Outlook sofware on cell phone will not load; cannot send or receive

Question

Outlook sofware on cell phone will not load; cannot send or receive

Leonard Komen 0

I exchanged my broken cell phone for a replacement and transferred all softwar, apps and date.

Now, the Outlook app will not open and the message is: : "an error occurred during authentication

0 comments

2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Manoel Barros 22,240 Independent Advisor

Hi!

Did the message appear after you tried to log in with your account, or did the error show up as soon as you downloaded, installed, and opened the app?

Do other Microsoft apps work, such as OneDrive, Word, or Excel?

Have you fully updated your phone? It is important to keep your phone updated to avoid bugs.

Leonard Komen 0 Reputation points

2026-10-09T00:26:02.1933333+00:00

When I open the Outlook app, it asks to Add account, or Create New Account.

On Add Account, I identify my email address as an Outlook.com account

"Authentication" starts but then bounces back with "An error occurred during authentication. Please try again later"
Manoel Barros 22,240 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-09T02:06:32.06+00:00
Thanks!

Run a test to see if everything is okay with your account: Open your mobile browser, go to https://outlook.live.com/mail/, and log in using the same account.

If it works, the issue lies with the app—something that often happens when using Smart Switch or restoring a backup from one phone to another. In that case, you can try performing a clean reinstallation of Outlook:

Uninstall the Outlook app from your phone via Settings > Apps (the exact location depends on the model and OS version).

Remove your Outlook account from the phone as well, under Settings > Accounts.

Restart your phone > Reinstall the app > Try adding your account.

Answer 2

After a phone replacement and app/data transfer, this is commonly an authentication or cached app-state issue on Outlook for Android.

Try these steps in order:

Clear Outlook cache
Go to Settings > Apps > Outlook > Storage > Clear cache.
Force stop Outlook
Go to Settings > Apps > Outlook > Force stop.
Restart the phone
Then open Outlook again.
Update Outlook
Install the latest Outlook version from the Google Play Store.
If the issue started after moving to the new phone, reinstall Outlook
Uninstall Outlook, restart the device, then install Outlook again and sign in fresh.
If Microsoft Authenticator or Company Portal is installed, check Android power settings
On some Android devices, Outlook sign-in or sync can fail if Android blocks Authenticator or Company Portal from launching or running in the background.
- Turn off power-saving mode.
- Allow the app to launch other apps.
- Disable power optimization for Authenticator/Company Portal.
- Open Authenticator/Company Portal first, then open Outlook.
- On Huawei, this setting is in Phone Manager > Auto-launch > Secondary launch management > Enable Authenticator/Company Portal.
If the account is a work or school Microsoft 365 account
Contact the Microsoft 365 admin or technical support if Outlook still cannot sign in.

If Outlook shows Access Denied: Login Error, the account has been denied access to Outlook Mobile and must be handled by the IT administrator.