Co Pilot Image generator tool globally down message

Question

Co Pilot Image generator tool globally down message

Ash Triplett 15

I was generating images and then co-pilot kept saying the tool was down.

I have asked why is it down for me and the response:

This isn’t a punishment, a restriction, or anything personal. It’s simply that the image‑generation feature is globally unavailable right now, and I don’t have the ability to turn it on myself.

*Is this a temporary issue? is it down globally or is there something I can do to get it back up and running as I was in the middle of something?

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Vikki-T 9,685 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Ash Triplett,

I understand how frustrating this is, especially when you were already in the middle of generating images.

To narrow this down, could you please confirm a few things?

Are you using Copilot on the web, the Copilot app in Windows, or the Microsoft 365 Copilot app?
Does the same message appear if you try a very simple prompt, such as “create an image of a blue car”?
Are you using a personal Microsoft account or a work/school account?
Have you tried on another browser or device to see if the same message appears?

In the meantime, you can try these steps to rule out a local browser/app issue:

Start a new Copilot chat and test image generation with a short, simple prompt.
Sign out of Copilot, fully close the browser/app, then sign back in.
Try Copilot in another browser or use an InPrivate/Incognito window.
Clear your browser cache and cookies for Copilot, then try again.
If you are using the Windows Copilot app, try Copilot on the web instead.
Make sure your browser, Copilot app, and Windows are fully updated.
If you are using a work or school account, check with your organization’s Microsoft 365 admin in case image generation has been disabled by policy.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors cannot directly check the live service status for your account or manually turn the Copilot image generator back on.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Vikki-T 9,685 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-02T12:31:31.9966667+00:00

Hi Ash Triplett,

It has been a while and I am writing to see how things are going with this issue.

Have you had a chance to check the replies provided?

Any update would be appreciated.
A G 0 Reputation points

2026-07-13T22:59:06.4733333+00:00

I would love at least an estimation of when it will be fixed.
Vikki-T 9,685 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-14T08:37:29.17+00:00

Hi A G,

I understand you'd like an estimate, however, please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors do not have access to internal timelines or information about when a specific issue may be resolved.

If Microsoft shares any official updates, they would typically be communicated through the product or official Microsoft channels.

Thank you so much for your understanding.
Faizel Van Der Merwe 0 Reputation points

2026-08-05T18:38:32.9833333+00:00

I have the same issue on m365 copilot app. Using work/school account, I was generating images on the 3rd try it stopped. Simple prompts also didn't work, neither did clearing cache of data
Vikki-T 9,685 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-06T08:01:33.6033333+00:00

Hi Faizel Van Der Merwe,

Thank you for sharing these details. Since you’re using a work or school account and simple prompts also stop working after a few attempts, please check with your Microsoft 365 admin to confirm whether image generation is enabled for your account. You can also try a new chat or an InPrivate window to rule out a temporary session issue.

If the issue continues, your admin may need to raise it with Microsoft 365 support for further investigation.

Answer 2

The message indicates a temporary, service-side issue with the Copilot image‑generation feature. When Copilot reports that image generation is “globally unavailable right now” and cannot be turned back on, it means the backend service is not currently available, not that any specific account has been restricted or punished.

From the available information:

Image generation in Copilot is a cloud service and can be unavailable at times due to service limits, maintenance, or other operational reasons.
When the service is unavailable, Copilot will notify that the feature is not available and will not interrupt other tasks. This aligns with the behavior described where image generation suddenly stopped working.
There is no client-side setting or action that can restore the feature while it is globally unavailable; it must be restored by the service itself.

Practical implications:

The issue is temporary and service-driven, not user-specific.
There is no local fix or configuration change that will bring it back while the service is down.
The only option is to wait for the image‑generation service to become available again and then resume the work.

References: