The October 13, 2026 Microsoft 365 Global Secure Access Outage
Introduction
Some users in Germany and the United Kingdom who reach Microsoft 365 through Global Secure Access (GSA) may have been unable to use Outlook, Outlook on the web, OneDrive, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams and Windows 365 Cloud PCs on October 13, 2026, according to Microsoft's service health updates as recorded by IncidentHub. Microsoft's final update records the start at 07:40 UTC and the end at 18:31 UTC the same day - about 10 hours 51 minutes - and narrows the geographic scope to Germany only. Mid-incident updates stated the cause as "a section of GSA infrastructure is performing below acceptable performance thresholds." The final update does not restate a cause, and as of this writing the status page does not mention a post-incident report.
Global Secure Access is Microsoft's Security Service Edge product, the umbrella name for Microsoft Entra Internet Access and Private Access; a Microsoft traffic forwarding profile can send Microsoft 365 traffic through it (Microsoft Learn). All updates in this outage scoped impact to users "using GSA".
- Introduction
- Methodology and Coverage
- Timeline of the Outage
- Impact and Root Cause
- Earlier Microsoft 365 Outages
- Conclusion
- FAQ
Methodology and Coverage
The status page updates were fetched or recorded on October 13, 2026.
- Updates on Microsoft 365's official status page, as recorded by IncidentHub.
- Microsoft Learn overview of Global Secure Access, for the product definition.
Timeline of the Outage
The timeline below is from Microsoft's service health updates as recorded by IncidentHub.
| UTC | Event |
|---|---|
| Oct 13 07:40 | Incident start time according to the final update. Updates before 17:26 stated the start as 08:00 UTC. |
| 14:38 | Traffic optimizations deployed; errors dropped at first but the issue was not fixed; still troubleshooting. Germany and UK affected. The cause was mentioned as a section of GSA below performance thresholds. |
| 14:59 | Engineers were working on redirecting traffic away from the underperforming infrastructure. |
| 15:10 | Same status as 14:59; the cause line is no longer included. |
| 15:24 | Redirect to healthy infrastructure complete; looking for more fixes. |
| 16:25 | Engineers were restarting part of the infrastructure that had traffic removed; internal tests show this fixes impact for some users. |
| 17:26 | Targeted restarts continuing; restarted parts healthy according to their telemetry; some users confirm resolution. Scope narrowed to Germany only. Start time revised to 07:40. |
| 18:20 | Workaround suggested to users to turn off GSA. Finishing restarts; expects all impact resolved by 19:00 UTC. |
| 18:48 | Final update: resolved, confirmed by telemetry and user reports. Start 07:40, end 18:31. Scope mentioned as Germany only. |
Impact window (Microsoft final update): 07:40 UTC to 18:31 UTC on October 13, 2026, about 10 h 51 m from Microsoft's stated start to stated end.
The thing to note here is that the workaround - turn off GSA - first appears at 18:20 on the public status page, about 10 hours 40 minutes after the stated start and 11 minutes before the stated end.
Another Microsoft 365 outage was posted at 18:52, October 13, 2026, which resulted in "Admins may be unable to review Service health or Message center postings in the Microsoft 365 admin center". The start time for this was posted as 21:54 UTC, October 12, 2026. It was not linked to the GSA outage according to updates.
Impact and Root Cause
Microsoft's 14:38 and 14:59 updates state that a section of GSA infrastructure was performing below acceptable performance thresholds. The final update does not repeat that line. Microsoft has not linked this incident to any earlier outage in the updates reviewed here.
The fix sequence in the updates is traffic optimization, then redirecting traffic away from the underperforming infrastructure, then targeted restarts of infrastructure that had traffic removed.
What Customers Experienced During the Outage
Users attempting to reach the listed Microsoft 365 services through GSA may have been unable to access them. Impact was scoped to Germany and the UK until 17:26 UTC, then Germany only. Updates do not say Microsoft 365 was unavailable for users who were not using GSA.
Services Affected During the Outage
Microsoft listed, among others:
- Outlook
- Outlook on the web
- OneDrive
- SharePoint Online
- Microsoft Teams
- Windows 365 Cloud PCs
Earlier Microsoft 365 Outages
Two recent Microsoft 365 incidents:
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| September 16, 2026 | Some users in the United States may be unable to access Microsoft 365 services |
| October 5-6, 2026 | Some admins may be unable to access the Microsoft 365 admin portal |
Conclusion
Some Microsoft 365 users reaching the suite through Global Secure Access in Germany may have been unable to use Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint Online, Teams and Windows 365 Cloud PCs from 07:40 UTC to 18:31 UTC on October 13, 2026, i.e. for about 10 hours 51 minutes. Mid-incident updates blamed underperforming GSA infrastructure.
The published workaround arrived almost at the end of the window on the public status page.
FAQ
How long did the October 13, 2026 Microsoft 365 GSA outage last?
About 10 hours 51 minutes. Microsoft's final update records a start of 07:40 UTC and an end of 18:31 UTC on October 13, 2026.
What caused it?
Microsoft's 14:38 and 14:59 updates say a section of GSA infrastructure was performing below acceptable performance thresholds. The final update does not restate a cause.
Which regions were listed?
Germany and the United Kingdom for most of the published window. From the 17:26 update onward, Microsoft listed Germany only.
Was there a workaround?
Yes. At 18:20 UTC IncidentHub recorded from Microsoft's status page that users may turn off GSA to reach the affected Microsoft 365 services. That update is about 11 minutes before the stated end time on the public status page.
Did this affect users who were not on GSA?
Microsoft's updates do not say so. Every update taken from the public status page scopes impact to users accessing the listed services using GSA.
IncidentHub is not affiliated with any of the services and vendors mentioned in this article. All logos and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. This summary is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft or any of the services and vendors mentioned in this article.
This article was first published on the IncidentHub blog.
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