Teams not working properly: what the Microsoft outage is doing to Teams
Calling works, but the calendar stays empty. Scheduling a meeting gives an error message, and creating a live event doesn't work at all. During the Microsoft 365 outage of November 2026, Teams is only half working, and that is no coincidence. Here you can read which parts of Teams are affected, why, and how to work with it today.
According to Microsoft, the core of Teams largely works: calling, meetings, group chats and channel messages. Anything that depends on Exchange Online, such as the calendar and meeting invitations, works poorly.
Below you can see per component what works and what doesn't, and how you can still hold meetings today. Status as of Friday 13 November 2026, 10:15.
Why Teams is only half working
- The outage is in Exchange Online, the service behind email and calendars in Microsoft 365.
- Teams uses Exchange Online for the calendar, meeting invitations and part of the contacts.
- According to Microsoft, calling, meeting via an existing link, group chats and channel messages largely work.
- Creating live and virtual events fails, as does creating or deleting private and shared channels.
- Share a meeting link in a chat or channel instead of sending an invitation via the calendar.
Teams is a service in its own right, but it relies on other parts of Microsoft 365. Your calendar in Teams is the same calendar as in Outlook, and it lives in Exchange Online. So when the problems with Exchange Online began on Thursday 12 November at around 17:15 Dutch time (NOS), everything in Teams that involves the calendar was affected too.
On the Microsoft status page, Microsoft says that most core Teams functions are not affected: joining calls and meetings, group chats and channel messages. The scenarios that depend on Exchange Online are affected. That explains why one colleague can meet as normal while another can't get an invitation sent.
By component: what works and what doesn't
Teams by component according to Microsoft, status 13 November 2026, 10:15
| Component | Status | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Calling and joining meetings | Largely works | Use as normal |
| Group chats and channel messages | Largely works | Use for appointments and meeting links |
| Calendar, invitations and editing meetings | Errors when scheduling, viewing and editing | Share the meeting link in a chat, update the calendar later |
| Live and virtual events | Creation fails | Postpone, or use a regular meeting with a link |
| Private and shared channels | Creating and deleting may fail | Standard channels work, create new channels later |
| Copilot in Teams | Answers about email, calendar and files fail | Work without Copilot or postpone it |
| Add or sync contacts | May fail | Try again later |
Earlier on Thursday there was a separate problem in Teams, incident TM1550488, with delayed and failed messages for users in North and South America. According to Microsoft, that was resolved within just over an hour. Microsoft has not said whether it is related to the major outage (BleepingComputer). If you are seeing delayed messages now, first check the current status.
How to still hold your meetings today
A meeting that was already in your calendar has a fixed link. That link works independently of the calendar. If you cannot open your calendar, look up the link in an earlier chat or ask the organiser to share it.
- Start a meeting from a chat
Open the chat with the participants and choose Meet now. That way you do not need a calendar invitation.
- Share the link in a channel
If you are planning something for later, post the meeting link and the time in the team's chat or channel.
- External participants
Share the link through another channel they use. An email invitation may only arrive later.
- Update your calendar after recovery
Once service has recovered, add any appointments you made outside the calendar to it, otherwise you will end up with double bookings.
If Teams is still working for you, do not sign out and do not reinstall the app. Signing in again can be slower or fail during the outage, and then you also lose the parts that were working.
For administrators
Let employees know that calling, chatting and meeting via existing links mostly works, and that only the calendar is struggling. That saves a lot of questions. Postpone creating new teams, channels and events until after recovery: half-created objects are hard to clean up afterwards.
If software in your organisation uses Microsoft Graph to manage teams, channels or members, or to post notifications in Teams, it may now be returning errors. Microsoft reports that Graph requests that touch Exchange data can time out, which also affects the management of teams and channels. For what this means for integrations, see the article on integrations built on Microsoft Graph.
For email, read the article on Outlook; for the timeline and all affected services, see the outage overview.
core functions that, according to Microsoft, mostly work: calling, meetings, group chats and channel messages.
the incident in the admin centre under which Microsoft tracks the impact on Teams.
the earlier, separate Teams incident of 12 November, resolved according to Microsoft.
Frequently asked questions
On Teams during the Microsoft 365 outage of November 2026.
Does Teams work during the Microsoft outage?
Mostly. According to Microsoft, calling, meetings, group chats and channel messages work. The calendar, meeting requests and live events work poorly, because they depend on Exchange Online.
Why is the calendar in Teams not working?
The calendar in Teams is the same as the one in Outlook and is hosted in Exchange Online. That service has been disrupted since 12 November 2026.
How do I schedule a meeting without the calendar?
Start a meeting from a chat with Meet now, or share a meeting link and the time in the chat or channel. Once service has recovered, add the appointment to the calendar.
Does an existing meeting link still work?
Yes, a meeting link works independently of the calendar. If you cannot open your calendar, look for the link in an earlier chat or ask the organiser.
Can I create a live event?
According to Microsoft, creating live and virtual events is currently failing. Postpone it, or use a regular meeting with a link.
Do I need to reinstall Teams?
No. Teams itself is not broken. Reinstalling or signing out can actually fail during the outage.
Further reading
Does your software work with Teams?
Appfront builds custom software and integrations with Microsoft 365 and Teams. Want your notifications and processes to keep working when part of Microsoft falters? Schedule a conversation with a developer.