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Copilot not working? Microsoft Copilot and GitHub Copilot, the causes, and the fix for each

November 9, 2026

There are two Copilots. Microsoft Copilot (the button in Windows, Edge, Word, Teams) fails on a Microsoft 365 outage, a work account with no Copilot licence assigned, or a region or age where it is not offered: check Microsoft service status at status.cloud.microsoft and ask your admin. GitHub Copilot (the code completions in VS Code or JetBrains) fails on a GitHub incident (githubstatus.com), no active plan or seat, or a proxy blocking the extension. Each fix is below. nixm works without an account for writing and thinking while you wait.

First: which Copilot

Microsoft put the name on everything, so "Copilot not working" is two different problems. If it is a chat panel in Windows, Edge, Word, Outlook or Teams, it is Microsoft Copilot. If it is code completions or a chat inside your editor, it is GitHub Copilot. They run on different services, have different status pages and break for different reasons.

Microsoft Copilot: everyone, or just you

Microsoft's public service status page, status.cloud.microsoft, shows Microsoft 365 incidents; a work or school account also has Health > Service health in the Microsoft 365 admin center, which your admin can see and you cannot. If status is green, the usual causes are:

  • No licence on your account. Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps comes with Microsoft 365 E7 or as an add-on licence that an admin assigns to each user in the admin center; the button shows, the answer is a notice. Ask your admin; nothing on your machine fixes it.
  • Region or age. Copilot is offered in over 170 markets, with exceptions such as mainland China and embargoed markets, and it requires an age of at least 13, higher in some countries. The notice says so.
  • A signed-out or wrong account. Signed into Edge with a personal account while the Copilot licence is on the work one, or the reverse. Check which account the Copilot panel shows.
  • Windows or Edge behind. The Copilot button depends on the OS and browser version. Update both.
  • A network device. Corporate proxies and content filters block the Copilot endpoints; try another network once to prove it.

GitHub Copilot: everyone, or just you

GitHub status, githubstatus.com, lists Copilot as its own component, next to the AI model providers it depends on. If green:

  • No plan or seat. A trial that ended, a subscription that lapsed, or an organisation seat not assigned to you. GitHub documents the message for this as "GitHub Copilot could not connect to server. Extension activation failed", which also appears when the GitHub API cannot be reached. Your settings on github.com show the plan.
  • Signed out of the extension. VS Code shows the Copilot icon crossed or with a warning; click it and sign in again.
  • Extension and editor out of step. Update the Copilot extension and the editor together; an old extension on a new editor stops completing silently.
  • A proxy or firewall. Copilot needs the GitHub endpoints; a corporate network that breaks them shows the same could-not-connect message ending in "read ETIMEDOUT" or "read ECONNRESET", or a certificate error such as "unable to verify the first certificate". The extension has proxy settings; your network team has the allow-list.
  • A file type or a setting. Copilot can be disabled per language; check the status menu for the file you are in.

While it is down

nixm has no capacity queue and no hourly cap; you buy credits once, they never expire, and each message costs one. You can start without an account in the time it takes Copilot to refresh, and no transcript of what you type is kept. The signal dissolves seven days after it was made unless you extend it. It is not Copilot: it does not sit in your editor or your documents. It is a chat for writing, thinking and talking through a problem while theirs is down, with the code-review, debug and refactor templates for the editor-shaped questions. What Microsoft Copilot keeps of your conversations is in is Copilot private.

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frequently asked

Is Copilot down right now?

Which one. Microsoft Copilot: check status.cloud.microsoft. GitHub Copilot: check githubstatus.com, which lists Copilot separately. A green page means the problem is on your side.

Why does Microsoft Copilot say it is not available for my account?

Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps needs a licence that your admin assigns, and it is not offered in every region or below the minimum age. Nothing on your machine fixes a missing licence.

Why did GitHub Copilot stop completing code?

Most often a lapsed plan or seat, a signed-out extension, or an extension behind the editor version. The Copilot status menu in the editor says which.

Why does Copilot work at home but not at work?

A corporate proxy or filter is blocking the Copilot endpoints. Prove it on another network, then ask your network team for the allow-list.

What can I use while Copilot is down?

nixm works without an account, costs one chat credit a message, and keeps no transcript. It is a chat, not an editor plug-in, with templates for code review, debugging and refactoring.

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