Outlook now can’t find the Exchange password

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OL16, installed with Office 16. Win10 22H2

outlook/exchange has started asking for password when outlook starts.  Or maybe later in session. I can enter password and it asks again, immediately or a few minutes later. or it may be a day between asking. This has been going on for several weeks. This means that connection with Exchange calendar is completely unreliable.

I tried deleting outlook.com credentials
I have tried deleting and reinstalling the outlook.com account.
Have tried creating a new data file. Aside from this requiring re-entering other email accounts and redoing settings, outlook no longer can find the exchange server on its own. So I don’t get to see my calendar.  So new data file doesn’t seem to be an option.

Anyone else having this issue.? I have had it on more than one computer.
Is there a problem with Exchange?

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What exchange are you hooking into?  Your ISP email?  A domain/server you control? Outlook.com?

Have you tried setting it up with a new profile to see if the issue is that something in the credentials has changed and they need an app password or something funky?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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MS Exchange.  xxxx@outlook.com . not 365.   In the past entering a  outlook.com address facilitated it connecting automatically to Exchange.   As I mentioned, I tried using a new data file, but it know longer seems to automatically find the Exchange account.  I can’t set it up manually.

On another computer, MS Calendar automatically connected, and works ok.   But that app doesn’t come up in the problem computer,  in this computer a different MS Mail/calendar app appears, which requires keeping a Mail window open to see the the other Calendar window.  I am still using OL16 for email and doubt that the mail/calendar app will work the same for mail , nor will contacts transfer completely.

The usual MS bs with their apps.

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Is it possible you’ve been flipped to new Outlook on this problem computer?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Susan Bradley wrote:

Is it possible you’ve been flipped to new Outlook on this problem computer?

No.  I can open and close the calendar from within the same outlook that i have used for email for years.

I have MS calendar app (not Outlook) set up on one laptop.  works ok.

On desktop  i tried to setup MS Calendar, but it only opens Mail-Calendar app.   Which means the mail  app has to be open in addition to the Calendar app.  Not nice.  and it does try (or did, or threaten to) change me to the New Outlook.

I guess that I could try using the mail-calendar app (new outlook) in place of outlook.  But I have read bad things about the New Outlook, mostly from the Askwoody newsletter.

However, this isn’t the only issue.  Outlook on desktop now fails to search as I type in people search. Requires pressing “enter”.

and sync between Exchange and iphone is less than perfect.  Changes made to calendar item alerts only go one way,  from computer to iphone.  changes won’t go from iphone to computer, unless I modify the calendar item in some way, like adding a space to the name. This inability to add alerts in iphone calendar and have them sync to computer calendar has led to missed appts.

My biggest fear is that after making the switch to thunderbird, assuming that I can do that successfully, I’ll find that I have only replaced one set of  problems with others. Nothing is problem free.

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Did you recently change your password and is there a cached password on your computer?

How To Fix Outlook Keeps Asking For Password Issue (helpdeskgeek.com)

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Susan Bradley wrote:

Did you recently change your password and is there a cached password on your computer?

How To Fix Outlook Keeps Asking For Password Issue (helpdeskgeek.com)

as mentioned in 1st post, i did try deleting all credentials referring to outlook.

i just tried it again.  if there is another location for cached passwords, i don’t know where it is. What is curious about this, is that I have lost patience with entering the password and have taken to canceling or closing the window asking for password. I find that sometimes it connects to exchange anyway. I can tell if i make a calendar change and it syncs, to be seen on another device. But sometimes it doesn’t connect anyway.

I did check “remember password” when entering password.

we’ll see what happens.

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I deleted all credentials with ‘outlook’ in title.   the password window appeared, I gave it the Outlook password.   Sometime later it appeared again.  ie: no fix.

I just tried a Office modify>repair.   will see what happens, if anything.

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after modify>repair, and deletion of credentials, connection with exchange held for remainder of day, and for next 2 days.  there was one time when it asked for pw again, but i restarted Outlook and it connected itself and remained connected,  until today.

Outlook calendar said connected at bottom of screen at beginning , but after a minute asked for pw. restarting didn’t help.  i didn’t give password, it remains disconnected.

any ideas about what is going on here?

since writing the above, I am experimenting with allowing (internet firewall) access for some processes which were previously blocked (for years, with no known negative consequence). after allowing 3: no change.  allowed 2 more : exchange has remained connected for 35min. big deal, eh?   it remained connected for previous 2.5 days without unblocking anything, so i’ll see what happens, again.

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You wrote Outlook 16 – do you mean Outlook 2016?

And when you set up the account, do you just enter the email address and do automatic setup, or do you do manual setup? If doing manual, which type of account do you specify?

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I too am having issues with Outlook Desktop 2016 (and other versions too) repeatedly asking for a password. My Outlook account is connected to the Microsoft Exchange server. This problem has been going on since JANUARY 2024 and is effecting THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. I believe it all started when the Microsoft Exchange servers were hacked. There are numerous posts on the Microsoft forums and everything is pointing to an Exchange problem which Microsoft will not own up to.

Seems to affect every Desktop version of Outlook.  2016, 2019, 2021, 365.

Outlook on Android and through any browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox) works fine.

I see Susan Bradley stopped answering this issue. Has anyone had any success with the issue?  It is NOT going away…We need her attention to show it is a BIG problem.

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I’m not having issues with Microsoft 365 and I honestly don’t use desktop outlook with outlook.com.   You say Exchange server but the original poster is referring to consumer outlook.com which is not what I define as Exchange server.

I stopped responding because I can’t repro the problem.  What I would do if I were having the issue is totally remove office, use the office clean up tool to clear it out.  Reinstall it, ensure it’s up to date and then reconnect Outlook.  Often when there is a credential hardening in the background you have to re-set up the account to get the new method of credentials to “take”.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/outlook-2016-or-outlook-2013-repeatedly-prompts-for-credentials-when-adding-outlook-com-accounts-10fcf457-6977-45dc-aaa9-f8db56c19cb8#:~:text=This%20can%20happen%20if%20you%20turned%20on%20two-step,page%20and%20sign%20in%20to%20your%20Microsoft%20account

Did you turn on two step credentials?

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/resolve-outlook-for-windows-issues-with-automated-troubleshooting-tools-38e2342d-3527-4190-8754-a82d8b970fe2

I’m assuming you’ve tried that troubleshooting tool?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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I don’t know what you mean by ‘consumer’ version of outlook.  My copy is installed with the office suite.  It connects to Exchange server,  not ews or 365.  I have the problem on two computers.

Since it may be ok for a day, or an hour, and it is on 2 different systems,  I have no expectation that re-installing office will help.  The useless microsoft.social site has a thread that is up to 27 pages with people having the same problem. Some claim fixes with this trick, some with another trick, and many failing after a period of time. I can say the same.

 

 

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I’d suggest to delete the account from Outlook and reinstall. But choose Advanced Options/Let me set up my account manually see screenshots

and choose Outlook.com

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Susan Bradley wrote:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/outlook-2016-or-outlook-2013-repeatedly-prompts-for-credentials-when-adding-outlook-com-accounts-10fcf457-6977-45dc-aaa9-f8db56c19cb8#:~:text=This%20can%20happen%20if%20you%20turned%20on%20two-step,page%20and%20sign%20in%20to%20your%20Microsoft%20account

Did you turn on two step credentials?

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/resolve-outlook-for-windows-issues-with-automated-troubleshooting-tools-38e2342d-3527-4190-8754-a82d8b970fe2

I’m assuming you’ve tried that troubleshooting tool?

no, I haven’t turned on 2-step.

yes, I have tried the troubleshooting tool, plus repairing office through control panel.

 

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Vincenzo wrote:

I’d suggest to delete the account from Outlook and reinstall. But choose Advanced Options/Let me set up my account manually see screenshots

and choose Outlook.com

I have tried deleting the account from outlook.  it reinstalled on this computer,  lasted for a day or two, then fails again.  the other computer failed install completely.

I believe that the instructions that you are pointing to is not for exchange, but for something called EAS,  exchange active sync, which is different, and doesn’t connect to my exchange calendar  .   no appts are showing.  Outlook used to connect through eas, years ago.  then ms switched all to different exchange servers.

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So you see the solutions that are offered do not work.  I installed Outlook 2016 on a brand new computer for a person with a xxxx (at) outlook.com email address. It connects to some type of Microsoft Exchange server. I am not a business and none of my friends who have an xxxx.Outlook.com email are a business.  After the install and all the patches are applied,  Outlook keeps prompting for a password.  After 4 tries of putting it in, it stops and connects to Exchange.  It usually will not ask again until you close Outlook and possibly reboot.

It’s a Microsoft issue and they will NOT fess up to it! The only solution is not use the Desktop version of Outlook.  Outlook New works fine as does Outlook for Android and accessing Outlook through a browser.

Moderator Note: Edited email address so it’s not clickable

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What exact version of Outlook 2016 are they using?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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I am using Outlook 2016 (16.0.5446.1000) 64 bit.  I have heard it also affects users of the Desktop versions of 2019, 2021 and Office 365.  Here is one of the links to a Microsoft Community with many threads. Not sure if I can post this URL in this forum?

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/outlk_win-outtop_classic-outsub_ofb/outlook-office-2016-keeps-asking-for-password-for/f13e3871-bbd1-45c8-9f14-87e268713cc0?messageId=2ad5fb9d-7915-40a5-b76e-bb92a5bcd648

Since it seems to affect all Desktop versions of Outlook I find no value in upgrading to the latest versions of the software.

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The bigger message is that MS is not a trustworthy company.   Best response is to move away from MS software.

So far I have been using the exchange calendar as a web page.

If I can find a method of syncing calendar between computers and iphone I will dump exchange (google is not an acceptable option).  That will put me on path to eliminate ms office.

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Me thinks you will need to go totally third party with something like Zoho mail and also you may need to consider cloud offerings.

Outlook still works, the problem is there are sooooo MANY Outlook versions and many of like to keep using our old software.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Similar situation (constant prompt to reenter password), not sure if related, but here’s what I found:

Using Office 2016 & Outlook 2016 on Win-10; I have two Comcast & two Gmail emails.

My problem started on 6/11; searched till fingers bled; stumbled across some page that mentioned Microsoft Update of 6/10 (forgot site)

Dreading the finger-pointing from whoever I called, one more search. This led to June 10 page:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/modern-authentication-methods-now-needed-to-continue-syncing-outlook-email-in-non-microsoft-email-apps-c5d65390-9676-4763-b41f-d7986499a90d

I threw up my hands in disgust, downloaded and installed the “free Outlook for Windows”, and problem went away.

Realize MS says will implement in the future, but maybe this could trigger one of you to find a solution.

1 user thanked author for this post.

b

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So after seeing the post concerning above (at this site and on a Microsoft help forum), “Modern Authentication Methods now needed to continue syncing Outlook Email in non-Microsoft email apps” I decided to upgrade to Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021. Bought a Groupon for $25. I installed this version 5 days ago and have not had a single prompt from Microsoft for my password. Everything works great now! I did <u>not</u> follow the uninstall instructions from the reseller but let the Microsoft app, Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant do the uninstall of Office 2016. Nearly all of my Office 2016 customization’s were keep intact. I found this app when Office 2021 could not upgrade from Office 2016 because of the click to run versions. An error message pops up and there are links to the Support and Recovery Assistant.

Very pleased with the Office 2021 version with repeated NO password prompts…. I also never had Adobe Acrobat PDF installed and was having the password prompts issue with Office 2016 all the time.  PROBLEM SOLVED FOR ME!

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jkkuchtaofmi:

-‘nearly all customiztions kept intact”?  does this mean that all email accounts were moved into outlook 2021″

-is office ltsc pro plu 2021 a click to run? no c2r software constantly running in background in case it thinks something needs to be downloaded, updated?  or is it really stand alone like 2016 was?

-you had to use support and recovery assistant to uninstall  office 2016 before 2021 would install?

 

thanks.

 

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From the sound of the above purchase, it doesn’t sound like a legit copy of Office 2021. Only $25! If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Office 2021 is C2R and it requires a MS account (=password) login to activate. That alone should make you cautious.

Don’t get your hopes up!

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satrow

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I didn’t upgrade from 2016 because of the the c2r software running uselessly in background all the time. (also, the upgrade wasn’t offering anything useful).  I presume that there still isn’t a way to stop the c2r software from constantly being active, in addition to the office apps.?

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AFAIK, all Office installations are now C-2-R. There is no option for MSI. C-2-R is periodically activated to check for updates and install as needed. It is not active all the time.

My experience with upgrades to newer Office versions is that all the email accounts have been retained and are available in the new version.

--Joe

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PKCano: Thank you for your response.
No, it’s a legit copy purchased from a MS agent during one of my chat’s. Actually it is the full Office 2021 Pro suite for $439. Support for my 2016 version expires in a year or two and my Win 10 expires next year so just getting ready. Plus of course my six year old PC is not hardware compatible with Win 11.  Gee, what else could possibly go wrong?

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I have looked up the what Office LTSC is and it is designed for specific scenarios, such as regulated devices that cannot accept feature updates, process control devices on the manufacturing floor, and specialty systems that cannot connect to the internet. It obviously does connect to the internet for Outlook.  An update was also applied by Microsoft after the install. I don’t share files in the cloud and I don’t need the latest updates like what the 365 products offer. So so good.  I see no background process(es) running.

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Yes all Email accounts moved intact.  I did have to provide the passwords for two Gmail accounts. The software is stand alone as I can see.  I do not see any background processes running.  I choose to have the Microsoft support and recovery assistant to uninstall office 2016.  It worked well.  The vendor suggested that I uninstall each Office 2016 program and OneDrive via the normal uninstall apps process.  I chose to NOT do that.

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