Microsoft's IM and Hotmail show sporadic failures

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Microsoft is investigating customer complaints that both MSN Messenger and Hotmail have been intermittently inaccessible in recent days, a representative said.

Hotmail users have complained to CNET News.com that the service could not be accessed several times during the day last Friday. Microsoft's instant-messaging application, MSN Messenger, also had connectivity problems.

"This morning, MSN customers began experiencing issues accessing various services, such as Messenger [and] Hotmail," a Microsoft representative said. "Microsoft is currently determining the cause and is taking appropriate steps to remedy the situation as quickly as possible."

The Hotmail Web site and other Passport-powered sites could only be successfully accessed 50 per cent of the time, according to Internet performance measurement service Keynote Systems. Usually, the sites can be accessed 100 per cent of the time.

Although Microsoft did not finger Passport as the cause of the issues, a hiccup in the affected services could be explained by problems in the company's Internet identity service, said Roopak Patel, senior analyst at Keynote.

"If there is an issue, it is causing the same effects across different [Microsoft] domains," Patel said, adding, "It's not impacting the Internet as a whole."

Microsoft's identity service has been stable in recent history, but Passport has had its share of troubles.

Almost a year ago, a flaw in the system could have allowed an attacker to access customer information using only the victim's email address. Software flaws in the system's security also left consumers' financial data vulnerable, forcing Microsoft to shut down its Wallet service to protect people from having their data stolen.

Microsoft does not believe that the current issue could affect customer data, the representative said.

Talkback

I cant get in right now.
I had trouble on Friday too

via Facebook 17 March, 2004 19:27
Reply

today is Wednesday, haven't got into hotmail in almost a week.

via Facebook 17 March, 2004 19:55
Reply

for me and several of my friends, hotmail is STILL only available in early morning hours!!! It's very frustrating and I am thinking of changing to another email service.
03-17-04 in Houston, TX

via Facebook 17 March, 2004 21:21
Reply

I have been having problems for the last week or so. Sure hope you can correct this problem.

via Facebook 17 March, 2004 23:53
Reply

I have been having problems for the last week or so. Sure hope you can correct this problem.

via Facebook 17 March, 2004 23:53
Reply

Yes, just did it again. What are they doing!! The only thing I can think of is that due to a greater number of always on broadband conections people are leaving messenger on all of the time, thus clogging up the system.

via Facebook 18 March, 2004 19:59
Reply

June 30th 2004: I have been unable to access my MSN hotmail for a solid week!
I can log on with my password and see that there are new emails filling my mailbox however when I try to open my mail I get 'kicked out'. On the second day I sent an email request to MSN for help and this reply came 3 days later:

"We received your message concerning the issue you are experiencing using MSN Hotmail. Our Technical Support Staff is aware of this situation and is currently working on a fix to the issue.

Hotmail is continually looking for ways to improve our service. We strive to make positive changes to our product, based on feedback we receive from our customers.

We regret the inconvenience caused to you and thank you very much for your patience.

Please contact us if you have any other questions about Hotmail".

I have sent three more inquiries since as I am still unable to access my mailbox and address book and have yet to receive any further response.


Sign me "Frustrated"!
Rita Laursen
Alternate Email: virtuallyessential@shaw.ca

via Facebook 1 July, 2004 00:46
Reply

Now is my third day trying to conect in my account and nothing happens.

via Facebook 22 August, 2004 02:23
Reply

After June 21st, my hotmail account refused to accept new mails and always "undeleted" mails (even those infected with NetSky and friends). I don't know or care whether it works now, since I am moved over to Yahoo mail with 100Mb account size.

via Facebook 24 August, 2004 13:53
Reply

this is really really irritating..i have not been able to acess my hotmail for weeks...somehow managed to acess it 4 days ao..and since then i have continued to be able to view my inbox but not my mail due to scripting errors!!!...yes i know it's a free service etc..but it would be nice if microsoft actually owned up officially to there being a problem and got it SORTED! it was working fine until recently...so what the hell did they do to mess it up in the first place, and when are they going to sort it out by?

via Facebook 30 November, 2004 19:50
Reply

Hotmail sucks! If you don't sign in every 30 days, your account goes west - great, can SOMEBODY from Microjerk tell me how I do this if I can't get at my account this side of Christmas? If my account goes down, I won't bother to renew it - I can use Outlook, another one of their wonderful, inherently stable and superbly user friendly products to operate my Kingston Communications, Hull, England "Karoo" internet & E- Mail service, WHICH WORKS JUST FINE, unlike "Hotmail".

via Facebook 27 December, 2004 05:37
Reply

Hotmail has been down off and on for two months now. I even paid for a subscription and am now only able to access Hotmail infrequently, about once a week (if lucky). In my opinion, Microsoft not only was not prepared for the rollout of the new Hotmail, they caused problems with user access that they have YET to acknowledge. I noticed many of your posts were from this past summer, but it is now February and the problem is not fixed. I will not use Hotmail again!!!

via Facebook 6 February, 2005 19:27
Reply

I can access hotmail but frequently get "internal server error" or "due to high demands I'm crap and can't continue" messages, it's a case of pressing send, back, send, back, send umpteen times until hotmail finally responds and I can send my message. If this keeps up I'm ditching hotmail and moving to my gmail account. This isn't the first time I've had problems with Hotmail, you'd think Microsoft would be able to get things right!

via Facebook 16 February, 2005 16:37
Reply

I am so tired of this issue ,'Access to the account was denied. Verify that your username and password are correct. Account: 'Hotmail', Server: 'http://services.msn.com/svcs/hotmail/httpmail.asp', Protocol: HTTPMail, Server Response: 'Forbidden', Port: 0, Secure(SSL): No, Error Number: 0x800CCC33/ ........ I have a family member deployed in military and hotmail is my means of communication...or lack of now, thanks to modern technology trying to outdo what worked well in the first place

via Facebook 16 February, 2005 17:02
Reply

I'm just so incredibly frustrated at not being able to get passed even logging in.For 5 days now I hacen't even been able to see how many emails are sitting in my inbox let alone read them.I was unhappy that they increased free storage within days of my paying out a subsciption & since then it's been hit & miss as to when you can get on,read stuff,send stuff etc.The problem appears to be getting worse not better.I'm sure I have emails that need replying to but I can't get to them.

SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE!!!!!!!

via Facebook 20 February, 2005 12:01
Reply

Well... i havnt been able to get in to my hotmail account for 2 weeks now,i keep getting a stupid thing called match the picture,and numbers,well needless to say it still wont let me in, i am so pissed off with hotmail as i was waiting for some important emails,well all i can say is the service is shite,its about time it was sorted out,i feel for you all.

via Facebook 21 February, 2005 21:24
Reply

Tuesday, Feb. 22

Constant Internal error and other transmission failure messages the last four days while trying to send email from hotmail. What is going on? ! Someone please reply.

Karla
rvsde@hotmail.com

via Facebook 22 February, 2005 22:31
Reply

Hotmail rejects submitted "help form" repeatedly; I am unable to report frequent failures to post messages (with deletion of sent messages), denial of access, and delay in receiving mail. Problems increased in February, 2005.

via Facebook 24 February, 2005 01:21
Reply

Check out
http://moveonhotmail.com/

via Facebook 24 February, 2005 02:52
Reply

If GMail was accepting open registration right now... they could have millions registered by the end of the week, if not by the end of the day. I would be one of them. Come on Google...

via Facebook 24 February, 2005 18:55
Reply

Your right, I noticed they are giving more invites out. Send me an email and I'll invite you.

http://moveonhotmail.com/

via Facebook 25 February, 2005 03:08
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I signed up for Hotmail Plus 2 weeks ago and have been having problems ever since. I can't send emails at all, have a difficult time getting into my INBOX, loose files. It is a very bad situation. Trying to send all my folders to a new email address and can't even do that- I hope this is fixed soon before I start losing all my information. Tried to contact customer service 3 times- no response. As soon as I can access my info I will no longer be a subscriber. This service has been horrible!

via Facebook 1 March, 2005 02:38
Reply

I can access Hotmail but can't send..going on 1 week. It would at least be nice to see MS update the nework status of hotmail. If you go into the MS Hotmail status it indicate "ALL systems Go, no problems??" WTF is that! Bill Gates must have shut his server off and now we are all screwed!! Billy Boy if your reading this the nice thing would be to at least notifie us there is a problem and your getting off your golden a*s and doing something about it!!!!! Firefox and Gmail here I come....

via Facebook 3 March, 2005 15:29
Reply

Hotmail is out of control! I pay for their service and for the past week all the attachments I recieve won't download because they have virus'. Most messages I try to send never load. I have the solution, I opened a yahoo account and sent all my mail there. Goodbye hotmail, it's been a good 5 year run.

via Facebook 3 March, 2005 18:22
Reply

My problems started about a month ago with e-mails I couldn't open and then I couldn't send some, now for the past week I have been unable to even sign in. When I first started having this problem I contacted hotmail and was assured they would check on the problem, but it has only gone from bad to impossible. Good Luck to you other hot mail
people.

via Facebook 4 March, 2005 02:01
Reply

Here in the UK, Hotmail has lost a lot of sparkle. The opinion always was, going global, go hotmail and pay for space (£19.00). Access from hotels, offices globally was good.Too many occasions you cannot get on either directly using your stored address and password or through www.hotmail.com; Airports especially were a great catchup poit as were pda's; what are they doing to fix it? can I get a rebate?

via Facebook 29 March, 2005 09:48
Reply

my ability to get into my hotmail account has been so unacceptable that I have switched to yahoo (after 3 years as a loyal hotmail user). This problem has arisen in the last 8 weeks or so. I have had no useful response from the customer service dept, & so, have been forced to change email provider.

via Facebook 29 March, 2005 23:28
Reply

This is not probabaly the appropriate channel through which to report a fault. I will however be grateful if so, for this to be passed on to the relevant section.

I have been able to access my Account. However over the past few months, I have failed to download different attachments.

Could the Company please rectify this for me. Each time I try to downlod, a box message comes up to the effect that Internet Explorer cannot open the attachment.

via Facebook 5 April, 2005 15:53
Reply

im fed up with hotmail unable 2 access my account now 4 a week also same happened 2 weeks ago i keep geting match this b!!!!!!!Y PICTURE.SORT IT OUT PLEASE

via Facebook 15 April, 2005 20:20
Reply

Hi
I was using Hotmai and Outlook up until Feb 2004 no charge. It all worked like a dream suddenly without any notice I could no longer use Outlook with My Hotamil A/C.

I then signed up to Hotmail Plus, and haven't been able to use it with Outllok since. Numerous e-mails have proved a total waste of time.

Here is the intersesting bit. I use yahoo plus with Outlook it works graet. Goodbye Hotmail
April 2005

via Facebook 18 April, 2005 15:31
Reply

i can access hotmail on my laptop but not on my PC. Anything to do with microsoft's pages connection, it says "can't find server". i can't even go on line to play Tiger Woods golf!!

via Facebook 27 April, 2005 03:10
Reply

I have not been able to get into my hotmail in 6 weeks is this a record and even though I have had emails from msn Mark Anthony ,Froilin,jesse,Rona Ivy,Eric and many more I am still not in and I only want to get my Addresses out Do you think I could get in the Guinness book. A very fed up Silver Surfer

via Facebook 29 May, 2005 10:30
Reply

Unable to enter any of my hotmail adresses for over a week now. Caracas, Venezuela June 3, 2005

via Facebook 4 June, 2005 03:29
Reply

from july 11-15 i've been unable to access my my hotmail email account. can anyone help me with this? thank you

via Facebook 16 July, 2005 02:04
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cant send any mail via hotmail am overseas and only contact with home is now cut off and has been for days cheers hotmail

via Facebook 21 July, 2005 15:45
Reply

maybe they think we are all terrorists and setting up the system for blairs new police regime will take time and of course cause us all problems how else could he cover up his wrong doings and murderous ways to push his own agenda forward

via Facebook 21 July, 2005 15:51
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Just got back home, and unfortunately, I am NOT able to sign in my Hotmail account. I am expecting very important e-mails from certain individuals and I'm very disappointed at the lack of organization Hotmail currently has.

via Facebook 22 July, 2005 03:00
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It is a lottery if I can get my Hotmail account e.g this morning no problem, now afternoon cannot acce3ss. Last week could not access for two days . I am totally fed up with Hotmail.

via Facebook 25 July, 2005 14:34
Reply

nothing in my hotmail is working,,cant open mail nor send any...WHY?

via Facebook 31 July, 2005 20:12
Reply

post your mail addressed & I'll send some gmail invites.... I have 49 available ...

http://tinyurl.com/by8kq
http://tinyurl.com/a52op

via Facebook 2 August, 2005 09:45
Reply

Been struggling to keep wife's email on line - god knows how many times I have changed her password. Thought there was a problem with her computer. Now, today [6-8-05] hotmail refuses to recognise my password. Tried to send them a message - what a god awful trick that is, trying to find the message service to report a problem. Surely they can make life easier.

via Facebook 6 August, 2005 17:55
Reply

Iv had my hotmail account about three-four months I was able to access my hotmail a couple of times at the biginning,then i could only access the page but when i clicked on a e-mail it would'nt access it. Now i dont get the page with my e-mails i have 28 unread e-mails and it so annoying.

via Facebook 10 August, 2005 14:56
Reply

would you be able to tell me why sametimes i can not read my e-mail, when i click on mail it shows me that i have for example one, but when i want to open it, only shows me the re: and i can not read the rest, please help. i am sort of new using my laptop, am i doing samething wrong or it has to do with the failure, this time happened to me on the 12.08.05 the mail was sent that day very early hrs . it happened on another occasions also. thank you

via Facebook 14 August, 2005 18:30
Reply

I am really unhappy about this hotmail business. What are you going to do about it. I am waiting for important emails. I think hotmail should be closed down. They are absolutely crap

via Facebook 19 August, 2005 14:30
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I am really worried about the poor service I am getting from hotmail. I have spent over two hours to -night tryiing to access my mail. I am currently looking for employment and hotmail is failing to assit me in the process as I can neither access replies nor send my Curriculum Virtae. What is happening ? I just cannot get into the bloody thing ! It was much better two years ago . Now it is completely unreliable .

Is there any point giving my e-mail address as I cannot access the reply anyway?

via Facebook 1 September, 2005 02:16
Reply

i cannot access my email AT ALL, it keeps on saying that i have entered my email address or password incorrectly when i haven't. i can access messenger which kindly tells me how many new emails i have received but i cannot read them! often when i am mid conversation on messenger it cuts out for several minuets which is incredibly frustrating also

via Facebook 1 September, 2005 10:50
Reply

Sep.4, 2005 Can not get into hotmail - tried many times. Why?

via Facebook 5 September, 2005 01:59
Reply

When I tri loggin into hotmail the page stays open for about 30secs and then atomatically closes why?

via Facebook 5 September, 2005 21:46
Reply

i sign in and then cant get into my hotmail from the passport. Why is this and how can i fix it?

via Facebook 8 September, 2005 05:01
Reply

i cant get in my emails because hotmail not loading up. please help

via Facebook 8 September, 2005 12:48
Reply
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