Microsoft 365 admin center offline in North America

Microsoft 365 experienced a widespread outage that disrupted access to its admin center for many North American business and enterprise users, leaving thousands unable to manage accounts.

What happened

According to Bleeping Computer, on February 10, Microsoft confirmed that some administrators in North America were blocked from accessing the Microsoft 365 admin center, a key hub used to control user accounts, security settings, and service configurations. The company acknowledged degraded portal performance and reported that the outage also impacted the Microsoft 365 mobile app. Thousands of users logged complaints on outage tracker DownDetector, citing connection problems, slow loading screens and complete inability to log in.

Going deeper

In its live incident reports, Microsoft said engineers were gathering telemetry and diagnostic data, focusing on CPU utilization and traffic patterns, to pinpoint the underlying cause of the disruption. While an official root cause hasn’t yet been disclosed, the company is actively reviewing server logs and network traces to help restore full functionality. The outage’s classification as a service incident reflects noticeable impact rather than isolated glitches.

Users with access sometimes encountered severely degraded functionality, including the inability to raise support tickets via the admin center, leaving many IT teams reliant on third-party outage trackers or alternate Microsoft status pages for updates.

What was said

In acknowledging the issue, Microsoft says, “Some users in the North America region may be unable to access the Microsoft 365 admin center. We're reviewing service monitoring telemetry to isolate the root cause and develop a remediation plan.” While information regarding the outage is limited, Microsoft notes that “Initial reports indicate that the issue is occurring in the North America regions. We'll provide more information once identified.”

The bigger picture

Recent reports have identified Microsoft as the most “impersonated brand in phishing attacks during the final quarter of 2025,” with cybercriminals frequently spoofing Microsoft’s name, logos, and login pages to steal credentials and gain unauthorized access to corporate systems. The scale of impersonation reflects both Microsoft’s dominant presence in the enterprise market and the high value of the data stored within its cloud services.

Additionally, Microsoft 365 has experienced similar service outages, including disruptions that blocked access to Teams and Exchange Online, preventing users from sending emails, joining meetings, or collaborating during critical business hours. Together, these security threats and reliability challenges indicate how heavily organizations rely on Microsoft’s ecosystem and how disruptive both cyberattacks and service interruptions can be when that access is compromised.

Why it matters

Microsoft 365 forms part of thousands of businesses’ daily operations, with active users surpassing 100 million in 2025. The platform supports everything from email and real-time collaboration to device management, identity controls, and enterprise-grade security, thus forming part of the backbone of modern digital workplaces. Outages of core admin tools inconvenience users, hinder IT operations, delay troubleshooting, and reduce organizations’ ability to respond quickly to issues.

See also: HIPAA Compliant Email: The Definitive Guide (2026 Update)

FAQS

What is the Microsoft 365 admin center, and why is it important?

The Microsoft 365 admin center is the control hub where IT teams manage users, licenses, security settings, and service health. If it becomes inaccessible, administrators may be unable to reset passwords, respond to security incidents, or troubleshoot service disruptions.

Why do attackers target Microsoft 365 users specifically?

Microsoft 365 is widely used by businesses worldwide for email, file storage, and collaboration. Gaining access to one Microsoft account could expose emails, sensitive documents, internal communications, and even administrative controls, making it a high-value target.

Why does brand impersonation remain so effective?

Brand impersonation, including phishing campaigns, succeeds because it exploits familiarity and urgency. When users see a trusted brand like Microsoft, especially in a message warning about account security or service disruption, they are more likely to respond quickly without verifying authenticity.