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Microsoft is not issuing automatic cash refunds after the 36-hour Outlook and Teams outage on November 12, 2026. However, eligible business customers may receive a service credit under the company’s service-level agreement. The credit reduces a future Microsoft 365 bill rather than returning money directly to the customer.
The outage disrupted Outlook, Exchange Online, and Microsoft Teams for many users. Microsoft’s service commitment promises 99.9 percent uptime, which allows about 43 minutes of downtime each month. When the company misses that target, qualifying customers can receive credits worth 25 percent, 50 percent, or up to 100 percent of the affected service’s monthly fee.
Businesses that subscribe directly to Microsoft 365, Exchange Online, or Teams Premium may qualify for a credit. The amount depends on the duration of the disruption and the specific service affected.
Most affected companies are likely to receive 25 percent or 50 percent of the applicable monthly charge. A full 100 percent credit applies only in limited circumstances under Microsoft’s SLA terms.
Individual Outlook.com, Hotmail, and Microsoft 365 Personal users do not have an automatic entitlement to a credit. Companies that purchased their subscription directly from Microsoft should sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center. They should open Billing, select Bills & payments, and identify the affected subscription and amount paid.
The claim should include the outage date, start and end times, total downtime, number of affected users, and affected locations. Businesses should also provide relevant incident IDs: EX1550543 for Exchange, MO1550821 for Outlook and Microsoft 365, and TM1550488 for Teams. Screenshots, error messages, and service-health records can support the request.
Microsoft reportedly recommends using the subject line: “SLA Credit Service Incidents: EX1550543/MO1550821.” Users should ignore unsolicited emails or calls that promise an Outlook refund. Legitimate claims go through the Microsoft 365 admin center or Microsoft Support.
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