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I have been working on a some friends' computer trying to get rid of a popup from Outlook that asks for their password. They are using Outlook 2016 on a desktop computer running Windows 7.

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Some days, the popup doesn't come up at all, and other days it is almost constantly popping up, preventing them from checking their email.

I have already tried to have them use a different email client and even the webmail application for their account. This couple is older, and they have made it clear that they do not want to use something different, so it has to be Outlook.

I have already searched countless Microsoft support and StackOverflow threads for a solution, but nothing has worked. I have:

  • clicked "save this password in your password list" in the popup (obviously)
  • deleted the account from Outlook and recreated it
  • ensured that the server name, port numbers, etc. is correct in the settings
  • cleared the Windows credential manager
  • added an entry for this account in the Windows credential manager
  • cleared the credential manager again
  • unchecked the setting that says something about always requiring a login
  • several other things that I can't even remember at the moment

I have exhausted my technical expertise and don't know how to get that popup to quit showing up.

They have an AT&T email address, and their email server is run by Yahoo if I'm correct.

I have considered the possibility that it could be a piece of malware on the computer that is acting like an Outlook password prompt. If that is the case, then they have more problems than just a popup. lol They run Avast! antivirus on their computer, so they do have antivirus protection. They don't run anything like Malewarebytes because, keep in mind, this is an older couple.

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    Have you tried logging into the email on the actual site? I have a lot of situations where the users forget or change their password and dont update Outlook.
    – Cheesus Crust
    Mar 9, 2017 at 18:05
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    Yes, we have logged into the email on the actual site. I was the last one to reset the password, and I doubt they know how to.
    – user705808
    Mar 9, 2017 at 22:13
  • Since the server is outbound.att.net, it appears the password prompt is for the server they would be using to send email rather than receive email, i.e., an SMTP server rather than for a POP3 or IMAP server that Outlook would connect to for downloading their incoming email. When you enter the password, does the email they were trying to send go into their sent mail folder? A Google search on "outbound.att.net keeps asking for password" shows similar reports. At howto-outlook.com/news/attpasswordprompt.htm , I see a suggestion to use Yahoo's rather than AT&T's mail server settings.
    – moonpoint
    Mar 10, 2017 at 3:37
  • It seems that Outlook stops saving your passwords. Try to create a new profile in Outlook, and then add your email account: support.office.com/en-us/article/…
    – Durfee
    Mar 16, 2017 at 5:13

1 Answer 1

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It is very likely, that they have a device lying around that uses an old password. Ocasionally this device is turned on, triggers 10 (or whatever the number is) login errors, and temporarily blocks the account. At these moments, outlook will display a login prompt.

You need to search for every device that gets email or otherwise tries to login. Usually this is a phone or tablet, but it could be another mail client on a laptop that has been completely ignored.

When you ask them, they may even say: "Oh yes, I get this screen on my laptop all the time, but I don't use email there anymore, so you don't have to fix that."

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  • This makes a lot of sense, and I will try this as soon as I get a chance to go back over to their house. I'll bet it's an old email client on the very same computer.
    – user705808
    Mar 9, 2017 at 22:16

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