If you are using Microsoft Outlook on a shared computer, where others can run Outlook and log into your email accounts, you can configure those accounts to prompt for a password when logging into them for security and privacy. However, if you are the only user on your computer, typing in the password for one or multiple emails accounts each time to check the account for new mail can be tedious. In that case, configure Outlook to automatically log you in.
Step 1
Open Microsoft Outlook. Click "File," then "Info" and click "Account Settings."
Step 2
Click the "Email" tab. Double-click your email account.
Step 3
Enter your login password in the "Password" text box. Click "Remember Password" beneath the text box. Click "Next." Click "Finish."
References
- Microsoft Support; How to Configure Internet Email Accounts in Outlook; July 2010
- Microsoft: Change Email Accoount Settings
Tips
- You can set all of your email accounts to automatically log you in when you check or send email, or you can set certain accounts to ask for a password each time.
Writer Bio
Ken White began his writing career in 1972 as a reporter for a local Florida newspaper. With a career in public safety as a police officer, firefighter and emergency manager, his fiction has also been published in magazines such as "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine." White studied history and psychology at Mercer University.
If you chose to save the password when you added your Microsoft Exchange email account to Outlook, the program automatically logs you in when you launch it. This time-saving feature may be dangerous if other people have access to your computer. To prevent unauthorized users from accessing your emails, you need to turn off the automatic login. Outlook will no longer save your password, so you will need to type it every time you launch the program.
1.
Launch Microsoft Outlook, click "File," select "Info" from the navigation pane, click the "Account Settings" button and then choose "Account Settings" from the menu to open the Account Settings window.
2.
Select the "E-mail" tab, if it's not selected by default, and then select your Exchange account. Click the "Change" button to open the Change Account window.
3.
Click the "More Settings" button and then select the "Security" tab to view the security settings of your Exchange account.
4.
Check the "Always prompt for logon credentials" box and then click "OK" to save and apply the new settings.
5.
Click "Next," "Finish," and then "Close" to close all open windows. Type the password for your Exchange account, if prompted to do so.
When Outlook keeps asking for a password, chances are it's not checking for mail, and is instead simply stuck on a password prompt loop. There are several steps you can take to stop that from happening and to make Outlook remember your password for good.
Why Is Outlook Constantly Asking for My Password?
There are a few likely causes for this:
- Outlook accepts the password just fine, but it's not set up to remember it.
- Your email account password is different from the one saved in Outlook.
- The password saved in Outlook has become corrupt.
- The software is outdated and contains bugs.
- Security apps are preventing Outlook from working normally.
If you've already skimmed the rest of this page, you saw there are more potential solutions than the ones addressing the list above. This particular issue is far from uncommon, so there are possibly dozens of obscure solutions for it, depending on your specific situation.
If you're desperate to access your mail right away, and you don't have time to walk through these steps, remember you can most likely reach your account normally through the provider's web app. For example, go to Gmail.com, Yahoo.com, or Outlook.com if you use one of those services.
How Do I Get Outlook to Stop Asking for My Password?
Follow these steps in the order they're listed (from the most likely fix to the least probable):
Select Cancel on the password prompt. This is the easiest possible fix which has worked for some people.
Restart the computer. This isn't the quickest solution, but it's one of the easier ones to try, and rebooting tends to fix inexplicable issues like this one.
A restart will close down background processes that could be to blame, and will let you open Outlook from the ground up.
Make Outlook remember your password by unchecking the Always prompt for logon credentials option in the settings.
This is the most likely fix if, after entering the password, everything works normally for a while, but then you're asked for it again later.
Change the password Outlook is using to access your email. If you made a new password for your email but didn't update it in Outlook, it's asking for the password because it genuinely doesn't know what it is.
If two-factor authentication is enabled for the email account you're trying to access, you might need to create a special password just to use in Outlook. You can contact your email provider if you're not sure how that works, because the process for generating it is different for every provider—here are app password instructions for Gmail.
With Outlook closed down, open Credential Manager, and delete all the stored passwords associated with Outlook/MS Office. To do this, choose Windows Credentials first, and then Remove under the credentials you want to delete.
You'll be asked again to enter your email password the next time you open Outlook, but it should stick.
Some users have had luck deleting associated passwords in another area of Windows, too. For example, in Windows 11, go to Settings > Accounts > Email & accounts to view and delete the ones related to the troublesome email account.
Sign out of the MS Office account you're logged in with when using Outlook. This might not be the same email that's having the password issue, so this won't work for everyone.
Go to File > Office Account > Sign out. Then, close Outlook, reopen it, and log in again through that same screen.
Update Outlook to the latest version. A bug could be the cause here, and the latest update might address it.
Install any pending Windows updates. Some of them might be affecting Outlook. Be sure to reboot the computer afterward.
Disable all your security software, including any firewall or antivirus programs. If after doing so, Outlook quits asking for the email password, you know there's a security rule or software conflict at play, and you can investigate that further.
See how to disable the Windows firewall for directions. All antivirus programs are different, but if you happen to use Avast's, here's how to disable Avast Antivirus (take a look even if you use an AV app from another company; it's most likely somewhat similar).
This is clearly something you don't want to keep off, but doing so temporarily is fine, so long as you disable these apps only for the duration you're troubleshooting this problem. Just don't download any files or plug in any potentially dangerous devices in the meantime.
Start Outlook in safe mode to prevent add-ins from starting. This is a long shot, since all this step will confirm is the unlikely event an add-in is to blame. But, it's easy to do and will provide some direction if you're still having the password loop.
Troubleshoot a slow internet connection. A delay in communicating with the email server might be what's causing the password prompt, so this could be the source of the problem if you've been having spotty service.
If you're using a wireless network, the easiest way to boost the Wi-Fi signal is to move closer to the router.
Make a new Outlook profile via File > Account Settings > Manage Profiles > Show Profiles > Add. This will let you re-add the email account from scratch, hopefully without the password issue.
Make a new user profile. In Windows 11, for example, open Settings and go to Accounts > Family & other users > Add account.
Some users have had luck fixing the password prompt issue by starting over with a new user account. This won't delete Outlook, nor will it erase your current user account.
Run Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant. SaRA, as it's also known, is a tool that runs various tests to see what could be wrong with Office and Outlook, and will offer some solutions if possible.
Once you get the program installed, choose Outlook from the main screen, followed by Outlook keeps asking for my password, and then follow the rest of the on-screen directions.
This is a ZIP download. Extract the contents out of the archive after you download it, and then open SaraSetup to start the installation process.
Reinstall Outlook, and then try again. With a brand-new user profile from the last step, and a fresh installation of Outlook, there's little left to be tried to make Outlook remember your password.
A step-by-step guide to reinstall MS Office
Follow Microsoft's troubleshooting steps if none of the above has helped. There are a few possible causes described in that document, but the suggestions provided there is, according to Microsoft, relevant only if you just updated to Office 2016 build 16.0.7967 on Windows 10.
This step and the others that follow, are very specific and will most likely not apply to the vast majority of people. Try your best to complete all of the above steps before moving on to these.
Another obscure fix that might apply to you is this one: Delete any shared calendars or shared mailboxes if they were deleted by the person who originally shared them, or if your access to them has been removed. Outlook might prompt you for a password over and over because the share is no longer valid.
Turn off Cached Exchanged Mode. This is relevant for Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Exchange Server mailboxes.
If you have the ability to edit the Windows Registry on your computer, follow this step to exclude Outlook from detecting Microsoft 365.
Go here:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\AutoDiscoverAdd the DWORD value ExcludeExplicitO365Endpoint, and give it a value of 1.
Add the AlwaysUseMSOAuthForAutoDiscover DWORD value to the registry with a value of 1. Microsoft says this could be the solution if you're asked for the password and Outlook doesn't use Modern Authentication to connect to Office 365.
Use a different email program. No, this isn't technically a solution to this problem, but if none of the above suggestions have been helpful, you might be left needing to use a completely different app to send and receive mail.
As popular as it is, Outlook isn't your only option. In fact, Microsoft has another email program that's completely free, called Mail. If you'd rather ditch Microsoft completely, there are other free email clients for Windows you might prefer.
FAQ
How do I fix Outlook not receiving emails?
If your Outlook inbox isn't updating, first check to make sure your internet connection is active and working. Other things to try include restarting Outlook, turning off the Work Offline feature, and making sure you haven't set up any rules that are sending new messages to the wrong folder.
How do I fix Outlook not sending emails?
If a message isn't sending in Outlook, your internet connection may also be to blame. Another fix could be checking that you've spelled the recipient's address correctly. Otherwise, try the Online Repair utility by going to Apps & Features > Microsoft Office > Modify > Yes > Online Repair > Repair.
How do I stay logged into Outlook on my Iphone?
Any help to stay logged in on computer and iphone..Visit //live.com..Click sign in located on the upper right of the screen..Windows Live sign in page will appear,.Tick the box for "Keep me signed in"..Why do I have to keep signing into my Outlook account?
If you are repeatedly prompted for your Password in Outlook, your mail profile has likely become corrupted. You can fix this issue by creating a new profile and re-adding your email account(s) to it. Open Outlook and click File. Click the Account Settings drop-down and then choose Manage Profiles from the list.How do I stop Outlook app from asking for password?
Choose File | Account Settings | Account Settings Click the Change button. Click the More Settings button. Select the Security tab. Deselect the "Always prompt for logon credentials" check box.Why does Outlook keep stopping on my phone?
Outlook app crashing If the Outlook mobile app crashes when you open it, clear the browser's cache on your device. Then remove the app and re-install it.