Oct 7 outage: ChatGPT Desktop bug blocked new Work threads for 6+ hours

#What happened

On October 7, 2026, a bug in ChatGPT Desktop client version 26.1002.51308 prevented users from creating new Work threads. The issue blocked the ChatGPT Work workflow entirely, so no new threads could be started. Some users also reported trouble accessing the Codex sign-in page.

#Why it matters

Work threads are central to the ChatGPT Work workflow. With new-thread creation blocked, affected users could not start any new Work tasks, and there was no workaround other than waiting for the fixed app version.

#Timeline

• 5:32 AM UTC — OpenAI began investigating the issue.
• Engineers attempted rollback and mitigation steps.
• 9:31 AM UTC — an updated app version was released for Linux and macOS, with a Windows fix still rolling out.
• 11:57 AM UTC — the desktop component was restored to normal, ending a 6 hour 25 minute disruption.

Separately, the same morning saw a degraded-performance incident for Workspace Agents from 1:16 to 3:01 AM UTC (1h45m), during which some users did not see responses from the ChatGPT/Agent component.

#Who was affected

Users on ChatGPT Desktop client version 26.1002.51308 who tried to create new Work threads were affected. The separate Workspace Agents degradation affected users not seeing responses from the ChatGPT/Agent component.

#Resolution

OpenAI rolled out an updated desktop app version, and the desktop component was restored to normal by 11:57 AM UTC. The Workspace Agents incident ended at 3:01 AM UTC.

#Sources

• https://statusgator.com/services/openai/outage-history

Verified October 7, 2026.