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 news Meta opens its mixed-reality Horizon OS to other headset makers Lenovo and Asus are among the companies building headsets that run Horizon software. The move expands Meta’s reach in the AR/VR market, while enabling headset vendors to focus on hardware development rather than software. By Matthew Finnegan Apr 24, 2024 6 mins Augmented Reality Google Virtual Reality tip A crafty new Android notification power-up This simple enhancement will make your Android notifications more useful and less annoying — with about 60 seconds of one-time setup. By JR Raphael Apr 24, 2024 7 mins Google Mobile Apps Android opinion Microsoft uses its genAI leverage against China — prelude to a tech Cold War? A century or more ago, nations often used ‘gunboat diplomacy’ to push smaller countries around; in the 21st century, technology can be used the same way. By Preston Gralla Apr 24, 2024 6 mins Regulation Government Technology Industry how-to How to fix iCloud sync in seconds Here's what to do when your contacts or calendar events don't sync between devices. By Jonny Evans Apr 23, 2024 7 mins iCloud Apple Cloud Storage 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