Your AT&T email has stopped working, and you need it back. Maybe sign-in keeps failing, maybe nothing new is arriving, or maybe your phone's mail app says it can't connect.
The good news: most AT&T Mail problems trace back to a handful of known causes, and the fix is usually faster than it feels. The most common culprit is simply the wrong password, because your AT&T Mail password and your AT&T account login are the same credential.
Work through the fixes below in order. They are arranged quickest and most common first, so you may be back in your inbox before you reach the end.
Sign Out, Sign Back In, and Check Spam
Start with the simplest reset before changing anything. A stale session on the web is a frequent cause of mail that looks broken but isn't.
Sign out of your AT&T email account, then sign back in.
Check your Spam folder for the messages you think are missing.
If a message you expected is sitting in Spam, your account is working fine and a filter simply misfiled it. Move it back to the inbox and the issue is resolved.
Confirm Your Password (It's the Same as Your AT&T ID)
If sign-in fails, assume credentials first. Your AT&T Mail password and your AT&T account/ID password are one and the same, so if you changed one, the other changed too, and your devices may still be using the old one.
To reset it cleanly:
- 1.Go to AT&T's reset-your-password page.
- 2.Enter your AT&T ID and the last name associated with your ID.
- 3.Choose your verification method and follow the prompts.
- 4.Enter and confirm your new password.
Because the two logins are linked, changing your AT&T Mail password also changes your AT&T ID password. After resetting, update the new password on every device and app that checks your email, or those devices will keep failing.
Wait Out a Locked Account
Too many failed sign-in attempts trigger a protective lockout, usually after a typo or a repeated wrong password. This is intentional, and forcing more attempts won't help.
You have two options.
Wait about an hour, then try signing in again.
Or reset your password to regain access immediately.
Either path clears the lock. If you are in a hurry, the password reset is the faster route back in.
Clear the Browser Cache and Cookies
When AT&T Mail loads oddly, throws errors, or shows a generic "It's not you, it's us. We can't complete your request right now, please try again." message on sign-in, your browser is often the problem. That message is an authentication interruption, and clearing your browser is the commonly reported workaround.
Open AT&T Mail in a different web browser; if you normally use one browser, try another.
Verify that your browser accepts cookies, and if it does, clear your cookies and cache.
Enable JavaScript and make sure it is up to date.
Disable browser tools or add-ons to see if an extension is blocking email access.
Make sure you are running the latest version of a supported browser, since older browsers can cause errors.
A private or incognito window is a quick way to test whether an extension or cached data is the cause before you clear anything.
Check Your Firewall, Antivirus, and Anti-Spyware
Security software can quietly block your email program or browser. Firewall, antivirus, and anti-spyware tools all conflict with mail access in some configurations.
Open the settings for each and confirm none of them is interfering with AT&T Mail or your browser. Temporarily disabling a VPN is also a commonly reported step when web sign-in keeps erroring out.
Clear a Stuck Outbox When You Can't Send
If your mail receives fine but won't send, the first suspect is your Outbox. A single stuck message can block every send that follows it.
Check whether a message is sitting in your Outbox folder.
If so, delete that message, then compose and try to send a new one.
Check the email's size, because a message that is too big may not send.
Confirm the recipient address is correct; a wrong address can return errors such as "Failed Delivery" or "Problem Found - Message Not Sent."
Deleting the stuck message first is the key step. Trying to resend the same blocked message tends to fail again.
Fix Missing Incoming Mail: Reply-To, Blocks, and Filters
When mail simply isn't arriving, several settings can be quietly redirecting it. Check each in your AT&T Yahoo Mail account settings.
Make sure your reply-to address is blank, since a stray reply-to address can make expected mail seem missing or misrouted.
Select the gear/settings icon and review your blocked addresses, then unblock any sender you actually want to hear from.
Check your Spam folder in case a message was incorrectly marked as spam.
Check your filters to see whether mail is being routed into another folder.
Then send yourself a test message from a computer. If it arrives with no error, your account is working normally and the problem is on the sender's side; ask them to confirm they typed your full address correctly and to contact their own email provider. If you get a delivery-failure notice or an error, follow the instructions it includes.
Set Up a Secure Mail Key for Third-Party Apps
If the problem is in Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, the Gmail app, or any other client, the cause is usually authentication. You must use either OAuth or a 16-character Secure Mail Key to access AT&T Mail through an email app, and apps that still use your plain password will fail to connect.
AT&T recommends apps that support OAuth, which encrypts your sign-in. If your app is not OAuth-compatible, create a Secure Mail Key:
From your browser, go to att.com, select Account > Sign in (top right), enter your AT&T user ID and password, and click Sign In.
Go to Manage Profile, then select Sign-in info.
Choose the email address you want the key for.
On the Sign-in info options screen, select Manage secure mail keys.
Click Add secure mail key.
Enter a nickname for the key, such as the app or device name.
Click Create secure mail key.
Choose Copy secure mail key to clipboard, and write it down as well.
Click OK to save the key to your account.
In your email app, replace the account password with the secure mail key.
For an IMAP account, you must delete the existing password for both the IMAP (incoming) and SMTP (outgoing) servers and replace each with the key, not just one. Each device gets its own Secure Mail Key, and the keys never expire. If the Profile area is hard to reach from inside webmail, sign in through att.com Account instead.
Enter the Correct Server Settings (IMAP, POP3, SMTP)
A mail client that won't connect often has wrong server settings or ports. Use AT&T's official values, which apply across att.net, sbcglobal.net, bellsouth.net, and the other AT&T email domains.
IMAP incoming server: imap.mail.att.net, port 993, SSL/TLS enabled.
POP3 incoming server (alternative to IMAP): inbound.att.net, port 995, SSL enabled.
SMTP outgoing server: smtp.mail.att.net, port 465 (implicit SSL) or 587 (STARTTLS/TLS), with outgoing authentication required.
Username: your full AT&T email address.
Password: your AT&T Mail password if the app uses OAuth-equivalent sign-in, otherwise your 16-character Secure Mail Key.
Match the encryption to the port: 465 uses implicit SSL, while 587 uses STARTTLS/TLS. Using the wrong mode for the port causes send failures.
On an iPhone, open Settings > Mail (older iOS labels this Mail, Contacts, and Calendars), add the AT&T account, and enter imap.mail.att.net (port 993, SSL) for incoming and smtp.mail.att.net (port 465, SSL) for outgoing. Sign in with your full email address; if your standard password is rejected, generate and use a Secure Mail Key instead, let the iPhone verify the account, tap Save, and send a test message. Because each mobile OS differs, use AT&T's device tutorials for exact steps on other phones, or open currently.com in your phone's browser to use webmail directly.
Contact AT&T to Reactivate a Spam-Flagged Account
If none of the above works, your account may have been flagged. If you received a notice from AT&T Internet Services Security that your account was flagged for sending spam, normal troubleshooting will not restore it.
In that case, the account must be reactivated by contacting AT&T directly. This is the one situation where the fix is a phone call rather than a setting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does resetting my AT&T Mail password change my AT&T account login too?
Yes. The password to sign into your email and into AT&T are the same, so changing one changes the other. After a reset, update the new password on every device and app that checks your mail.
Why does my email app keep rejecting my correct password?
Apps that aren't OAuth-compatible can't sign in with your plain AT&T password; they need a 16-character Secure Mail Key in its place. For an IMAP account, put the key in both the incoming (IMAP) and outgoing (SMTP) server fields.
Do I need a separate Secure Mail Key for each device?
Yes. Secure Mail Keys are per-device, so each app or device that accesses your email needs its own key. The keys never expire, so you set each one up once.
My account is locked. How long until I can sign in?
A lockout after too many failed attempts is a protective measure, usually triggered by a typo or wrong password. Wait about an hour and try again, or reset your password to regain access immediately.
I'm not receiving emails, but my account seems fine. What now?
Send yourself a test message from a computer. If it arrives with no error, your account is working normally and the issue is on the sender's side; have them confirm they typed your full address correctly and contact their own email provider.
Which SMTP port should I use for outgoing mail?
Use smtp.mail.att.net on port 465 with implicit SSL, or port 587 with STARTTLS/TLS. The encryption mode has to match the port you choose, or sends will fail.