for every outage. Ask a trusted contact to send a test message and retain any delivery-failure notice.

    A documented exception is exceeded storage:

    • If your Microsoft cloud storage or Outlook.com mailbox storage is full, you cannot receive email.
    • Incoming messages are returned to senders rather than held for later delivery.
    • After storage is freed, senders must resend those messages.^3^

    If service status is green but access still fails

    1. Use Microsoft’s Hotmail/Outlook.com sign-in troubleshooter. Hotmail now uses Outlook.com, and its password is the same as the Microsoft account password.^4^
    2. If the page says the account is blocked or requests identity verification, complete that account-recovery path rather than waiting for the service outage.
    3. If sign-in succeeds but messages are missing, check Junk Email, Other, Settings → Mail → Forwarding, and Settings → Mail → Rules.^5^
    4. If the mailbox opens, select Help → Help, search for the issue, and under Still need help? select Yes to contact Outlook.com support.^6^

    References

    1. Fixes or workarounds for recent issues on Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
    2. Microsoft 365, Outlook down for thousands of US users, Downdetector shows
    3. Storage limits in Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
    4. How to sign in to Hotmail | Microsoft Support
    5. Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
    6. How to get support for Outlook.com | Microsoft Support
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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