Microsoft email not working

This is a widespread Microsoft Outlook/Microsoft 365 service incident on November 13, 2026, so check Microsoft’s service status and wait for recovery rather than resetting or reinstalling Outlook. ^1^

What to do now

1. Open the official Microsoft Service Health Status.
2. Look for an active incident affecting Outlook.com, Exchange Online, or Microsoft 365.
3. Monitor that page until Microsoft reports that service is restored.
4. After recovery, refresh Outlook.com and reopen the Windows and mobile apps. Messages queued during the interruption may take time to appear or send.

Microsoft directs Outlook.com users experiencing access or mail-flow problems to its service-status page and publishes current known issues separately. ^2^

Because the same account fails on the website, Windows, and mobile, repairing one app is unlikely to help during the active incident. Avoid removing the account, resetting apps, or changing passwords unless Microsoft reports recovery and the problem remains.

If it still fails after service recovery

Check the account-level causes that affect every client:

• Verify that Microsoft cloud storage is not full. A full mailbox or cloud-storage allocation prevents both sending and receiving; incoming messages sent while storage is full can be returned to the sender.
• Check for an account-security warning or temporary block caused by unusual sign-in activity.
• In Outlook.com, inspect Junk Email, Other, forwarding, and Settings → Mail → Rules.
• Send a plain-text test message without a signature, link, or attachment from another account.

Microsoft’s send/receive guide covers these checks and provides an interactive troubleshooter and support path. ^3^

If service health shows normal but all three clients still fail, use Help in Outlook.com, enter the problem, complete the self-help flow, and select Still need help? → Yes. Include the exact error message, account domain (for example, Outlook.com or Hotmail), and the time the failure began—without posting your email address publicly.

References

1. Microsoft Outlook down? Thousands report problems accessing email and other 365 apps
2. Fixes or workarounds for recent issues on Outlook.com
3. Can't send or receive email in Outlook.com | Microsoft Support