Microsoft was forced to apologize on Thursday after implementing a change that saw customers around the globe unable to access its services. Credit: Microsoft / Just_Super / Getty Images Some Microsoft customers were unable to access the company’s Azure and Microsoft 365 services on Thursday due to an issue with Microsoft’s geolocation services. Just after 12 p.m. GMT, the Microsoft 365 Status Twitter account posted a tweet alerting customers to the fact that it was “investigating an issue where users with specific conditional access policies applied may be unable to access any Microsoft 365 service,” adding that Microsoft was attempting to reverse a recent change in order to mitigate the impact. As a result of the change, some users who had an IP-based conditional access policy experienced sign-in issues, as Microsoft’s geolocation service was inadvertently showing traffic was originating from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, rather than the genuine country of origin. “Not cool. Sending US-based traffic to Uzbekistan is unacceptable on many levels,” Twitter user @brianwilson said in a tweet, along with screenshots of traffic being routed to Toshkent (the local name for Tashkent). “Second time this MONTH this has happened. Earlier this month Azure AD was reporting some of our users as being in India; today it’s reporting some are in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (myself included). We are 100% based in Canada!” Andy Matthews, an impacted customer, said in a tweet. Although the issue was ultimately resolved about eight hours later, several replies to Microsoft’s initial tweet suggested the problem had started many hours before the company first took to social media to alert its customers. This is not the first time this year Microsoft customers have been left unable to access the company’s services. At the end of January, Microsoft implemented a network change that saw customers across the globe unable to access its collaboration suite Teams and email service Outlook, as well as Microsoft Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive for Business. Less than two weeks later, customers once again reported having issues accessing Teams and Outlook. Related content feature Windows 11 Insider Previews: What’s in the latest build? Get the latest info on new preview builds of Windows 11 as they roll out to Windows Insiders. Now updated for 22635.3500 for the Beta Channel and Build 26200 for the Canary Channel, both released on April 19, 2024. By Preston Gralla Apr 19, 2024 250 mins Small and Medium Business Microsoft Windows 11 news analysis Chasing business and partnerships, Apple goes APAC Apple CEO Tim Cook’s week-long visit to Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore highlights how the company continues to explore new opportunities in global markets. By Jonny Evans Apr 19, 2024 4 mins Manufacturing Industry Apple Vendors and Providers news Microsoft reminder: Support for Office 2016 and 2019 ends next year Older versions of Office apps and servers will no longer get security updates as of October 2025 — when Windows 10 also reaches end of support. By Matthew Finnegan Apr 19, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Office Microsoft Office Suites news Google consolidates AI teams into DeepMind to scale capacity The restructuring will simplify development by concentrating compute-intensive model building in one place and establishing single access points for PAs looking to take these models and build generative AI applications, Google said. By Gyana Swain Apr 19, 2024 4 mins Google Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe