Outlook keeps asking for a password: how to fix it

Outlook keeps asking when the saved password or username is wrong, or the outgoing server has no login set. Test the password in webmail, then fix Outlook.

1. Check the password in webmail

Log in to webmail with the full email address and the password (see Log in to webmail).

• Webmail works: the password is right, so the problem is in Outlook. Continue with step 2.
• Webmail says the login is invalid: set a new password in cPanel (see Change an email account password) and use that one in step 2.

2. Update the saved login in Outlook

Classic Outlook for Windows

1. Click File, Account Settings, Account Settings. Select the account and click Change. (In current Microsoft 365 versions, click File, then Account Settings, Server Settings.)

2. Check the User Name: it must be the full email address, for example [email protected]. Type the password again and tick Remember password.

3. Make sure Require logon using Secure Password Authentication (SPA) is not ticked. Our server uses a normal password login over SSL/TLS.

4. Open the outgoing server settings (More Settings, tab Outgoing Server, or the Outgoing mail section). Tick My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication and choose Use same settings as my incoming mail server.

5. Save with Next or Done and restart Outlook.

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook for Mac

Remove the account and add it again with the right password (see Set up email in Outlook). Your mail stays on the server, so nothing is lost with IMAP.

3. Remove old passwords stored by Windows

Classic Outlook keeps passwords in the Windows Credential Manager. An old entry there can win over the one you type.

1. Close Outlook. Open the Windows Control Panel and click Credential Manager, then Windows Credentials.

2. Under Generic Credentials, look for entries that contain your email address or your server name. Open each one and click Remove.

3. Start Outlook and enter the password once more when it asks, with Remember my credentials ticked.

4. Check the server settings

Wrong settings can also show up as a password prompt. Compare them with the values in cPanel (see Email server settings and ports):

• Incoming server and outgoing server: your server name, for example node111.elycloud.com.
• IMAP port 993 with SSL/TLS; SMTP port 465 with SSL/TLS (or 587 with STARTTLS).

Common problems

It started right after a password change

Every device that uses the mailbox still has the old password. Update it in Outlook, on your phone and in any website or printer that sends through this mailbox.

Only sending asks for the password

The outgoing server has its own login. Set Use same settings as my incoming mail server as in step 2.

The prompt names mail.yourdomain.com

Outlook is connecting with the old server name. Change the incoming and outgoing server to your server name from cPanel; it also stops certificate warnings.

Nothing helps

Create a new Outlook profile (Windows Control Panel, Mail, Show Profiles, Add) and add the account there. If the same password works in webmail but no mail app accepts it, open a ticket and tell us the email address and your IP address.

Related articles

• Set up email in Outlook
• Change an email account password
• Email server settings and ports (IMAP, POP3, SMTP)
• Mailbox full, bounces and other common email errors

Still stuck? Open a support ticket and we'll help.