Can't Sign In to SBCGlobal Email? How to Get Back In

You type your sbcglobal.net address and password, hit sign in, and nothing happens, or worse, you get bounced back with an error. The frustrating part is that your account almost certainly still works; what changed is where and how you sign in. Legacy SBCGlobal email now lives on AT&T's platform, and most lockouts trace back to using the wrong sign-in page, a stale browser, or an app that needs a special password. Here is how to get back into your inbox, step by step.

SBCGlobal is no longer its own email service. The legacy sbcglobal.net system was migrated to AT&T Mail and is now hosted on AT&T's email platform. Your existing address keeps working for free, but AT&T no longer issues new sbcglobal.net addresses, and the old SBCGlobal-branded sign-in flows you may remember have been retired.

That single change explains most "can't sign in" reports. People are still trying to log in the old way, or their email app is set up with outdated server details. There is also one important detail to keep in mind: your email password and your myAT&T password are the same account. Change one and you change the other.

Work through the fixes below in order. The first one resolves a surprising number of cases on its own, and the later steps cover password problems and third-party mail apps like Outlook, Apple Mail, and Thunderbird.

Because your mail now runs on AT&T Mail, the place you sign in matters. The current webmail page is currently.com. Go there, select Mail, then enter your full sbcglobal.net email address and password.

1.Open currently.com in your browser.
2.Select Mail.
3.Enter your complete sbcglobal.net email address (the whole thing, including @sbcglobal.net).
4.Enter your password and sign in.

The dedicated SBCGlobal landing page at more.att.com/login/sbcglobal-email confirms that former SBCGlobal customers can still reach their email through AT&T Mail. If you have an old bookmark pointing somewhere else, replace it. And remember, the password you type here is also your myAT&T password, so if you recently updated one, use the new one.

Fix 2: Clear Your Browser Cache and Cookies

Corrupt browser cookies and cache are a common cause of sign-in and loading problems. Over time these stored files can get out of sync with the login system and quietly block you, even when your password is correct.

First, confirm your browser is set to accept cookies, since the sign-in process depends on them. Then open your browser's Settings or Preferences menu, find the privacy or browsing-data section, and clear both cookies and cache.

Close the browser fully, reopen it, and try signing in again at currently.com. AT&T's support resources include browser-specific steps if you need the exact click paths for your browser.

Fix 3: Try a Different Browser, Device, or Disable Add-Ons

If clearing the cache did not help, the problem may be with the browser environment itself rather than your account. A few quick checks can isolate it.

1.Make sure JavaScript is enabled and up to date in your browser, since the webmail interface relies on it.
2.Disable browser tools and add-ons that may interfere with email, then retry.
3.Test signing in from a different browser or a different device entirely to see whether the issue follows you.
4.Check that a firewall, antivirus, or anti-spyware program is not blocking access by disabling them one at a time.

Turning these off one at a time is the key part. If sign-in suddenly works after disabling a single extension or security tool, you have found the culprit and can adjust its settings instead of leaving it off.

Fix 4: Reset Your Password When It Keeps Getting Rejected

If you are certain you are on the right page and your password is still refused, reset it. Because your email and myAT&T passwords are shared, you do this through AT&T, and the reset covers both at once.

1.Start the AT&T password reset and enter your AT&T user ID and the last name on the account.
2.Choose a verification method, either answering your security questions or requesting a temporary password sent to you.
3.Enter and confirm a new password.

Keep in mind that changing the AT&T Mail password also changes the AT&T user ID password, since they are one and the same. After resetting, sign in again at currently.com with the new password to confirm it took. If you use any email apps, you will need to update them too, which leads to the next fixes.

Fix 5: Create a Secure Mail Key for Email Apps

Here is a scenario that confuses many people: webmail works perfectly, but an app like Outlook, Apple Mail, or Thunderbird keeps asking for your password or refuses to connect. This usually means the app needs a secure mail key rather than your normal password.

A secure mail key is a 16-character app password that AT&T requires for email apps that do not support modern OAuth sign-in. You generate it from your account and paste it into the app in place of your usual password.

1.Sign in to your myAT&T Profile with your user ID and password.
2.Generate a secure mail key for your sbcglobal.net email address.
3.In your email app, replace your normal password with that 16-character key.

Two reassuring details: secure mail keys never expire, and creating one does not change your actual AT&T email password. So your webmail login stays exactly as it was.

Fix 6: Use OAuth Where Your App Supports It

Not every app needs a secure mail key. Email apps that support OAuth can sign in with your regular AT&T Mail password using modern authentication. Only the apps that lack OAuth support require the secure mail key from the previous step.

So before generating a key, check whether your app offers a modern or OAuth sign-in option, sometimes shown simply as signing in through a pop-up window where you enter your AT&T credentials. If it does, choose that and use your normal password. If the app has no OAuth option, fall back to the secure mail key method.

Fix 7: Verify Your IMAP, POP, and SMTP Server Settings

If an account still will not connect or send in a third-party app, the server settings are the next thing to check. Using outdated or mistyped server details is one of the most common reasons mail apps fail to sync. The recommended configuration is IMAP, and the official AT&T values are below.

For incoming mail using IMAP, set the server to imap.mail.att.net on port 993 with SSL required. For outgoing mail, set the SMTP server to smtp.mail.att.net on port 465 or 587 with SSL required.

If your app uses POP3 instead, the incoming server is inbound.att.net on port 995 with SSL, and the outgoing server is outbound.att.net on port 465. These come from AT&T support article KM1010523.

Two settings trip people up most often. Your username must be your full sbcglobal.net email address, not just the part before the @ sign. And the outgoing (SMTP) server must require authentication using the same credentials as your incoming server, so do not leave authentication turned off.

Getting Back to a Working Inbox

Most SBCGlobal sign-in failures come down to three things: signing in at the old place instead of currently.com, a stale browser holding onto bad cookies, or an email app that needs a secure mail key instead of your normal password. Work through the fixes in order and you will usually land back in your inbox within a few minutes.

Once you are in, take a moment to confirm your password works at currently.com and that any mail apps are using the correct server settings and, where needed, a secure mail key. Getting those squared away now means you are far less likely to get locked out again the next time something changes on AT&T's side.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SBCGlobal email being shut down?

No. The legacy sbcglobal.net system was migrated to AT&T Mail and continues to work for free through that platform. The only change is that SBCGlobal is no longer a separate provider, AT&T no longer issues new sbcglobal.net addresses, and you sign in through AT&T Mail at currently.com.

Go to currently.com, select Mail, and enter your full sbcglobal.net address and password. The SBCGlobal landing page at more.att.com/login/sbcglobal-email confirms former customers can still access their email through AT&T Mail.

Why does my password work on the website but not in my email app?

Apps that do not support modern OAuth sign-in need a secure mail key, which is a 16-character app password generated from your myAT&T Profile. Enter that key in the app in place of your normal password. Secure mail keys never expire and do not change your actual email password.

Does resetting my email password also change my myAT&T password?

Yes. Your email password and your myAT&T (AT&T user ID) password are the same account, so changing one changes the other. After a reset, you may need to update the password in any email apps you use.

What server settings should I use for SBCGlobal in a mail app?

The recommended setup is IMAP: incoming imap.mail.att.net on port 993 with SSL, and outgoing smtp.mail.att.net on port 465 or 587 with SSL. For POP3, use inbound.att.net on port 995 (SSL) and outbound.att.net on port 465. Your username is your full sbcglobal.net address, and the outgoing server must require authentication with the same credentials.