# Why is Outlook Always Asking for Password? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 12, 2016, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-outlook-always-asking-for-password/774509 "2016-12-12T11:57:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-outlook-always-asking-for-password/774509/1 "2016-12-12T11:57:46Z")
This is really annoying, and I don’t know how to make it stop. Outlook is asking me to enter password like every second, and nothing makes it stop! Perhaps the SD can tell me what options to check? There must be like a mismatch between the entered password and a stored password, I WAG? I can’t get anything done on my PC as this pop-up box must be set to always appear atop all open windows. Ug! Any ideas? (Note: Re-entering my password, clicking “OK”, and/or clicking “Cancel” will not stop the insanity!) ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-outlook-always-asking-for-password/774509/2 "2016-12-12T11:59:42Z")
FYI: The version of Outlook is MS Office Outlook 2007 (12.0.6753.5000) SP3 MSO (12.0.6759.5000) ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-outlook-always-asking-for-password/774509/3 "2016-12-12T12:09:44Z")
home or work/corporate PC? ---
**Author:** ![genuinejon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@genuinejon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/genuinejon)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-outlook-always-asking-for-password/774509/4 "2016-12-12T13:27:34Z")
Have you looked at this [Password not remembered - HowTo-Outlook](https://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/passwordnotremembered.htm) Are you connecting to an outlook or hotmail address? A couple of weeks ago, I had a similar, intermittent issue that lasted a couple of days. I assume Microsoft was doing some back-end work that interfered with the connection. I was able to access the accounts via browser even though Outlook would not connect. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-outlook-always-asking-for-password/774509/5 "2016-12-12T14:16:43Z")
Happens to me on my MacBookPro as well. Sometimes it will go a week without asking, and sometimes it will ask 5 times in one day. I haven’t been able to figure out any rhyme or reason. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-outlook-always-asking-for-password/774509/6 "2016-12-12T14:23:31Z")
Do you have it connecting to multiple mailboxes? If so, are you sure you’re entering the right credentials for the right mailbox? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-outlook-always-asking-for-password/774509/7 "2016-12-12T14:26:11Z")
Outlook is failing to log on to the mail server and is assuming the problem is a bad password when it’s really some other error at the server end. If you know the stored password is correct because you haven’t changed it on the server, just click [cancel]. Eventually the server connection will be restored and the problem will go away. If the popup is getting annoying, you can switch Outlook into “work offline” mode from the (IIRC) File menu. Then it will quit trying and failing to connect. When you’re done with your work session, switch back on online mode and walk away. Last of all, if you’re using Outlook with any flavor of Hotmail, [Outlook.com](http://Outlook.com), or [Live.com](http://Live.com), understand that MS is stopping supporting connections from 2007 and 2010 versions of Outlook. It’ll continue to work, sorta, in a degraded mode for some features but not all. That may be the root cause of the flakiness the OP is now seeing. I’m about to upgrade my Office 2010 installs to Office 365/2016 for just that reason. On the PC with Outlook 2010 my [live.com](http://live.com) email works fine but my [live.com](http://live.com) calendars are now dead broken and the [live.com](http://live.com) contacts only sync partially sometimes. Meanwhile it all works perfectly on my other machines with Outlook 2013. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-outlook-always-asking-for-password/774509/8 "2016-12-12T15:29:52Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Outlook is failing to log on to the mail server and is assuming the problem is a bad password when it’s really some other error at the server end. > > If you know the stored password is correct because you haven’t changed it on the server, just click [cancel]. Eventually the server connection will be restored and the problem will go away. > > If the popup is getting annoying, you can switch Outlook into “work offline” mode from the (IIRC) File menu. Then it will quit trying and failing to connect. When you’re done with your work session, switch back on online mode and walk away. Yeah, this has been my experience. And the other alternative is simply to close Outlook until the problem is resolved at the server end. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-outlook-always-asking-for-password/774509/9 "2016-12-12T18:22:16Z")
Our email is through Comcast. The problem has been ongoing for several days now; yet, emails will still send and receive (but often hampered until I respond to this pop-up) the whole time this has been going on. I was hoping the issue would self-correct itself, but it lingers on. We do have multiple mailboxes, and the person who suggested this may have hit on something. My daughter may have recently changed her password. I will double check, but I do believe the pop-up box reads for our email address, not hers…or is that because we’re the “host”? I’ll have to look into this further and report back with further info. Thanks all! ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-outlook-always-asking-for-password/774509/10 "2016-12-12T21:04:08Z")
I have had the same problem. I finally just changed my password and resolved that problem. There are several ways to change it. MS can send you a text code. You enter that code and then type in your new password. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-outlook-always-asking-for-password/774509/11 "2016-12-12T21:37:44Z")
My online Outlook link asks me to log in every time, but doesn’t ask for the password, it just wants me to click the Login button. Something has changed with Outlook.