A worldwide Microsoft malfunction on Wednesday caused widespread chaos online, taking down key websites and services for hours. Platforms including Heathrow Airport, NatWest, and Minecraft went offline before technicians managed to restore access later that evening. Millions of users found themselves locked out of crucial online tools.
Users worldwide hit by widespread outages
Downdetector recorded thousands of reports from users unable to open websites, send emails, or log into services. Many experienced frozen pages and failed transactions.
Microsoft confirmed that users of Microsoft 365 faced long delays, particularly with Outlook. By 21:00 GMT, most affected platforms were back online after the company rolled back a faulty software update.
Azure cloud failure causes major chain reaction
Microsoft’s Azure cloud network, which underpins much of the internet, reported “service degradation” at around 16:00 GMT. The company attributed the problem to “DNS issues,” the same cause behind a recent Amazon Web Services outage.
Amazon said its own operations were unaffected.
In Britain, websites for Asda, M&S, and O2 went down. In the United States, users reported access problems with Starbucks and Kroger.
Businesses scramble to respond
Microsoft said many corporate users of Microsoft 365 suffered disruptions. Some of its own web pages displayed the message, “Uh oh! Something went wrong with the previous request.”
With its service status page unavailable, the company switched to posting live updates on X.
NatWest confirmed its website went offline briefly but said its mobile banking app, live chat, and phone services stayed available.
Consumer group urges transparency and refunds
Consumer watchdog Which? called on companies to take responsibility and compensate customers. “Customers should keep evidence of failed or delayed payments in case they need to make a claim,” said Which? legal expert Lisa Webb. She advised those worried about missed payments to contact providers and request fee waivers.
Scottish Parliament halts session amid outage
In Scotland, the Parliament suspended its meeting after its online voting system failed. Lawmakers were forced to postpone debate on a land reform bill aimed at giving the government new powers to intervene in private land sales and break up large estates.
A senior parliamentary source said the issue appeared linked to Microsoft’s outage.
Experts warn of heavy reliance on few tech giants
The full impact of the disruption remains uncertain, but Microsoft Azure accounts for roughly 20% of the global cloud market. Microsoft later confirmed the incident was caused by “an inadvertent configuration change,” an internal technical adjustment with unforeseen effects.
Dr Saqib Kakvi from Royal Holloway University warned that global dependence on Microsoft, Amazon, and Google leaves the internet vulnerable. “When one of these giants fails, thousands of services collapse,” he said. “We’ve concentrated the world’s digital infrastructure in just a few hands.”
Outage exposes fragility of digital systems
Professor Gregory Falco from Cornell University said the outage showed how fragile modern cloud infrastructure has become. “Azure and AWS seem unified, but they’re actually made up of thousands of interlinked systems,” he explained.
Falco added that while some parts are run by the cloud providers themselves, others depend on third-party companies like CrowdStrike. Last year, a faulty CrowdStrike update disrupted millions of Microsoft devices worldwide.
He warned that one small technical error can now trigger global breakdowns, revealing how dependent society has become on a few interconnected digital systems.
