Outlook Password Not Accepted? Fix Guide

You type your correct password into Outlook, but it keeps rejecting it — or Outlook keeps popping up the password dialog in an endless loop. This problem has become extremely common since Microsoft deprecated basic authentication. The fix depends on your email provider.

Fix 1: Clear Cached Credentials

Old saved passwords are the #1 cause of password loops:

1. Close Outlook completely
2. Open Control Panel → Credential Manager
3. Click Windows Credentials
4. Look for entries containing: outlook, office, microsoftoffice16, mso
5. Remove all of these entries (click the dropdown → Remove)
6. Open Outlook — it will ask for your password fresh
7. Enter your current correct password

Fix 2: Use App Password (For 2FA Accounts)

If you have two-factor authentication enabled, your regular password won't work. Generate an app password:

For Microsoft/Outlook.com/Hotmail:

1. Go to account.microsoft.com → sign in
2. Security → Advanced security options
3. Scroll to App passwords → Create a new app password
4. Copy the 16-character password
5. Use this in Outlook instead of your regular password

For Gmail:

1. Go to myaccount.google.com → Security
2. Enable 2-Step Verification (required first)
3. Go to App passwords
4. Select App: Mail, Device: Windows Computer
5. Click Generate → copy the 16-character password
6. Use this app password in Outlook

For Yahoo:

1. Go to login.yahoo.com → Account Security
2. Click Generate app password
3. Select Outlook Desktop
4. Use the generated password in Outlook

Fix 3: Enable Modern Authentication

Microsoft 365 accounts require modern authentication (OAuth2). Ensure it's enabled:

1. Press Win + R → type regedit → Enter
2. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity
3. Create/set DWORD EnableADAL = 1
4. Create/set DWORD Version = 1
5. Restart Outlook

This forces Outlook to use modern authentication, which opens a browser-based login window instead of the old password dialog.

Fix 4: Repair Outlook Account

1. Open Outlook → File → Account Settings → Account Settings
2. Select the problematic account
3. Click Repair
4. Follow the wizard — it will re-verify server settings and authentication
5. If prompted for password, enter current password or app password

Fix 5: Reset Microsoft 365 Password

If you genuinely forgot or your password was changed by an admin: Go to account.live.com/password/reset (personal) or contact your IT admin (work account). After resetting online, clear Outlook credentials (Fix 1) and enter the new password.

Fix 6: Remove and Re-add Account

1. Open Outlook → File → Account Settings → Account Settings
2. Select the account → click Remove
3. Close Outlook → clear credentials from Credential Manager (Fix 1)
4. Reopen Outlook → File → Add Account
5. Enter your email address → follow the setup wizard
6. Microsoft 365 accounts should open a browser-based login

Fix 7: Create New Outlook Profile

Last resort for persistent password loops:

1. Close Outlook
2. Open Control Panel → Mail → Show Profiles
3. Click Add → name it "Fresh"
4. Set up your email account in this new profile
5. Set as "Always use this profile"
6. This gives you a clean Outlook configuration with no stale credential.