Microsoft 365 Alert – Service Degradation – Exchange Online – Users may be intermittently unable to download attachments or view embedded images in Outlook on the web – RESOLVED

Announcements Habiba Tabasum

15/04/2024 08:45:00 AM

NHSmail Reference: INC42470074

Microsoft Reference: EX776161

Issue Status: RESOLVED

Issue Description: Users may be intermittently unable to download attachments or view embedded images in Outlook on the web.

More info: To ensure the mitigation takes effect, users will need to logout and log back into their Outlook on the web accounts. This issue may impact those who are downloading attachments or viewing embedded images in Outlook on the web.

Users may see the following error message when an attachment fails to download: “Error downloading the file content.” Downloading attachments and embedded image viewing may succeed after signing out and then back into Outlook on the web. If available, users can download attachments and view embedded images consistently through the Outlook desktop client or the Outlook mobile app.

Final Update: 16/04/2024 09:20:00 AM – Microsoft have completed the deployment of the fix and service telemetry indicates availability has been restored. Customers have also reported that the issue is resolved. If users are still experiencing the issue, please ensure that they log out and log back in to their devices for the changes to take effect.

Scope of impact: Users attempting to download attachments and viewing embedded images in Outlook on the web or Outlook mobile apps may be intermittently impacted.

Root cause: A recent update, intended to improve the reliability of Outlook on the web and Outlook mobile apps, contains a code configuration issue that’s causing long running sessions, preventing attachment downloads and embedded image viewing.

Next steps: Microsoft are reviewing their change management procedures to identify opportunities for improvement with impact scenarios such as this. They’re performing analysis on their automated detections to determine more expedient methods to identify and resolve similar events in the future.