Outlook keeps asking for password - each time I use it

Question

When I turn on computer, Outlook requires a password and if I close Outlook each time I need to add my password. This have never happened before. So frustrating!!!

Answer 1

Hi,

One user in my organization suddenly had this issue yesterday. He was prompted to type his userID and password repeatedly. Even he typed correct password, desktop Outlook 2016 client disappeared immediately. No matter he launched Outlook 2016 client in normal mode or safe mode.

After troubleshooting and investigation, this issue is caused by "Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Office" add-in by sudden unknown reason :-( After disabling this Teams Meeting Add-in in Outlook COM Add-In option, this issue is gone today. Steps:

1. While desktop Outlook client asks for user ID and password after Outlook client is launched, stop typing user ID & password by clicking [Cancel]
2. You can Outlook now. Goto Outlook options by following order: File Menu in Outlook client, then Options -> Add-ins.
3. Switch as "COM Add-ins" in Manage, then click [Go]
4. In COM Add-ins window, uncheck "Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Office" this add-in, then press [OK] several times to quit Outlook options.

Close desktop Outlook client then restart it, check whether Outlook client doesn't ask you to input user ID & password again.

The drawback of this way is, the user can't schedule Teams meeting in desktop outlook client.

Answer 2

Hi Vicki Mann

To better understand your situation, could you please share some information:

• What is your email type? (ex: your email end with @outlook.com, hotmail.com... or end with @yourcompany.com)? Please do not share your full email address for privacy.
• When did you first notice this issue starting? Did the issue start immediately after a specific change? (ex: after Windows or Office update, change your email password or your organization recently make changes to security settings...)

I look forward to your response.

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Answer 3

Outlook repeatedly asking for a password is usually caused by one of these:

1. Password changed or expired
2. Cached/incorrect credentials
3. Outlook/Office authentication settings
4. Outlook not allowed to connect to the internet for sign-in

Try these steps in order:

1. Confirm the correct account password

• Make sure the password used in Outlook matches the one used to sign in to the email provider (for example, webmail or Microsoft 365 portal).
• If the password was recently changed or expired, update it in Outlook using the steps in Change or update your email password (see reference).

2. Check username and basic sign-in

• Ensure the username in Outlook is the full email address (for example, ******@contoso.com).
• Verify Caps Lock is off when entering the password, because passwords are case sensitive.

3. Clear saved Windows credentials for Outlook/Microsoft 365

• Open Control Panel → Credential Manager → Windows Credentials.
• Remove any entries related to Outlook, Microsoft Office, Microsoft 365, or the mail server.
• Close and reopen Outlook and sign in again, selecting the option to remember credentials if prompted.

4. Make sure Outlook is allowed to connect to the internet If Outlook shows “Need Password” or fails to create/connect a profile and keeps prompting:

• In Outlook, go to File → Options → Trust Center → Trust Center Settings.
• Under Privacy Options, make sure “Allow Office to connect to the Internet” is selected.
• Restart Outlook and test again.

5. Run Microsoft 365 Outlook password diagnostics (newer Outlook) If using Outlook for Microsoft 365 or a recent Outlook 2016/2019 build:

• Use the “Diag: Outlook keeps asking for my password” self-diagnostics mentioned in the documentation to automatically check and fix common causes.

6. For older Outlook builds: adjust Logon network security If using an older Outlook version that still exposes the “Logon network security” setting and it is affected:

• Close Outlook.
• Open Control Panel → Mail → Email Accounts → select the Exchange/Microsoft 365 account → Change → More Settings → Security.
• Set “Logon network security” to “Anonymous Authentication”.
• Restart Outlook and test.

If the problem persists after these steps, check with the organization’s IT admin to confirm there are no certificate, authentication policy, or Modern Authentication configuration issues on the mail server side.

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References:

• Troubleshoot Outlook email setup
• Outlook 2016 keeps asking for username and password
• Password prompt at every Outlook start or can't create profile
• Outlook continually prompts for your password when you try to connect to Microsoft 365
• Do you know how to fix the issue where Outlook keeps prompting for a password even though credentials are saved - Microsoft Q&A
• Outlook ask for credentials every minute - Microsoft Q&A
• How to fix the issue with MS Office asking you to log in every time you open an Office app - Microsoft Q&A