GitHub Copilot reported a 51-minute outage affecting OpenAI models due to an upstream provider error
GitHub Copilot reported elevated error rates on 17 September 2026 between 20:26 and 21:17 UTC (51 minutes) for GPT-5.6 Luna, Terra, Sol, GPT-5.3-Codex and GPT-6 Astra due to an error at the upstream provider. After the provider intervened, the service returned to normal.
Between 20:26 and 21:17 UTC on 17 September 2026, a period of 51 minutes, GitHub Copilot experienced elevated error rates for several GPT models: GPT-5.6 Luna, GPT-5.6 Terra, GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-5.3-Codex and GPT-6 Astra. Users of these models in Copilot products and IDE interfaces encountered errors.
According to GitHub, the problem was caused by an error on the upstream model provider side. GitHub engineers detected the problem through automated monitoring and coordinated its resolution with the provider. Throughout the incident, an automated in-product warning system displayed alerts to users for the affected models and recommended choosing another model or the 'Auto' option. The service returned to normal after the provider implemented a corrective measure.
Why it matters
Developers using the affected models during the incident had a workaround available by switching to another model or the 'Auto' option; the incident also demonstrates that the availability of AI features in Copilot depends on the infrastructure of an external model provider, not just on GitHub itself.
Two audiences, two different impacts
What this means
For individuals
GitHub Copilot users who encountered errors with GPT-5.6 Luna, GPT-5.6 Terra, GPT-5.6 Sol, GPT-5.3-Codex or GPT-6 Astra during that window could work around the problem by selecting another model or the 'Auto' option.
For a business
The outage showed that the reliability of GitHub Copilot depends on the upstream provider of OpenAI models – the 51-minute degradation affected development teams using the affected models until the provider implemented a fix.
ProductivityCheck the original
Event sources
clearly official source · 1 publisher, 0 independent. We count feeds from the same owner only once.