MicroSoft

Microsoft is investigating a new Microsoft 365 outage that is affecting Teams customers and causing call failures. Since the incident started more than one hour ago, outage monitoring service Downdetector has received hundreds of reports, with affected users saying they’re also experiencing authentication problems. “Users may not be able to receive calls placed through Microsoft Teams-provisioned auto attendants and call queues,” the company said in a new service alert (TM1022107) in the Microsoft 365 admin center. “We’re analyzing service telemetry and call metadata to better understand the nature of impact and determine our next steps.” Microsoft has yet to share what regions are impacted by this ongoing outage and more information on the incident’s root cause. Despite Redmond saying the incident only affects the Teams communication platform, users report a much broader impact. They’re also experiencing issues connecting to Outlook, OneDrive, and Exchange or checking email messages. “It affects multiple services, including Teams, Exchange, SharePoint, Bing, and so on. So, it’s bigger than this,” one customer said. “Can only access outlook and teams via mobile, and only accessing my 365 emails via the outlook app will not load on apples native mail app,” another added. Today, the company also warned on its service health status page that customers in Canada are experiencing authentication and connectivity issues when trying to access multiple Microsoft 365 services, including Exchange Online, Microsoft Teams, and the Microsoft 365 admin center. Over the weekend, Microsoft said it addressed another Microsoft 365 outage that affected Outlook and Exchange Online authentication and caused Teams and Power Platform degraded functionality. Redmond linked this weekend’s incident to a coding issue in a recent update to Microsoft 365 authentication systems. However, a Monday advisory revealed that Exchange Online users still have issues accessing their calendars and email messages using the iOS native mail app. Last week, Microsoft fixed another issue caused by a DNS change that triggered Entra ID authentication failures for customers using Seamless SSO and Microsoft Entra Connect Sync. Update March 03, 14:42 EST: Added details on Microsoft 365 affecting users in Canada. Update March 03, 16:53 EST: Microsoft says the authentication issue has been addressed. “We’ve identified a recent change that inadvertently caused impact to auto attendant and call queues. We’ve deployed a fix to restore service,” the company said. “After an extended period of monitoring, we’ve confirmed that the service has successfully recovered following our fix.”    

For decades, Microsoft Exchange has been the backbone of business communications, powering emailing, scheduling and collaboration for organizations worldwide. Whether deployed on-premises or in hybrid environments, companies of all sizes rely on Exchange for seamless internal and external communication, often integrating it deeply with their workflows, compliance policies and security frameworks. However, Microsoft has officially announced that support for Exchange Server 2016 and Exchange Server 2019 will end on October 14, 2025. While this may seem like a distant concern, businesses and IT teams must start preparing now. The end of support means that Microsoft will no longer provide security patches, bug fixes or technical support, leaving organizations running on these versions exposed to security vulnerabilities, compliance risks and potential operational disruptions. So, what should businesses do now? In this article, we’ll explore the impact of Microsoft’s decision, the risks of continuing with an unsupported Exchange environment and the available options to ensure business continuity and security. If you’re an IT decision-maker or business leader navigating this transition, keep reading — because ignoring this shift could leave your organization vulnerable. What does Microsoft’s end of support mean for Exchange 2016 and 2019 users?# The end of support for Exchange 2016 and 2019 isn’t just about losing updates — it’s about serious security, compliance and operational risks. Security risks: Without security patches, Exchange 2016 and 2019 become prime targets for cybercriminals. Unpatched vulnerabilities can lead to data breaches, ransomware attacks and email-based threats, putting sensitive business communications at risk. Lack of technical support: After October 14, 2025, Microsoft won’t provide fixes, patches or assistance. If something breaks, IT teams will be on their own — leading to longer downtimes, costly troubleshooting and potential business disruptions. Compliance risks: Regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) require businesses to use secure, up-to-date software. Running outdated Exchange versions could lead to fines, audits and legal consequences if a security incident occurs. Operational inefficiencies: Older software lacks modern features, performance enhancements and integrations, making communication slower and IT maintenance more complex. Keeping Exchange 2016 or 2019 running will also cost more over time as support resources dwindle. Important note: This end of support also applies to several related Microsoft products, including Microsoft Office 2016, Microsoft Office 2019, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, Skype for Business 2016, Skype for Business 2019, Skype for Business Server 2015 and Skype for Business Server 2019. Key dates to keep in mind# Microsoft follows a two-phase support lifecycle for its products: Mainstream Support and Extended Support. Mainstream Support includes feature updates, security patches and technical assistance, while Extended Support focuses solely on critical security fixes — no new features, bug fixes or complimentary support. Once Extended Support ends, Microsoft completely stops all updates and assistance, leaving you without any safety net. What are the best options to keep your business secure and running smoothly?# Sticking with outdated Exchange versions isn’t a viable option for IT teams — the risks far outweigh any short-term convenience. Let’s explore the best migration paths and alternatives to keep your organization secure, efficient and compliant. 1. Upgrade to Exchange Server Subscription Edition (Exchange Server SE)# Microsoft has announced Exchange Server Subscription Edition (Exchange Server SE), a new subscription-based version of Exchange for organizations that require an on-premises email solution. This option is best for businesses that need to maintain compliance-driven, on-prem infrastructure or prefer a hybrid model that integrates with Microsoft 365. However, there are some key things businesses must consider before this migration: Requires periodic upgrades: Exchange Server SE will require regular updates, meaning IT teams must stay on top of maintenance. Licensing and maintenance costs: A subscription model means ongoing costs, and organizations will still need to manage and secure their own infrastructure. Complex upgrade path from Exchange 2016: Microsoft recommends that businesses upgrade to Exchange 2019 before moving to Exchange Server SE since direct in-place upgrades to Exchange SE won’t be supported. 2. Migrate to Exchange Online (Microsoft 365)# For businesses looking to move beyond on-premises infrastructure, Exchange Online (Microsoft 365) is a compelling option. This cloud-based solution eliminates server maintenance, enhances security and improves scalability, making it ideal for organizations embracing a cloud-first strategy. Key advantages of choosing Exchange Online include: No more server maintenance: Microsoft handles all updates, patches and infrastructure management, freeing IT teams from the burden of maintaining Exchange servers. Built-in security and compliance: Exchange Online includes automatic security updates, threat protection and compliance tools to meet regulatory requirements, such as GDPR and HIPAA. Scalability and accessibility: Employees can securely access email from anywhere, with 99.9% uptime and flexible storage options that scale with business needs. Enhanced collaboration: As part of Microsoft 365, Exchange Online integrates seamlessly with Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive, improving productivity and data management. However, there are some potential challenges as well. Migration complexity: Moving large amounts of email data can be time-consuming and requires careful planning to minimize downtime. Licensing costs: Microsoft 365 operates on a subscription model, meaning ongoing per-user licensing fees. User adoption and training: Employees may need training to fully utilize new features and ensure a smooth transition. 3. Migrate to Google Workspace# For businesses looking for a cost-effective, cloud-first alternative to Microsoft 365, Google Workspace is a strong contender. It provides seamless collaboration, built-in security and reduced IT overhead, making it an appealing choice, especially for organizations that don’t require the advanced tools included in many Microsoft 365 plans. Notably, Google Workspace is often more cost-competitive than Microsoft 365. While Microsoft 365 pricing ranges from $6 to $22 per user per month, Google Workspace plans typically fall between $6 and $18 per user per month, with enterprise pricing available upon request. Some of the advantages in switching to Google Workspace include: Lower IT overhead: No Exchange server maintenance, reducing hardware and operational costs. Scalability and flexibility: Google’s cloud infrastructure scales with your business needs without additional IT effort. Collaboration and productivity: Google Workspace integrates Gmail, Google Drive, Meet and Docs, enabling real-time collaboration

Today, Microsoft shared a temporary fix for a known issue causing Outlook Desktop to crash when sending emails from Outlook.com accounts. This confirms customer reports regarding crashing issues when using Outlook.com accounts shared on Microsoft’s community website and other social networks since, November 20. According to online reports, restarting, repairing Outlook, reinstalling the application, and creating a fresh Outlook profile for the impacted email account fails to address the issue. “I’ve tried everything (safe mode, new profile, repair pst, even up to and including a system restore to attempt to roll back a previous installation) to no avail,” one of the affected users said. These problems only affect Outlook for Microsoft 365 users and those in the Current Channel (Preview) channel using Outlook build 17029.20028. “The issue is fixed in future builds 17029.20052+. However, this build has not been released yet,” Microsoft said. While a limited number of customers did report they had successfully worked around this known issue by reinstalling Office, Microsoft suggests reverting to an earlier version. To do that, type Command Prompt in the Windows search box, right-click Command Prompt and click Run as administrator. Next, paste the following commands into the Command Prompt window and hit Enter after each: cd %programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun officec2rclient.exe /update user updatetoversion=16.0.16924.20124 Redmond also started rolling out fixes last week for some of the customers affected by another known Microsoft 365 issue behind ‘Something Went Wrong [1001]’ sign-in errors, rendering desktop Office apps unusable for many affected users. These ongoing login issues impact customers using Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Apps for business, and Office apps for iOS and Android, as the company confirmed over a month ago. Previously, it fixed another bug causing significant delays for Microsoft 365 customers when saving attachments in Outlook Desktop to a network share. Earlier this year, Microsoft tackled various other Outlook issues, including ones blocking Microsoft 365 customers from accessing emails and calendars and causing slow starts and freezes during cache re-priming. NOTE:: This article is copyright by Fiber.net and we are using it for educational or Information purpose only

Microsoft has fixed a known issue affecting Outlook for Microsoft 365 users since June and causing slow starts and freezes as if Offline Outlook Data Files (OST) were syncing right after launch. However, no new OST files are generated on affected systems, and there are no additional entries related to this behavior in the Application event log. Affected users report that Outlook would open promptly if they canceled the application after launch. Yet, Microsoft also noted that users might encounter difficulties starting the application on systems with Airplane mode enabled. In such instances, error messages appeared, stating, “Cannot start Microsoft Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook window. The set of folders cannot be opened. The attempt to log on to Microsoft Exchange has failed.” These issues with Outlook freezing and experiencing slow starts would occur during cache re-priming, a process triggered when creating new profiles or disabling shared calendar improvements. “One known cause of this symptom is cache re-priming. This is expected if the user has created a new profile, or manually toggled from REST to MAPI by disabling Shared Calendar Improvements,” Microsoft says. “However, due to endemic problems in reading service enabled feature’s status in non-Office MAPI based applications, running such apps can force this toggle unexpectedly.” Fixed in the Beta Channel The Outlook issue has been resolved in build 16929.15000 and released to the Beta Channel. The fix is set to roll out to the Current Channel in late November through builds 17029.20000 and higher. As Microsoft explains, the problems stemmed from Outlook encountering difficulties in determining the “default” state of the cache. This confusion arose due to non-Office MAPI apps such as MFCMAPI and Outlook arriving at different conclusions, leading to unexpected hangs and slow starts. Affected Outlook users can also work around the issue until the fix lands in the Current Channel by enabling the “Shared Calendar Improvements” option in the Exchange Account Settings dialog. This can be done by clicking More Settings and selecting the “Advanced” tab; the change takes effect after restarting Outlook. Additionally, IT administrators have the option to use a group policy setting, enabling Outlook REST calendar-sharing updates, as a workaround on affected systems. Microsoft has previously tackled various Outlook issues, including ones in April preventing Microsoft 365 customers from accessing emails and calendars, login problems in October 2022, and a bug causing Outlook to freeze and crash immediately after launch in August 2022. NOTE:: This article is copyright by bleepingcomputer.com and we are using it for educational or Information purpose only

​The first Windows 11 preview build was released yesterday, and with it came a variety of bugs that are sure to frustrate testers. Below we have listed the most noticeable issues and how you can fix them. New issues pop up in every new release of Windows, so it’s not surprising that we will find numerous bugs in the early preview builds of Windows 11. Thankfully, most of the bugs have been pretty easy to fix so far and should get you back up and running playing with Windows 11. Windows Insiders can’t install Windows 11 When Microsoft announced the upcoming preview builds of Windows 11, they promised that existing Windows Insiders in the ‘Dev’ channel could install the Windows 11 preview build even if they do not meet the minimum system requirements. Yesterday, when the Windows 11 preview build was released, Windows Insiders reported they could not install the operating system due to missing hardware requirements.  Even more concerning, users who had modern hardware that met all of the requirements were also unable to install the preview build. Yesterday afternoon, Microsoft released an update to the Settings app that fixes this issue. To apply the update, simply reboot your computer, and Windows 10 Insider builds will now be able to upgrade to Windows 11. File Explorer shows the old Windows 10 layout The Windows 11 File Explorer got a redesign with new colorful icons and a streamlined action bar at the top. Unfortunately, some users, like myself, find that the File Explorer reverts to what I call the ‘Classic’ skin from Windows 10. To fix this issue, click on the ‘View‘ menu option, select ‘Options,’ and when the options dialog opens, click on ‘View.’ You will now be shown a list of options you can select. Look for the ‘Launch folder windows in a separate process‘ option and uncheck it, as shown below. Now press ‘Apply,’ and File Explorer will restart. Once it has restarted, you should see the new Windows 11 File Explorer layout. Start Menu search does not work For those who quickly open the Start Menu and start typing to perform a search, you may have noticed a bug that causes the Start Menu not to recognize your typing, effectively breaking search in the Start Menu. Microsoft is aware of this bug and shared that open the Run: dialog and then close it to fix the bug preventing searches from the Start Menu. When we experience the bug, the easiest fix is to just quickly use the Win+R keyboard combination to open the run dialog and then hitting the escape key to close it. Your Start Menu search will now work again. Other known issues Unfortunately, there are some other noticeable issues that Microsoft is aware of but have not provided a fix as of yet. Unfortunately, Microsoft is aware of some other noticeable issues but has not provided a fix for them as of yet. Other noticeable issues include: Taskbar will not be shown across multiple monitors but will return in an upcoming build. The preview window may not display the entire window when hovering over Task View on the taskbar. A small set of Settings legacy pages as well as fit and finish bugs will be addressed in future releases. When using Quick Settings to modify Accessibility settings, the settings UI may not save the selected state. We’re working on fixing an issue that’s preventing unpinning apps from Start, making the command bar in File Explorer disappear, or hiding snap. To work around these, restart your PC. App icons in the Search panel may do not load, and instead, appear as gray squares. A complete list of known issues can be found in the Windows 11 Build 22000.51 release post. NOTE:: This article is copyright by bleepingcomputer.com and we are using it for educational or Information purpose only  

Windows 10 users are currently experiencing issues with the Microsoft Store, with the app unable to download and install apps and crashing after repeated attempts. When attempting to download apps from the Microsoft Store, users are seeing a loading or frozen page. Specifically, nothing happens when users click on the “Get” button to download apps or games. When attempting to access various Microsoft Store features, such as the downloads section, the program will sit at a screen with a spinning loading symbol. Eventually, the Microsoft Store will hang completely and can only be closed via Task Manager or by using ALT+F4 if the window is active. When crashing, an error message is recorded to Event Viewer, which states that Windows Store is unable to interact with the operating system. This outage started within the last four hours, according to reports. It is not known if this is planned maintenance activity, a problem due to Windows 10 cumulative update, or if Microsoft Azure networks is having issues. “Service has been restored to normal and we thank customers for their patience.” – a Microsoft spokesperson. NOTE:: This article is copyright bybleepingcomputer.com and we are using it for educational or Information purpose only