Outlook Keeps Asking for Password? Fix Prompts and Need Password

Outlook asks for your password over and over when it can’t get or renew its sign-in, or when the password it saved no longer matches. Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com mailboxes sign in through a Microsoft sign-in window, so Outlook doesn’t really keep your password for them. Gmail, iCloud and other IMAP accounts do store one, so a password change anywhere else breaks them right away.

Start with a quick test: sign in to the same account in a browser, at outlook.office.com for a work account, outlook.com for a personal one, or your provider’s webmail. If the website rejects the password, makes you change it or says the account is locked, fix the account first with our Microsoft account locked guide. If it works, the trouble is Outlook’s saved sign-in on this device.

Which password prompt are you seeing?

If the status bar says Disconnected or Trying to connect instead, the network or mail profile is the likelier cause; see Outlook disconnected from the server.

Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com: reset the saved sign-in

Microsoft 365 mailboxes use modern authentication: Outlook renews a sign-in token in the background, and a prompt that keeps returning means that renewal is failing, so retyping the password rarely helps. Clear what Outlook has cached instead.

1. Sign out of Office and back in

In classic Outlook, open File > Office Account and see which account is shown. A different account from the one prompting, such as a personal one on a work PC, can cause the loop by itself. If Product Information shows that account licenses Office, signing out can leave Office unlicensed, so skip to step 2. Otherwise select Sign out, close every Office app, then reopen Outlook and sign in with the mailbox address.

2. Remove Office’s saved credentials

Close Outlook. Open Control Panel > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials, expand each entry listed for Office and choose Remove. It’s part of Microsoft’s own Office sign-in reset and doesn’t touch mail.

On a Microsoft Entra joined or hybrid joined company PC, Windows also keeps Office sign-ins in its Web Account Manager, which can’t be cleared by hand; Microsoft’s admin script signoutofwamaccounts.ps1 does it, so leave that to your admin.

3. Need Password disabled, or a prompt at every start

Microsoft ties this message, prompts at every start and new profiles failing with “Something went wrong” to one setting that blocks Office from Microsoft’s online services. In Outlook 2016 or 2019, go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options and select the check box that lets Office connect to online services from Microsoft.

Current Microsoft 365 versions of Outlook no longer show that check box; there, the setting is the registry value UseOnlineContent under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Internet, or the same path under Software\Policies (0 blocks the connection, 2 is the default). A grayed-out check box means the value is 0; under Policies, Group Policy probably set it. Leave the change to your admin or a technician, with the registry backed up first.

4. Check the work account Windows is holding

Office also uses the work accounts listed under Settings > Accounts > Access work or school. An entry for a former employer or a mistyped address can hand Outlook the wrong identity; if you added it yourself, you can disconnect it. Leave your current employer’s account, and anything showing the PC is managed by your organization, alone: Microsoft notes that removing it signs every app out and unenrolls the device from management.

Password changed, expired or reset

The most common trigger is simply a new password. Outlook on each PC, phone and tablet keeps a separate sign-in and asks again on its own schedule.

• You changed it on another device. Enter the new password wherever Outlook asks, and restart Outlook if the prompt returns.
• It expired. Microsoft says people who only use the Outlook app aren’t forced to change an expired password until the cached sign-in runs out, which can take days. Change it in a browser at outlook.office.com, then sign in to Outlook again.
• You forgot it, or the account is locked. Fix the account first with the locked-account guide linked above.
• An admin reset it after a security scare. Your other sessions were probably signed out on purpose, so sign in with the new password.

MFA, Conditional Access and more than one account

• The MFA step never finishes. If the approval never reaches your phone, Outlook keeps asking; open Authenticator and refresh, or pick another verification method. If the app itself misbehaves, see Microsoft Authenticator not working.
• Your company requires regular sign-in. Conditional Access policies can set a sign-in frequency, so a prompt every day or every few hours may be intended. If the timing changed recently, ask your admin rather than looking for a way around it.
• Two accounts in one Outlook. Each account renews its own sign-in, so read which address the prompt names. A second Microsoft 365 organization, an old Outlook.com account, or a shared mailbox added as its own account are common culprits; shared mailboxes normally open through your own account’s permissions instead.

Gmail, iCloud and other IMAP accounts

Outlook stores the password for IMAP accounts, so when it stops working you get a plain password box, often showing the mail server’s name.

With two-step verification on, Outlook almost certainly holds an app password. Google and Apple revoke app passwords when you change the main password, so a change on your phone breaks Outlook on the PC. Create a fresh one:

• Google: follow our Gmail app password guide, which also explains why the option can be missing. If your Outlook offers a Google sign-in window, re-adding Gmail that way avoids app passwords altogether.
• Apple: sign in at account.apple.com and use App-Specific Passwords under Sign-In and Security. Two-factor authentication must be on.
• Yahoo: under External connections on Yahoo’s Account Security page. Yahoo says its app passwords survive a main password change; if Outlook prompts anyway, replace the old one.

Type it into Outlook’s prompt. No prompt on screen? In classic Outlook, select File, pick the account under Account Information, choose Account Settings > Server Settings, replace the password under Incoming mail (and Outgoing mail if it has its own), then select Next and Done.

If the new password is still refused, check the server settings with our email authentication failed guide.

Hotmail, Live and Outlook.com addresses work differently. Microsoft says modern authentication isn’t supported for these accounts over POP or IMAP, or in Outlook 2016 MSI, Outlook 2019 LTSC and older versions. Re-add the address with automatic setup in a current Outlook: classic Outlook from Microsoft 365 (in a new profile) or the new Outlook for Windows. If the old account used POP, find its .pst file first; that mail may exist only on this PC.

Outlook for Mac: Keychain prompts

On a Mac, Office keeps its sign-in in the macOS Keychain; Microsoft says repeated Keychain requests, sign-in prompts or an Authentication Session Expired error mean Office can’t read it.

First check which Outlook you have. Microsoft says legacy Outlook for Mac stops working with Exchange Online (Microsoft 365) mailboxes starting October 2026, so turn off the Legacy Outlook switch if it’s on.

1. When macOS asks whether Office may use the Keychain, choose Always Allow. Microsoft says the dialog can appear up to three times per app.
2. If you chose Deny by mistake, or the requests keep coming, quit every Office app and follow Apple’s steps for allowing apps to access your keychain.
3. Check that Microsoft Outlook sits in the main Applications folder; Microsoft notes that Office moved anywhere else can cause repeated prompts.
4. If macOS itself keeps asking for the login keychain password, usually after a Mac password change, fix that first with Apple’s guide; Office can’t read a locked keychain.

Microsoft’s older workaround, deleting the saved Exchange and Office identity entries in Keychain Access with Office closed, signs every Office app out, so keep it for last.

New Outlook, phones and the last resort

New Outlook for Windows doesn’t use a classic mail profile. Open Settings > Accounts > Your accounts, select Manage beside the account, then Remove. If asked, choose this device only, because Remove from all devices also deletes the account’s Microsoft Cloud data in every Outlook app. Then restart the app and add the account back.

Outlook on iPhone or Android: remove the account in the app’s settings and add it again. On a company-managed phone, also update Microsoft Authenticator, and Company Portal on Android.

A new mail profile is the last step in classic Outlook when the browser test works and nothing above helped. It rebuilds the account without touching mail stored on the server; the steps, and what to save first, are in our guide to Outlook not opening.

Prompts that began after your email moved to Microsoft 365 often mean the old profile still points at the previous server: check Autodiscover as the disconnected guide linked earlier describes, then create a new profile. Skip forum registry tweaks that switch off modern authentication: Exchange Online no longer accepts basic authentication from Outlook, so they make the prompts permanent.

Admin checks: find the cause for everyone

• Sign-in logs. In the Microsoft Entra admin center, as at least a Reports Reader, go to Entra ID > Monitoring & health > Sign-in logs and filter by the user. The failure reason, such as a Conditional Access block, an unmet MFA requirement or a locked account, shows whether it’s a policy, a password or an attack. Entra ID Free keeps sign-in and audit logs for seven days, P1 or P2 for 30.
• The account. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, under Users > Active users, see whether sign-in is blocked; Audit logs, next to Sign-in logs in the Microsoft Entra admin center, show a recent password reset or change.
• Microsoft’s diagnostic. For Exchange Online mailboxes, Microsoft offers Diag: Outlook keeps asking for my password, which runs automated checks and suggests fixes.
• Changes that hit everyone. If a whole team started prompting on the same day, look for a new Conditional Access policy or sign-in frequency, a password expiration policy, or a Group Policy or script that set Office’s UseOnlineContent value to 0.

Setting up MFA, password rules and, where your licenses include it, Conditional Access across a team is part of our Microsoft 365 management.

When to stop and get help

• The browser test fails too, or the account says it’s locked or blocked. That’s an account problem that reinstalling Outlook won’t change.
• You see sign-in approvals, password reset emails or sent messages you don’t recognize. Treat it as a possible compromise and change the password from a device you trust.
• A mailbox Outlook opens lives on an on-premises Exchange server. The fix belongs on that server.
• Several people began prompting at once and nothing above explains it.

If your employer manages the PC or account, their IT team should handle it. Otherwise, if you’d rather not dig through credentials and profiles yourself, a password loop on one PC is a typical $59 remote fix: you approve the session, watch the work, and can end it at any time.

Common questions

Why does Outlook keep asking for my password when it’s correct?

With a Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com mailbox, Outlook doesn’t sign in with the password itself. It uses a token from Microsoft’s sign-in service and renews it in the background. If that renewal fails because of a stale cached sign-in, the wrong account in Office, an unfinished MFA step or a company policy, the prompt keeps returning even though the password is right. Clearing the cached sign-in usually ends it.

What does Need Password mean in Outlook?

It’s a status in the bar along the bottom of classic Outlook. It means Outlook has an account it can’t sign in to and is waiting for you, often because the sign-in window never appeared. Click it to bring the window up. If clicking it says the feature has been disabled by your administrator, Office is blocked from Microsoft’s online services by its online content setting or a company policy. In current Microsoft 365 versions that setting is the UseOnlineContent registry value.

How do I stop Outlook asking for my password every time it opens?

First check which account the prompt names. For a Microsoft 365 account, sign out under File > Office Account, remove the Office entries in Credential Manager and sign in once. Microsoft also documents prompts at every start when Office isn’t allowed to connect to online services: a Trust Center check box in Outlook 2016 and 2019, or the UseOnlineContent registry value in current Microsoft 365 versions. For an IMAP account, enter a current password or app password and keep the remember option ticked.

Will removing Outlook passwords from Credential Manager delete my email?

No. Credential Manager only stores sign-in information. Removing the Office entries makes Outlook ask you to sign in one more time, and your mail, calendar and contacts stay where they are, which for Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com accounts is on the server. Close Outlook before removing them, and have your phone ready in case Microsoft asks for MFA when you sign back in.

Why does the Outlook app on my phone keep asking me to sign in?

Usually the password changed, your organization requires a fresh sign-in at set intervals, or the phone’s sign-in helper app is out of date. Update Outlook, and on a company phone also update Microsoft Authenticator, and Company Portal if it’s installed. If it continues, remove the account from the app and add it back. Mail lives on the server, so nothing is lost.

Why does Outlook keep asking for my Gmail password?

Google no longer lets third-party apps sign in with only a username and password, so Outlook needs either a Google sign-in window or an app password. If Outlook holds an app password, changing your Google password revokes it, and the prompts start. Create a new one, as our Gmail app password guide shows, and type it in, or remove the account and add it back with Google sign-in if your Outlook offers it.

Why does Outlook for Mac keep asking for my password?

Usually Office can’t read its saved sign-in from the macOS Keychain. Choose Always Allow when macOS asks, which Microsoft says can take up to three prompts per app, and keep Outlook in the main Applications folder. If a Legacy Outlook switch is on, turn it off first: Microsoft says legacy Outlook for Mac stops working with Exchange Online (Microsoft 365) mailboxes starting October 2026.