A global Microsoft outage has disrupted email and workplace communication services in Kenya, forcing major banks, businesses and other organisations to alert customers about delays and direct them to alternative communication channels.
Equity Bank Kenya and Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) were among the financial institutions that issued public notices on Friday, November 13, 2026, warning customers that their email services were temporarily unavailable.
The disruption affected Microsoft’s cloud-based services, leaving employees struggling to access emails, attend virtual meetings and communicate through workplace platforms.
Equity Bank, DTB Issue Customer Alerts Over Microsoft Outage
Equity Bank Kenya announced through its social media accounts that its email services were temporarily unavailable.
The lender cautioned customers that queries submitted through email could take longer than usual to receive a response.
Customers requiring immediate assistance were advised to use the bank’s call and WhatsApp lines on 0763 000 000 or reach out through its official social media platforms.
DTB also issued a customer advisory confirming that its email services had been affected by the global Microsoft disruption.
In its notice, the bank stated:
“Dear Customer, we are currently experiencing a disruption affecting our email services due to a global Microsoft outage. For urgent assistance, please call us on 0719031888 / 0732121888 or contact your relationship manager. We appreciate your patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
The disruption also prompted SACCOs and other organisations to redirect customers to alternative communication channels.
Several businesses in Nairobi reportedly turned to WhatsApp groups to communicate internal updates after employees experienced email delivery failures and difficulties accessing scheduled Microsoft Teams meetings.
Microsoft 365 Outage Affects Outlook, Teams and Copilot
The disruption, which started late Thursday and continued into Friday, affected several Microsoft 365 services.
Among the platforms experiencing problems were:
- Microsoft Outlook: Users experienced difficulties accessing email services.
- Microsoft Exchange Online: Email infrastructure disruptions affected communication.
- Microsoft Teams: Some users struggled to access workplace communication and virtual meetings.
- Microsoft Copilot: Microsoft’s AI assistant was also among the affected services.
The incident disrupted workplace operations across different sectors, with businesses relying on Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure facing communication challenges.
Microsoft Explains What Caused the Global Outage
Microsoft attributed the disruption to elevated infrastructure load across multiple regions, which triggered connectivity errors.
The company ruled out malicious activity, with corporate vice president Charles Lamanna confirming that the incident was not caused by hacking.
According to the company’s explanation, engineers encountered additional challenges when servers restored to operation became unresponsive after normal traffic resumed.
Microsoft subsequently paused deployments, redirected traffic away from affected infrastructure and initiated system restarts as part of its recovery efforts.
The recovery process proved more complicated than initially expected, forcing engineers to reassess their progress and continue working on restoring affected services.
Microsoft Outage Spreads Across 74 Countries
The disruption reportedly spread across at least 74 countries within an hour, affecting users in Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia.
As previously reported by TUKO.co.ke, Charles Lamanna ruled out a cyberattack as the cause of the incident.
However, Microsoft’s initial recovery measures did not produce the expected results, prompting the company to revise its earlier assessment of the restoration process.
The outage exposed the extent to which businesses and public institutions depend on cloud-based communication platforms to conduct their daily operations.
Microsoft said it was continuing recovery efforts and would provide further updates as services were restored.
Kenyans Turn Microsoft Outage Into a Meme Fest
As businesses dealt with communication disruptions, Kenyans on social media found humour in the situation.
Several posts and memes poked fun at the outage, with some users suggesting that Microsoft should take its time restoring the affected services.
One widely circulated post read:
“Dear Microsoft, there is really no rush. Rest, hydrate, and come back next week.”
Another meme highlighted how heavily some employees depend on email to carry out their daily responsibilities.
“Days like today remind you that your entire job is just sending emails.”
The jokes came as workers and businesses waited for Microsoft to restore normal services, with the disruption affecting communication across different workplaces.
