Forum Discussion
Outlook prompting for IMAP password
I think I'm going crazy! My Outlook keeps popping up asking me to add my IMAP password (which I have no idea what it is), and my emails are not updating. I haven't changed anything to my knowledge and this is happening on both my phone and laptop. I keep being sent to Microsoft 365 to update the password which I have done and then realised I have another Outlook in Microsoft from years ago which I do not use. I need to find the IMAP password for the Outlook I do want to use as it's my business email but Outlook don't seem to have any contact details. Does anyone have any experience with this before I go mad? Really appreciate if anyone has any ideas at all? Many thanks
RebeccaS50 Have you tried simply right-clicking on your IMAP account (on the left side when you open Outlook under All Accounts) and then going to "account settings" in the resulting dropdown, and then de-selecting the box under outgoing server "use SSL to connect"? I was getting the same IMAP password prompts but this fixed the problem. Let me know if this helps.
I'm seeing exactly the same symptoms - for about a week now, upon opening Outlook, and randomly thereafter, I am being prompted for my email account password. Outlook client on Microsoft 365. Same email client configuration has been in place for years without issue, across multiple laptops and PCs. Interestingly I do not see the same issue in the Outlook app on my Google Pixel phone. I had suspected it to be a server-based issue, which this thread seems to confirm. So waiting for Microsoft to fix it.
- Don't question your sanity. Well at least not for about these Microsoft issues. Just this morning (about 12 hours ago) after months or years of stable operation all of my Outlook and Hotmail IMAP accounts in multiple email clients in different platforms started experiencing symptoms similar (although not identical) to what's been described in this thread so for what this is worth:
In MS Outlook 2021 on Windows 10 and in Fair Email on Android 10 devices all Outlook and Hotmail accounts on the devices started returning authentication error but seemingly could still receive and send email.... after the prompts for the password which appeared variable # of times each time and for each account were indulged. This is not occurring with g mail accounts.
For example, when Outlook on the PC is first opened then the primary IMAP account immediately reports an authentication error and presents the password prompt. Clicking on okay may result in a repeat of the prompt or may result in the password being accepted but it is always eventually accepted. When send receive all accounts is triggered then several or all of the accounts similarly request the credentials again requiring that the existing credentials be entered a viable # of times before selecting them. Once that is done then if a send-all accounts is immediately invoked then all accounts may go through OK but after some time or after outlook is closed and opened then the accounts may or may not again require acknowledgment of the prompt one of more times.
In Fair Email on android the symptom is similar where attempts to access accounts fail for several or all but eventually go through. Unlike with Outlook, in the case of android sending receive all rarely works for all of the accounts but then accessing them one at a time does eventually work, again without changing any settings or the password - just entering the existing value again without changing it.
Thinking that this might relate to changes that Microsoft has announced to the outlook ecosystem (which should not affect me in MS office 2021) I double checked the server names and tested with the commonly recommended parameters, outlook.office365.com and smtp-mail.outlook.com (my default), and with the parameters that are autopoulated when a new account is automatically created in Outlook, imap.outlook.com and smtp.outlook.com. With both sets of server parameters the issue is the same.
In my case there seems to clearly be an issue with the Microsoft servers today or they have made some recent change. It is as if the servers handling the authentication are overloaded and or they are releasing the clients too soon. unfortunately Microsoft is particularly infuriating for their absolute unwillingness to offer any help other than standard tutorials which would be a waste of time in this case, even when they must know that there is some issue. In any event even if the issue I’ve experienced is not the same as what has been reported here I’m glad at least that someone is discussing these things. Thanks.- You do not need to worry about finding password. You can create new password in few clicks by logging to your Microsoft profile. https://account.microsoft.com/profile/, Click on security, Click on Advanced Security Option and create a new "App passwords"
This issue seem to also affect me on the new outlook client. It has happened after adding in a DNS verification entry to my own domain (which is also the primary account for outlook, but managed external to Microsoft).
I checked all of the setup on the email accounts I have, and it was all as expected and specified by the Hosting Domain, every time I restarted New Outlook, It would prompt for the Primary account password, and go through the account setup for it. For the time being I have reverted to the previous outlook client.
It's a shame as I much prefer the new client, and I only added the DNS validation to attempt to kill the adverts being shown in Outlook..
- Yes. It's a shame. I love this new client but it's kind of crippled by this issue for IMAP access.
We're talking about Outlook New, published as companion software of Windows 10/11 in 2023, downloaded from Microsoft Store. It's NOT any other Outlook as part of Microsoft Office Suites.
I have the same problem after I started using the new Outlook. If I go to the legacy Outlook it works fine
RebeccaS50, first, check your email provider's requirements. Some providers, like Google and Microsoft, necessitate the use of app passwords instead of regular ones for email clients like Outlook. Visit your provider's website for instructions on obtaining an app password.
Ensure your Outlook client is updated by going to File > Office Account > About Outlook and installing available updates.
Consider creating a new Outlook profile and configuring your account there. Access Control Panel > Mail > Show Profiles > Add, name the new profile, and follow the setup instructions.
You can also try disabling and re-enabling your email account within Outlook by right-clicking your account, going to Account Settings, and choosing Disable, then Enable after a few seconds. Additionally, under the Security tab, you can uncheck "Always prompt for login credentials" in File > Account Settings > Account Settings > More Settings > Security.
Additional advice - test your email account through the web interface to isolate the issue to Outlook and if problems persist, use the Microsoft Support and Recovery Tool to diagnose and resolve Outlook issues.
Hi RebeccaS50,
There are a few things you can try to fix the issue of Outlook prompting for your IMAP password and emails not updating on both your phone and laptop:
1. Make sure that you have entered your username and password correctly.
2. Check if your email provider requires you to use an app password instead of your regular password.
3. Make sure that your Outlook is up-to-date and if not, update it.
4. Try delteing and creating a new profile in Outlook.
Create an Outlook profile - Microsoft Support
6. If you are using Outlook, try unchecking the box next to the option “Always prompt for login credentials” under the Security tab.
- 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.
7. Remove stored credentials in Credential Manager. Open the Control Panel, click Credential Manager, find the credential sets that Outlook in the name, expand the set and click on "Remove from Vault".8. Set up MFA for Office 365. If your admin has enabled multi-factor authentication for your account, we recommend to use it. Or use the app password in Outlook. For details, please refer to this article: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/set-up-2-step-verification-for-office-365-ace1d096-61e5-449b-a875-58eb3d74de14
Check also the links regarding your issue:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com...
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-...Please click Mark as Best Response & Like if my post helped you to solve your issue.
This will help others to find the correct solution easily. It also closes the item.If the post was useful in other ways, please consider giving it Like.
Kindest regards,
Leon Pavesic
(LinkedIn)Hi and thank you for your reply!
I don't seem to have the 'security' tab, attached a screenshot.
I don't seem to have the 'outlook' name under credentials either, attached a screenshot.
I have just updated Microsoft and Outlook said it will have to open in safe mode as it didn't close properly. Now I can see all my missed business emails but only in safe mode.
The log in prompt is still popping up on laptop and mobile, I am really at a loss, I've honestly had nothing but issues with Outlook, the syncing is terrible too (when it does sync).
Many thanks
Rebecca
