Outlook Password Not Working? Try These Fixes

You sign in to Outlook the way you always have, but it rejects your password. Maybe you get an "incorrect password" error, maybe Outlook keeps prompting over and over even after you type the right one, or maybe you simply cannot remember the password at all.

The cause is usually small and fixable: a stale stored password, Caps Lock, the wrong sign-in name, or a security setting that needs an app password instead of your normal one. None of this requires starting over with your account.

Work through the fixes below in order. They are arranged quickest and most common first, and they cover the web sign-in, the new and classic Outlook apps for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and the Outlook mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Passwords are case-sensitive, and Microsoft names Caps Lock as the single most common innocent reason a correct password gets rejected during setup. Turn Caps Lock off and retype the password slowly.

Then confirm you are using the full email address as your username, for example [email protected], not just the part before the @ sign. Two more things to verify:

The email domain is correct (for instance .com versus .co.uk).
The email name is spelled correctly, with no extra characters or typos.

A wrong domain or a misspelled alias produces the error "We couldn't find an account with that username" even when the account genuinely exists.

Update the Password You Changed With Your Provider

If you recently changed or reset your password with your email provider (Microsoft, Gmail, Yahoo, Apple, Xfinity, and so on), Outlook is still holding the old one. Microsoft's rule is consistent: change the password with the provider first, then update it in Outlook.

For a Microsoft 365 account, use "Change your Microsoft 365 password." For an Outlook.com account, change it in your account security settings. For a third-party provider, change it on that provider's own website.

In new Outlook for Windows, once the password is changed with the provider, simply open Outlook; it will prompt you for the updated password, and you enter it there.

Re-enter the Password in Classic Outlook for Windows

Classic Outlook stores the password per account, so you can update it directly. From the ribbon:

1.Go to File, then use the account dropdown to pick the account.
2.Select Account Settings > Server Settings.
3.Choose Incoming mail or Outgoing mail and update the password (and the server, port, or encryption only if needed).
4.Select Next > Done.

An alternative route runs through Control Panel > Mail > Email Accounts; select the account, choose Change, open More Settings, and use the Advanced tab, then run Test Account Settings to confirm.

Update the Password in Outlook for Mac

On a Mac, the stored password lives in the account settings:

1.On the Tools tab, click Accounts.
2.In the left pane, click the account you want to fix.
3.In the right pane, type the new password in the Password box.
4.Close the Accounts window; Outlook saves the password automatically.

This applies to Outlook for Microsoft 365 for Mac, Outlook 2024 for Mac, and Outlook 2021 for Mac.

Create an App Password If Two-Step Verification Is On

If two-step verification is turned on for your account and the app or device does not support it, you will see an "incorrect password" error even though your password is correct. That error is the signal that you need an app password, not your normal one.

1.Open your Microsoft account dashboard and go to Advanced security options.
2.Scroll to the App passwords section.
3.Select Create password; a long random password is generated.
4.Enter that app password wherever you would normally type your regular Microsoft account password for that app or device.

You usually enter an app password only once per app or device, and you do not need to memorize it. If you lose one, just create a new one.

Clear Stale Credentials in Windows Credential Manager

If Outlook keeps prompting on Windows even when you type the right password, cached credentials that no longer match your account's current state are often to blame.

1.Open Control Panel > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials.
2.Find entries that reference Outlook or Microsoft Office (for example your email address, or MicrosoftOffice/Office365).
3.Remove (delete) those entries.
4.Restart Outlook and re-enter your credentials when prompted.

Update or Reinstall the Outlook Mobile App

On iOS and Android, recurring password prompts often mean the app's security standards were updated and your installed version is too old. The fix is not to keep re-entering the password.

Uninstall the current Outlook app, install the latest version from your device's app store, then sign in again.
For a personal Microsoft account, you can also open the Sign-in Helper, enter your email or mobile number, and follow the recommended fixes.
For non-Microsoft email (Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and so on), contact that provider's support, since Microsoft cannot fix a third-party host issue.

On macOS, repeated keychain-access or sign-in prompts (sometimes with "Authentication Session Expired") have two common causes. First, when prompted, select Always Allow; this prompt can appear up to three times per app. Second, confirm Office is installed in the default /Applications folder, because moving it elsewhere itself causes endless keychain prompts.

If prompts persist, reset the login keychain:

1.Quit all Microsoft 365 for Mac apps.
2.Open Keychain Access via Spotlight.
3.Select the login keychain in the left pane.
4.From the File menu, choose Lock Keychain "login".
5.Launch any Office app and enter your Mac admin password when prompted; sign in to your Office account if asked.
6.Quit and reopen the app; the prompts should stop.

Fix Continual Prompts in Classic Outlook Against Microsoft 365

Older classic Outlook builds can prompt endlessly because of a security setting. On newer builds you can run the Microsoft diagnostic by selecting "Diag: Outlook keeps asking for my password." On older affected versions, change the setting through the supported GUI route:

1.Exit Outlook, open Control Panel, and double-click Mail.
2.Click Show Profiles, select your profile, then Properties.
3.Click E-mail Accounts, select your account, then Change.
4.Click More Settings, then open the Security tab.
5.In the Logon network security list, select Anonymous Authentication, then click OK.
6.Click Next, Finish, then close the remaining dialogs.

Do not edit the registry profile to change this; Microsoft explicitly does not support it and it can corrupt the profile. If you cancel the credential prompt instead, you will see "The connection to Microsoft Exchange is unavailable."

Resolve Password Amnesia After a Windows Update

If Outlook and other apps stopped remembering passwords right after a Windows update, the cause was third-party scheduled tasks using the "S4U" logon type. The preferred fix is to install the cumulative update that addressed it: February 2, 2021 KB4598291 (OS Builds 19041.789 and 19042.789) Preview or later.

If you must work around it, run PowerShell as administrator to list tasks using the S4U logon type, open Task Scheduler, right-click each identified task, select Disable, then restart Windows. You may need to re-enter passwords once more before the system starts saving them again.

Rebuild a Corrupted Outlook Profile on Windows

If prompts continue after clearing credentials, the profile itself may be corrupted. Create a fresh one:

1.Open Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles.
2.Create a new profile and add your account to it.
3.Set the new profile as default, then reopen Outlook.

Reset a Forgotten Password From the Web

If you no longer know the correct password, reset it through Microsoft's recovery flow:

1.On the sign-in page, select Forgotten your password? and enter your username (email, phone, or Skype name), then Next.
2.Choose a verification method (recovery email or phone) and select Next.
3.Confirm the verification detail and click Get code.
4.Enter the code you received and select Next.
5.Enter and confirm your new password, then select Next.

If your username and password simply "stopped working," use Recover your account or the Sign-in Helper, which identifies the problem and recommends a fix. Microsoft support cannot send reset links or access your account for you, so you must complete the self-service flow yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions

My password is definitely correct, so why does Outlook keep saying it is wrong?

Two causes are common. If two-step verification is on and the app does not support it, a correct password still fails; you need an app password instead. On Windows, stale entries in Credential Manager that no longer match your account can also trigger repeated rejections.

I changed my password but Outlook keeps prompting. What did I miss?

Changing the password with your provider and updating it in Outlook are two separate steps. Change it with the provider first, then enter the new one in Outlook (classic Outlook lets you update it under File > Account Settings > Server Settings; new Outlook re-prompts on launch).

It says my account doesn't exist, but I'm sure it does. Why?

Check for a wrong domain (.com versus .co.uk) or a misspelled alias, which both produce "We couldn't find an account with that username." Note also that Microsoft accounts are deleted after more than two years of inactivity, so the account may have been removed rather than the password being wrong.

How do I fix a work or school account password?

If your IT admin enabled self-service reset, use the password reset portal and then sign in again. Otherwise you must contact your IT administrator; Microsoft cannot reset organizational (Entra ID) passwords.

Can Microsoft support just reset my password or email me a link?

No. As a security policy, support cannot send reset links or access your account details. You complete the reset yourself through the recovery flow or the Sign-in Helper.

My account is locked or blocked after several wrong tries. What now?

If it is locked after too many incorrect attempts, wait and try again. For a locked account flagged as a security concern, run the Sign-in Helper and follow the unlock prompts.