Cannot start Outlook email

Question

When I try to start outlook I am asked to enter a password which is not accepted. When I try another account it responds at it is alrady accepted. When I try to create a new outlook.com account it responds that I have been blocked due to unusual activity. I have spent a long time trying to see my emails on this PC. Please help.

Answer 1

Hi Ian Chrisfield,

I can understand how frustrating this is after spending so much time just trying to access your email.

Before changing or repairing the Outlook app, please open a private browser window and try signing in directly at https://outlook.live.com/ with the email address and password you actually want to use.

At this point, I recommend that you review and try the steps provided in the AI generated answer on your thread. That reply typically include the most relevant checks for this scenario.

• If the same password is rejected there, the issue is with the Microsoft account rather than the Outlook app. Please use the Microsoft account Sign-in Helper and follow any identity-verification or security prompts shown.
• If sign-in works in the browser, return to new Outlook and check whether that account is already listed under Settings > Accounts > Your accounts. If it is already there, please do not try to create another Outlook.com account.
• If the “unusual activity” message appears only while creating a new account, please avoid repeated sign-up attempts for now. A new account is not required to regain access to an existing mailbox.

Could you also share the exact message shown after trying the second account, with the email address and other personal details hidden? The wording “already accepted” is unclear and may indicate that the account has already been added rather than rejected.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum, so contributors cannot access the account or remove a security block from the back end. Any verification or unlocking process must be completed through Microsoft’s official sign-in flow. Thank you so much for your understanding.   

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Answer 2

For this Outlook for home sign-in problem, the symptoms point to two separate issues:

1. The Outlook app is not accepting the account sign-in
2. The Outlook.com account may be temporarily blocked because of unusual sign-in activity

Try these steps in order:

1. Test the account in a browser first
   • Sign in to Outlook.com using the same Microsoft account password.
   • If browser sign-in also fails, use the Microsoft account recovery tools instead of continuing in the Outlook app.
2. If the account is blocked, unblock it first
   • Use the Sign-in Helper.
   • If that does not work, go to When you can't sign in to your Microsoft account.
   • If the mailbox or OneDrive storage is full, email send/receive can also fail, so check storage as well.
3. If sign-in works in the browser, remove and add the account again in new Outlook
   • In new Outlook, go to Settings > Accounts > Your accounts.
   • Select Manage for the affected account.
   • Remove the account, then add it again.
4. Repair the new Outlook app if the password prompt keeps looping
   • Open Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
   • Find Outlook (new).
   • Open Advanced options.
   • Select Repair first.
   • If that does not help, select Reset and then add the account again.
5. If classic Outlook is involved and it asks for a password every time
   • Check that the password is entered with the correct capitalization.
   • Confirm the username is the full email address.
   • If the password was changed recently, update it in Outlook.
6. If Outlook shows password prompts or cannot create a profile in classic Outlook
   • Open Outlook.
   • Go to Trust Center Privacy Options.
   • Make sure Allow Office to connect to the Internet is selected.
   • If this setting is off, Outlook can repeatedly prompt for a password or fail to create a profile.
7. If Outlook still will not start correctly, create a new Outlook profile
   • Create a new Outlook profile and then restart Outlook.
   • In the Choose Profile dialog, select the new profile.
   • If Outlook starts normally with the new profile, the old profile was corrupted.
   • Warning: removing a profile deletes offline cached content for that profile, so back up data files first.

If the account remains blocked in the browser, the Outlook app will not be able to sign in until the Microsoft account access issue is resolved.

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