Outlook keeps asking for your password: how to fix it
Published 2026-04-02 · Updated 2026-08-14
Short answer: Outlook repeatedly asking for a password is usually caused by a stale credential cached in Windows Credential Manager conflicting with modern authentication, most often after a password change or an MFA rollout. Clearing the saved Outlook credentials and letting it re-authenticate resolves the majority of cases.
Step by step
- Confirm the password actually worksSign into the mailbox in a web browser first. If that fails too, the problem is the account or password, not Outlook, and you are troubleshooting the wrong thing.
- Clear cached credentialsControl Panel → Credential Manager → Windows Credentials. Remove every entry beginning MicrosoftOffice or MS.Outlook, then close and reopen Outlook so it prompts once and stores a fresh token.
- Disable stored-password autofillIn the account settings, untick "Remember my credentials" and re-enter the password once. This forces a clean re-authentication rather than reusing the broken cached value.
- Rebuild the Outlook profileControl Panel → Mail → Show Profiles → Add. Building a fresh profile resolves prompts caused by a corrupted profile, and your mail re-downloads automatically.
- Check for conditional access on work accountsOn a work or school account, a repeating prompt often means a conditional-access or device-compliance policy is rejecting the client. That is resolved by whoever administers your tenant, not on your machine.
What only the vendor can help with
Account lockouts, password resets you cannot complete, and tenant policy changes are handled by Microsoft or by your organization's administrator.
Related questions
Why did this start after I changed my password?
Windows cached the old credential and Outlook keeps presenting it, which the server rejects, triggering the prompt loop. Clearing the cached entry lets Outlook store the new one.
Does this mean my account was hacked?
Not usually — the overwhelming cause is a stale cached credential. That said, if you did not change your password recently and the prompts began suddenly, sign in via browser and review recent account activity to be sure.
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