News

Microsoft: Large 'Configuration Change' Caused Skype Outage

Microsoft on Wednesday issued a brief explanation for the lengthy outage that affected its consumer Skype product on Sept. 21.

The outage lasted over 12 hours, perhaps tapering down after about 15.5 hours. However, some people were still reporting problems on Wednesday, per comments at the Downdetector.com tracking site.

Microsoft clocked the end of its Skype outage at 23:53 GMT or 3:53 p.m. Pacific Time (6:53 p.m. Eastern Time). The problem started in the early morning on Sept. 21 at around 1:23 a.m. Pacific Time (4:23 a.m. Eastern Time), when many people reported log-in problems.

The Skype outage occurred because of a "back-end" configuration change made by Microsoft. The company's apology described it as a "larger-than-usual configuration change, which some versions of Skype were unable to process correctly therefore disconnecting users from the network."

Users trying to reconnect after the configuration change caused "heavy traffic" and they were unable to use Skype's free "messaging, presence and contact" services. In addition, some users couldn't log in to Skype.

While Microsoft apologized for the outage, its consumer Skype service comes with no service-level agreement guarantees. Consumer Skype users have to accept "occasional disruptions," even if they are paying for the services. Consumer Skype services include voice-over-IP telephony, video and instant messaging capabilities, some of which are available for free.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

Featured

  • Microsoft Offers Support Extensions for Exchange 2016 and 2019

    Microsoft has introduced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for on-premises Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, offering a crucial safety cushion as both versions near their Oct. 14, 2025 end-of-support date.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Notebook

    Microsoft Centers AI, Security and Partner Dogfooding at MCAPS

    Microsoft's second annual MCAPS for Partners event took place Tuesday, delivering a volley of updates and directives for its partners for fiscal 2026.

  • Microsoft Layoffs: AI Is the Obvious Elephant in the Room

    As Microsoft doubles down on an $80 billion bet on AI this fiscal year, its workforce reductions are drawing scrutiny over whether AI's ascent is quietly reshaping its human capital strategy, even as official messaging avoids drawing a direct line.

Most   Popular