Introduction

In a troubling development for many users, Microsoft has confirmed that a recent update to its Office suite is causing a massive crash of Classic Outlook and Microsoft 365 applications on Windows Server 2016 and 2019. Reports have flooded in from customers who discovered that popular applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and particularly Outlook, crash within seconds of launching.

Cause of the Outage

The source of this disruption has been traced back to a recent integration of the React Native framework aimed at enhancing certain features within Microsoft 365 apps. Unfortunately, this update has led to significant instability, particularly affecting users who upgraded their applications to Version 2412 (Build 18324.20168).

Microsoft's Response

To address this widespread issue, Microsoft is reverting users of Windows Server 2016 to Version 2411, which remains stable and functional. They have communicated that they are proactively contacting affected users to confirm whether this downgrade resolves their issues. However, the company is still determining suitable solutions for Windows Server 2019 users.

Temporary Fix

For those not automatically reverted to the previous, stable version, Microsoft has provided a temporary manual rollback method. It involves using the Command Prompt with administrative privileges, where users can execute specific commands to downgrade their Office version to 16.0.18227.20152. Crucially, users must also disable automatic updates to prevent their software from reverting back to the problem-riddled version.

Related Outage

In a related but separate incident, on the same day, Microsoft also addressed a significant Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) outage that barred many users from accessing their Microsoft 365 applications, compounding the frustration for customers already affected by the Office crashing issue.

Quality Assurance Concerns

This string of technical difficulties raises questions about Microsoft's quality assurance processes, especially with the introduction of new frameworks that have tangible impacts on user experience. Moreover, last month, Microsoft revealed that they are also investigating an issue leading to 'Product Deactivated' errors for some Microsoft 365 users.

Conclusion

As users navigate these ongoing problems, it’s essential for them to stay informed. Mark your calendars for February 11th—this might be when updates resume, and who knows what new challenges that might bring? Stay tuned and ensure your Office applications are running smoothly after this challenging period!