Microsoft 365 Alert – Service Degradation – Exchange Online – Users with apostrophes in their surname in Exchange Online may be unable to search for other users – ONGOING

Announcements Sourav Nandi

25/02/2025 08:20:00 AM

NHSmail Reference: INC46459337

Microsoft Reference: EX1015252

Issue Status: ONGOING

Issue Description: Users with apostrophes in their surname in Exchange Online may be unable to search for other users.

Current Update: 18/03/2025 07:40:00 AM – The fix to correct the offending URL is continuing to deploy, and the majority of the users should see the search functionality restored. Microsoft’s earliest deployment estimates expect that the fix will reach the remaining affected users by their next update, though this may be subject to change as the deployment progresses.

Scope of impact: This issue may impact any user with an apostrophe in their surname in Exchange Online that’s searching for other users.

Root Cause: The URL utilized by the Outlook service when performing searches is malformed due to the code not providing the full email address of users with apostrophes in their address when submitting the request.

Next update by: Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at 6:00 PM UTC