Slack is down — latest updates on massive worldwide outage

Slack down
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Update: Slack appears to be working again for some users. At 12:29 p.m. ET, the company said, "While the issue is largely still ongoing, we believe some customers may see improvement in connecting to Slack after a refresh (CTRL/CMD + R)."

Even Slack can come down with a case of the Mondays. Slack is broken for many users worldwide, who are trying to access the workplace communication tool on the first significant day of work in 2021.

In a status update, Slack said, "Customers may have trouble loading channels or connecting to Slack at this time. Our team is investigating and we will follow up with more information as soon as we have it. We apologize for any disruption caused."

The website Down Detector began receiving reports of Slack problems around 9:30 a.m. ET from locations across the world, including New York City, London and Paris. 

The issue strikes just as many workers return from the holiday and New Year's break. Slack has become an essential tool as millions work remotely from home during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Major outages can have a significant impact on productivity for those who rely on the messaging app to discuss and collaborate.

Naturally, the Slack outage produced some epic memes. Enjoy:

Kelly Woo
Streaming Editor

Kelly is the managing editor of streaming for Tom’s Guide, so basically, she watches TV for a living. Previously, she was a freelance entertainment writer for Yahoo, Vulture, TV Guide and other outlets. When she’s not watching TV and movies for work, she’s watching them for fun, seeing live music, writing songs, knitting and gardening.

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