Outlook keeps asking for password: how to stop it

Applies to classic Outlook for Microsoft 365 and Outlook 2016 to 2024 on Windows 11 and 10, with notes for new Outlook and IMAP or POP accounts. Fixes run quickest first.

Match your symptom

What you see	Likely cause	Start with
Prompt began after a password change	Old password cached	Fix 1, then Fix 2
Credentials box at every Outlook start	Cached or forced prompt	Fix 2, then Fix 4
Need Password, then a disabled by your administrator message	Online services blocked	Fix 5
Blank sign-in window, stuck on Trying to connect	Broken sign-in broker (WAM)	Fix 7
Started after a mailbox move to Microsoft 365	No modern authentication	Fix 9
Only a Gmail or Yahoo account asks	Revoked app password	IMAP/POP section
New Outlook keeps asking to sign in	Stale account token	New Outlook section

Fix 1: Test the password in Outlook on the web

Rule out the account first: sign in at outlook.office.com for a work or school mailbox, or outlook.com for a personal account. If that fails, reset the password or ask IT; no Outlook setting will help. Messages such as the sign-in method you are trying to use is not allowed also point to an account policy, not to Outlook.

Fix 2: Clear saved credentials in Credential Manager

Windows stores the passwords and tokens Office uses. After a password change, Outlook can keep offering the old one, get refused and ask again. Removing the stale entries forces a clean sign-in.

1. Close Outlook and every other Office app.
2. Open Control Panel > User Accounts > Credential Manager and select Windows Credentials.
3. Under Generic Credentials, expand and Remove the entries whose names start with MicrosoftOffice16, plus any naming your email address.
4. Restart, open Outlook and enter the current password once, ticking Remember my credentials if offered.

This does not delete mail; other Office apps just ask you to sign in again.

Fix 3: Sign out of Office and check Windows work accounts

Office signs in through an account broker built into Windows, so a stale account there can cause repeat prompts. In classic Outlook, go to File > Office Account, select Sign out, close all Office apps and sign in again.

Then open Settings > Accounts > Access work or school and look for an old or duplicate work account. Remove an entry only if it is yours and not set up by your organization; on a company PC ask IT first.

Fix 4: Turn off Always prompt for logon credentials

Classic Outlook can be set to ignore saved credentials for Exchange and Microsoft 365 mailboxes. Microsoft documents this option for older versions, and many current builds still show it:

1. Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
2. Select the Exchange or Microsoft 365 account and choose Change.
3. Select More Settings and open the Security tab.
4. Under User identification, clear Always prompt for logon credentials, then OK, Next and Finish.

If the box is missing or greyed out, your build or a policy controls it; go to the next fix.

Fix 5: Let Office connect to online services

Microsoft names this as the cause when Outlook asks at every start despite Remember my credentials, or shows Need Password. Modern sign-in needs Office to reach Microsoft online services.

Go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options and select Let Office connect to online services from Microsoft to provide functionality that’s relevant to your usage and preferences. Select OK twice and restart Outlook. If it is greyed out, only your administrator can change it.

Fix 6: Update Outlook

Sign-in bugs are often fixed in updates. Go to File > Office Account > Update Options > Update Now and restart Outlook. Microsoft also offers a diagnostic, Outlook keeps asking for my password, in the Get Help app.

Fix 7: Repair the Windows sign-in broker (WAM)

Microsoft 365 apps sign in through Web Account Manager (WAM), which uses two built-in Windows packages. Microsoft notes that some security software breaks or removes them, causing blank sign-in windows or prompts that come and go. They are installed per user, so one account can be affected while others work.

Signed in as the affected user, open Windows PowerShell and run Microsoft’s commands to register them again:

Add-AppxPackage -Register "$env:windir\SystemApps\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy\Appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -ForceApplicationShutdown
Add-AppxPackage -Register "$env:windir\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.CloudExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\Appxmanifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode -ForceApplicationShutdown

Warning: do not remove security software on a work PC yourself. If prompts return after the next antivirus scan, the vendor must exclude these packages.

Fix 8: Create a new Outlook profile

A damaged profile can keep authentication data the steps above do not clear. Add a new profile beside the old one:

1. Close Outlook and open Control Panel > Mail (Microsoft Outlook).
2. Select Show Profiles, then Add, name the profile and add your account.
3. Choose Prompt for a profile to be used, open Outlook and pick the new profile.

If it works, make it the default. Server mail downloads again; local PST files must be reattached. See resetting Outlook to default settings for more on profiles.

Fix 9: Mailboxes moved to Microsoft 365 (for IT)

If a mailbox was migrated from on-premises Exchange, or Outlook also opens an on-premises mailbox, Outlook may skip modern authentication. For that case only, Microsoft recommends a DWORD AlwaysUseMSOAuthForAutoDiscover set to 1 under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Exchange.

Warning: back up the registry first and leave this to IT on a managed PC. It does not help mailboxes that were always in Microsoft 365.

New Outlook for Windows

New Outlook has no Mail profiles or Exchange security checkboxes, so only Fixes 1 to 3 apply. To refresh an account, go to Settings > Accounts > Email accounts, select Manage, remove it and add it again. If the app misbehaves, open Settings > Apps > Installed apps in Windows, find Outlook (new), choose Advanced options and try Repair before Reset, which clears local app data but not server mail.

Gmail, Yahoo and other IMAP or POP accounts

Here a prompt usually means the mail server refused the sign-in. Check three things:

• Sign-in method: Google says app passwords are not recommended when an app supports Sign in with Google, so re-add Gmail through the Google sign-in page if Outlook offers it.
• App password: Google requires 2-Step Verification for one, and changing your Google password revokes them all. Create a new one, enter it under File > Account Settings > Account Settings, Change, and tick Remember password. Yahoo issues its own app passwords from its account security page.
• Server settings: a wrong outgoing server login also causes repeat prompts; see our 0x800CCC92 guide.

Outlook.com no longer accepts basic password sign-in from mail apps, so add it as an Outlook.com account, not IMAP.

Known issues in 2026

If prompts start right after an update, check Microsoft’s fixes and workarounds page for classic Outlook. As of early November 2026 it lists no open password-prompt issue; two 2026 entries, a POP profile hang after the January 13 Windows updates and Gmail and Yahoo sync errors 0x800CCC0E, are marked fixed.

Related guides

• How to reset Outlook to default settings (classic and new Outlook)
• The sign-in method you’re trying to use isn’t allowed: how to fix it
• How to fix Outlook error 0x800CCC92 (server rejected your login)
• Outlook error 0x800CCC0E: cannot synchronize subscribed folders (Gmail and Yahoo)

Official sources

• Microsoft: Outlook continually prompts for your password when you try to connect to Microsoft 365
• Microsoft: Password prompt at every Outlook start or can’t create profile
• Microsoft: Can’t sign in to Microsoft 365 desktop apps (WAM plug-ins)