Outlook for Mac 2016 - Repeated password prompts still an issue ...

Anonymous
2015-06-20T22:09:21+00:00

All-

As we know, one of the biggest bugs in Outlook for Mac 2016 is the ever-so-annoying repeated password prompt problem. This refers to the constant pop-ups that make it appear like Outlook is forgetting your password every few minutes, etc. The problem was much discussed during the Preview phase of Office for Mac 2016 but never corrected. I did some digging on the forums here and found other threads that covered this problem with slight variances, but the core issue is the same -- credentials are somehow not being stored properly or become corrupted during normal operation of the software. List of the relevant threads I found below. This list may not be comprehensive:

It seems odd that a major bug like this remained unresolved after the official release of Office for Mac 2016 ... and still hasn't been corrected! Per post responses on Microsoft's official Office Blog, they are looking into authentication issues with Exchange Server, but who knows what that means or how long that will take. Based on what I can gather:

  • Bug shows up in Outlook for Mac versions 15.9.x and up, therefore ...
  • Version 15.8 and earlier are not affected, but that is a super old preview version from 2015
  • Changing the way you present your credentials can sometimes help:

            e.g. username@DOMAIN vs. DOMAIN\username vs. username

  • Problems seem to affect Exchange Server authentication as well as IMAP or POP,
  • Deleting your account and setting up Outlook from scratch sometimes helps,
  • The issue seems to be intermittent, comes and goes.

A ticket submitted by forum member *Filip Herman* to Microsoft's technical support around early August 2015 indicated that Microsoft is aware of the problem and has a planned fix in progress. Obviously its been years since that. Others have submitted tickets to support since. Scroll to the end to read the most current progress.

I'd encourage everyone to mark this post, indicating that you "recommend this discussion." This thread has tens of thousands of views and hundreds of comments, so its clearly not an isolated issue. Unfortunately, my company abandoned the use of Outlook for Mac 2016 some while back because of this issue, so I don't have an active platform to test on anymore. However, keep trading ideas here as needed.

Best of luck-

Seattle_Expat

Outlook | MacOS | Legacy Outlook for Mac | For business

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-09-29T15:59:45+00:00

    This keeps happening to me, too - Outlook Mac 15.28.16092700. SHAME on you, Microsoft, for not fixing this issue definitively, after such a long time.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-09-28T22:37:40+00:00

    Same as with me:  (I don't use an exchange server or ICloud and have always used the same  private ISP.)  It seems someone somewhere would have a solution  to this problem.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-09-28T22:12:19+00:00

    Don't know it it means anything, but I was using Outlook 2011 with OS 10.6.8 (Snow leopard) for years with never so much as a blip. The password problem reared its head the moment I upgraded to El Capitan with no amount of fiddling able to resolve it. I don't use an exchange server or ICloud and have always used the same  private ISP. I have to conclude that the problem lies with the Mac and is probably connected to the keychain.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-09-28T17:14:12+00:00

    I too continue to have the password problem as well as the 3252 error code (Connection to server failed or ws dropped."  Microsoft said the later was a virus and I would have to pay for tech support.  I did not.  It has been a problem since May when MS Outlook was installed.  Frustrating!

    Thanks of your follow-up.

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-09-28T15:40:06+00:00

    Clearly posting my positive experience after deleting the iCloud account was tempting fate. This morning (only 5 days later) the Outlook account passwords have disappeared and have continued to disappear whatever I do. The Mac brings up its own request for the POP password which allows mail collection, but I have to go into Outlook to enter the SMTP outgoing one. Hey ****, knew it was too easy.

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