What do workers do when Microsoft's outage means they can't send emails? Make memes, of course.
After a Microsoft outage disrupted millions of workers, some joked about communicating with smoke signals, while Gmail users lamented their bad luck.
Hugh R Hastings/Getty Images
- Microsoft is suffering an outage of its core tools, disrupting millions of workers.
- How else do you cope, or celebrate, but by making memes?
- Some used clips from "Succession" to show the awkwardness, or joked about communicating with fire.
Millions of workers have been unable to use their email and other core tools after a Microsoft outage.
Microsoft first flagged the disruption midday Thursday, and problems continued into Friday. By 9 a.m., issues persisted, but the tech giant said it had "significantly reduced" the backlog of emails waiting to be delivered.
It also said there was no evidence of malicious activity.
Meanwhile, people around the world have been left with a relatively quiet end to the working week.
How else do you cope, or celebrate, but by making memes?
One X post with 300,000 views shared a clip from HBO's "Succession" in which Roman Roy, played by Kieran Culkin, receives a flurry of panicked emails — before awkwardly ignoring them.
me going on twitter to check if outlook is also down for everyone else pic.twitter.com/7h9OhuTTcW
— tori ☻ | 🐞 (@tarpscff) November 12, 2026
One user joked that when the outage hit, they were just about to complete a task that would've turned their life around. Honestly.
i was just about to send the email that was going to change everything
— richard (@richard_normal) November 12, 2026
Without email, other netizens joked about reverting to old comms methods. If something goes drastically wrong, maybe the Beacons of Gondor from "The Lord of the Rings" would be a handy backup …
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… Or how about a good old-fashioned handwritten letter, with ink and a quill?
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For most people, though, it was reason for celebration — especially on a Friday.
Many felt a sense of peaceful bliss after disconnecting from Outlook.
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microsoft outlook down in the middle of a workday pic.twitter.com/vLESO8AZ60
— dash (@thedigitaldash_) November 12, 2026
…Or undisguised joy.
Microsoft Outlook outage when I’m having an absolute nightmare of a workday pic.twitter.com/y0r0R2fEgV
— austin (@jesuissupreme) November 12, 2026
Microsoft Outlook is down and it's Friday.. pic.twitter.com/zN1Z0XiQ8F
— Abhishek (@MSDianAbhiii) November 13, 2026
It wasn't good news for everyone, though. People whose offices use Google's suite of products, including Gmail and Google Meet, were instead forced to look on with jealousy.
work gmail users seeing the microsoft outlook outage pic.twitter.com/0DzsoNy5kO
— maddy 🦈 (@m4ddyness) November 12, 2026
The outage also prompted some people to think of simpler days.
Before AI, and before the world of work for many, Microsoft Office used the animated paperclip, Clippy, as a helpful assistant for users. It was discontinued in 2007.
Time for Microsoft to pull out the big guns pic.twitter.com/99SuQAY01o
— Blinkin (@blinkinriley) November 13, 2026
Sadly, with Microsoft saying that issues had declined just as the US workday began, it may soon be time to stop making memes and get to work.
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