Repeat Authentication requests

Question

I keep getting authentication requests. I’ve changed my Microsoft password but I’m still getting requests. Edit: I am not submitting these requests. They are happening multiple times randomly throughout the day.

Answer 1

Hi @Alex,   

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum, and I’m sorry to hear you're having trouble accessing your work account due to Microsoft Authenticator app.

To better assist you, could you please clarify the following:  

• Have you previously set up the Microsoft Authenticator app on any device for this account, or is this your first time trying to sign in?    
• If so, are you currently using the same device where you originally registered the Authenticator app? Have you recently switched to a new device? 

Additionally, when your company enforces multi-factor authentication (MFA) and only allows verification through the Microsoft Authenticator app, the system will not display other options such as SMS, email, or phone call unless those methods have been configured by your administrator. That’s likely why you're being prompted exclusively for the Authenticator app.   

If you haven’t installed the app yet, you can follow this official guide to get started: How to add your accounts to Microsoft Authenticator - Microsoft Support    

You can also refer to this article for instructions on signing in using the app:  Sign in using Microsoft Authenticator - Microsoft Support   

If you need further assistance, you can reach out to your IT administrator and share the steps outlined in the article Manage user authentication methods for Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication. This will help them assist you in resetting your MFA settings and restoring access to your account.  

Once this is done, you’ll be prompted to set up MFA again on your new device during your next sign-in.  

Please note that forum moderators do not have access to user account settings and cannot assist with logging in, resetting passwords, or changing access rights. While we do not have access to internal systems or administrative tools required to resolve account-specific or backend-related issues but we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.    

If you have any updates, feel free to leave a comment under this post. I’ll be happy to assist further.   

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding in resolving this matter. 

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Answer 2

Changing the Microsoft account password does not automatically stop repeated authentication prompts if cached credentials or tokens still exist on devices and apps.

Use these steps on each affected device/app:

1. Remove cached credentials (Windows)
   1. Open Control Panel → User Accounts → Credential Manager → Windows Credentials.
   2. Remove any entries that contain “Outlook”, “MicrosoftOffice15_Data:SSPI”, or “MicrosoftOffice16_Data:SSPI”.
   3. Restart Outlook or the Microsoft 365 app and sign in again with the new password.
2. Clear saved tokens (macOS with Outlook)
   1. Quit Outlook and all Office apps.
   2. Open Keychain Access (Finder → Utilities → Keychain Access).
   3. Search for Exchange and delete all entries for the account.
   4. Search for adal and delete items of type MicrosoftOffice15_2_Data:ADAL:<GUID>.
   5. Search for office and delete Microsoft Office Identities Cache 2 and Microsoft Office Identities Settings 2.
   6. Restart Outlook and sign in again.
3. Update Outlook / Office Install the latest updates for Outlook/Office so that stored credentials are handled correctly after password changes.
4. Check authentication method If any app is still using Basic authentication to connect to Outlook.com or Microsoft 365, switch it to Modern authentication (OAuth) or use a client that supports OAuth. Basic authentication is being removed and can cause repeated prompts.

If prompts continue, repeat the credential-clearing steps and verify that all devices (PCs, phones, tablets) are using the new password and Modern authentication.

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References:

• Outlook and other apps are unable to connect to Outlook.com when using Basic authentication
• Outlook 2016 for Mac repeatedly prompts for authentication
• Outlook continues to prompt for credentials after your domain password changes
• Outlook repeatedly prompts for credentials when using MAPI over HTTP to connect to Exchange
• Troubleshoot Outlook email setup