Why does Outlook keep asking me for my username and password?
A widespread problem is when Outlook keeps asking for the user credentials, even if the correct password is specified. After starting Outlook successfully connects to the on-premises Exchange server (or Microsoft 366/Office 365 mailbox), the user sees a list of folders in the mailbox and new emails in the Inbox folder. But after a few minutes, a window appears for entering the user name and password. The user enters the password and presses OK, but the window with the prompt to enter the credentials appears again and again. By clicking the “Cancel” button, the user can continue to work with Outlook, and after a while, the password request window pops up again (sometimes the user account may be locked). The problem occurs in different versions of Outlook (2019/2016/365) and Windows (there was a problem in both Windows 7/8.1 and Windows 10/11). Show
When such a problem occurs, HelpDesk team members usually try to re-create the mail profile and/or repair/re-install Office. But this usually does not help. Outlook still requires the user to enter a password at some interval. Let’s take a look at a few tips to help you get rid of the annoying password prompt in Outlook. Try the simplest solutions first:
Clearing Cached Credentials for Outlook on WindowsCheck if you have Outlook saved credentials (passwords) stored in Windows Credential Manager, try to remove them all. To do this, go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\User Accounts\Manage your credential -> Windows Credentials. Find the saved passwords for Outlook/Office in the Generic Credentials list and remove them. To directly access Credential Manager, run the command:
This will help you log in with new credentials instead of the cached credentials if the user’s password has been changed. Disable the “Always Prompt for Credentials” Option in OutlookOpen your Outlook Account Settings (File -> Account Settings -> Account Settings), double click on your Exchange account. Go to More settings -> select Security tab. Clear the checkbox Always prompt for credentials in the User identification section. In this case, Outlook will first try to use the cached credentials to access the mailbox. If the Always prompt for logon credentials option in Outlook is grayed out, you can enable it via the registry (for Office 365/2019/2016): HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Security Type: Reg_Dword Name: PromptForCredentials Value:0 Prevent internet connection in the Office Trust Center settings:
If you have a Microsoft 365 (Office 365) mailbox connected in Outlook, this tab should have an additional field Logon network security. Make sure Anonymous Authentication is not selected here. Disable Office 365 Autodiscover in OutlookSomewhere in the fall of 2016, an update was released for Outlook 2016 that enabled a mandatory check of the connection endpoint in the Microsoft 365 (Office 365) cloud. You can verify this by using the Fiddler or TCPView tools to monitor the attempts to connect to the autodiscover-s.outlook.com and outlook.office365.com servers. If you are using a non-Office365 mailbox or an on-premises Exchange mailbox, Outlook will try to detect detecting your Microsoft account even though the Autodiscover is not pointed to Microsoft 365. You can disable this check for an on-premise Exchange Server. Go to the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software \Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\AutoDiscover and create a new DWORD parameter named ExcludeExplicitO365Endpoint and value 1. Restart Outlook. You can make changes to the registry with the following command:
The ExcludeExplicitO365Endpoint registry parameter is applicable to Outlook 2016 and 2019 (this key is in addition to the list of keys that determine how Autodiscover is performed when Outlook starts). Outlook Prompts for Password After Migrating to Microsoft 365 (EOL)If your mailbox has been migrated from on-premises Exchange to Microsoft 365 or you have two mailboxes connected in Outlook (one from the on-premises Exchange, the second from Microsoft 365/Exchange Online) and you use an RPC connection. In this case, Outlook doesn’t use Modern Authentication (also used for MFA). In this case, your credentials are sent to Office 356 instead of a token. To force Outlook to use Modern Authentication for RPC connections, you need to add the AlwaysUseMSOAuthForAutoDiscover DWORD parameter with the value 1 to the registry key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Exchange.
Make sure Modern Authentication is enabled for your account in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center (Settings -> Services & add-ins). Suppose on the contrary you want to completely disable Modern Authentication in Outlook 2016/2019/365 (this authentication method should be disabled in the Admin Center) and use basic authentication. In that case, you need to configure the following registry settings:
This method should help to fix problems with constantly requested credentials in Outlook 2016/2019 with Microsoft 365 (EOL) mailbox connected, as well as a blank sign-in screen in Office 365 apps. If that doesn’t work, you might have two different Microsoft 365 accounts configured in the Identity registry key. In this scenario, you may receive an error message when you open an Office 365 app: Sorry, another account from your organization is already signed in on this computer. To fix the problem:
Re-create Your Outlook Mail ProfileIf all of these methods above did not help you get rid of the problem, try to delete and recreate your Outlook
profile. You can create a new Outlook profile using the Mail icon in the Control Panel or using the If nothing helped:
How do I stop Outlook from asking for my username and password?Choose File | Account Settings | Account Settings
Click the Change button. Click the More Settings button. Select the Security tab. Deselect the "Always prompt for logon credentials" check box.
How do I stop Outlook from asking me to verify?Go to Security settings and sign in with your Microsoft account. Under the Two-step verification section, choose Set up two-step verification to turn it on, or choose Turn off two-step verification to turn it off.
Why do I have to keep verifying my Outlook account?If you're prompted to verify your account when you try to send an email message from Outlook.com, it is because we are trying to protect your account. Outlook.com will occasionally prompt you to verify your account, just to make sure you're still you and your account hasn't been compromised by spammers.
How do I find my Outlook username and password?Look up your username using your security contact phone number or email address. Request a security code to be sent to the phone number or email you used. Enter the code and select Next. When you see the account you're looking for, select Sign in.
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