Anyone trying to report something to the police online has found the forms switched off, as a worldwide Microsoft outage runs into a second day.
Both forces covering south west Wales say reports that can’t wait, but aren’t emergencies, should go to 101, or to live chat where it is offered. In an emergency, call 999.
All three councils have been hit as well, and what still works depends on where you live.
Some health board appointments, prescriptions and train ticket emails are affected too.
Microsoft says there is “no indication this is the result of malicious or cyber activity”. Outlook is starting to come back, but the company is warning that emails may still arrive late.
South Wales Police and Dyfed-Powys Police: phone 101, not the website
South Wales Police’s notice reads: “Our online forms are currently off-line. This is due to a global Microsoft service issue.”
Dyfed-Powys Police is carrying the same message, word for word.
Neither force has said its 999 or 101 lines are affected.
Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire councils: what still works
Swansea Council says its email is affected. It is asking anyone who needs it today to use the web forms and phone numbers on its website.
Neath Port Talbot Council is pointing residents to their myNPT account, its web forms or the phone. It said: “Our systems are currently affected by the global outage of Microsoft services.”
Both councils have promised more updates during the day.
In Carmarthenshire, the online forms themselves are caught up in it. Carmarthenshire County Council says the outage is “impacting our ability to send and receive emails as well as receive digital reporting via our online forms”.
That means a report made through its website may not have got through.
Its contact centre and Hwbs are affected too, and the council has warned “there may be delays in answering calls”.
The Welsh Local Government Association, which speaks for councils, told the BBC things “remain under control”, with “no significant impact on services”.
It said more contingency plans might be needed if the outage ran into next week, but that it does not expect that.
Swansea Bay health board: some Teams therapy sessions moved to the phone
Patients with a therapy session booked over Teams may find it switched to a phone call or rearranged, Swansea Bay University Health Board says.
The board said at 11am on Friday that “no major issues have been reported with any of our services”, but warned of delays in answering enquiries.
Public Health Wales told the BBC it has delays answering emails and online enquiries, but that screening services are not affected.
Prescriptions could be delayed, pharmacists warn
Anyone collecting a prescription may face a longer wait. The National Pharmacy Association said waits “may be longer than normal” and that some prescriptions could be delayed.
Emergency and life-threatening ambulance callouts “appear to be unaffected”, according to Rachel Harrison, national secretary of the GMB union.
Transport for Wales tickets and the Welsh Government’s response
Rail passengers can still buy tickets, Transport for Wales told the BBC, but confirmation emails are not being sent.
Natural Resources Wales told the BBC its email and online reporting system is down, and anyone needing to report an incident should phone.
The Welsh Government said it was keeping watch: “We are monitoring the impact on government services and using contingency arrangements as needed.”
What went wrong at Microsoft, and when it might be fixed
Outlook email, Teams, OneDrive and the Copilot assistant have all been affected. Around 430 million people use Microsoft’s tools worldwide.
Microsoft says a process on its servers that sets up secure connections “becomes overwhelmed”, and the servers then stop handling requests.
In its latest update, on Friday afternoon, Microsoft said it was seeing “sustained improvements in service availability as recovery progresses across affected Microsoft 365 services”.
Outlook is coming back for many users, but the company has warned of “intermittent access issues” and “delayed email delivery”.
That means an email sent today may not reach its inbox straight away, and messages held up during the outage could still be on their way.
When they do land, they may show the time they arrived, not the time they were sent.
It has also extended the time it holds delayed emails to 48 hours, to help stop them being lost.
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