[Major] Issue Modifying Powerpoint Files with MS Office Online

Update timeline

1. investigating May 15, 2025, 07:35 AM UTC

   Our team is investigating an issue with MS Office Online, specifically on Powerpoint files. Users may see errors while opening Powerpoint files with MS Office Online. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.

2. investigating May 15, 2025, 08:33 AM UTC

   We are continuing to investigate, and have raised this with Microsoft to ensure the swiftest resolution. Further information will be provided when available.

3. monitoring May 15, 2025, 11:28 AM UTC

   Our team has taken steps to remediate this issue and is seeing improvement for MS Office Online service. We are continuing to monitor for any additional impact.

4. monitoring May 15, 2025, 12:41 PM UTC

   After further monitoring, this incident is now considered resolved. MS Office Online Service has been restored to full functionality. If you continue to experience any issues, please contact Box Support at https://support.box.com.

5. resolved May 15, 2025, 12:48 PM UTC

   After further monitoring, this incident is now considered resolved. MS Office Online Service has been restored to full functionality. If you continue to experience any issues, please contact Box Support at https://support.box.com.

6. postmortem May 29, 2025, 06:52 PM UTC

   We recently addressed issues affecting Box users. We would like to take the opportunity to further explain these issues and the steps we have taken to keep them from happening in the future. Between May 14, 2025 at 9:32 PM PDT and May 15, 2025 at 04:04 AM PDT, some users may have experienced difficulties while working in Box. During this time, some users encountered an error when attempting to open PowerPoint files via the _Box for Office Online_ integration. The issue occurred as a result of a third-party update. We were able to resolve the issue by working closely with Microsoft to diagnose and remediate the issue and restore our service. In addition, we are working to enhance monitoring and alerting, and improve escalation channels with Microsoft to decrease any possible downtimes caused by such issues to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future. ‌ **Analysis** ‌ The incident was caused by a Microsoft update that impacted the _Box for Office Online_ integration. Based on logging, we observed that valid access tokens were missing in requests from Microsoft to retrieve PowerPoint files. As a result, such requests were rejected, and Microsoft could not access the file content to display it in Office Online. We were able to resolve the issue by working closely with Microsoft to diagnose and remediate the issue and restore our service. ‌ **Corrective Actions** Box has initiated the following corrective actions: * Create additional monitors and alerts to detect unusual request patterns more quickly * Enhance the escalation process with Microsoft for faster issue resolution ‌ We are continuously working to improve Box and want to make sure we are delivering the best product and user experience we can. We hope we have provided some clarity here and we would be happy to answer any questions you may still have regarding this matter. Sincerely, The Box Team