**Microsoft Users Face Hours-Long Outage Due to Internal System Change**

A significant number of Microsoft users experienced disruptions on Monday as they struggled to access Outlook email and the Teams collaboration tools. The issues arose after Microsoft implemented a modification to its internal systems, which the company admitted had unforeseen impacts on its services.

The problem became especially noticeable when higher-than-usual outage reports started coming in from U.S. users as the workday began on the East Coast. According to Downdetector, a tracking site, these reports reached a peak in the early afternoon before subsiding later in the day.

The web version of Outlook bore the brunt of the complications, with fewer issues reported for the phone and desktop applications. Microsoft announced that it has since deployed a fix to address the situation.