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Why Does Outlook for Mac Keep Asking for Password?

  author
Jamie Kaler   Contribution
Rollins Duke
Rollins Duke  Approved By
Published On July 6th, 2026 • 5 min read

Multiple times, while users enter their credentials to start a connection with Outlook, the authentication process somehow stops & keeps asking for the password again & again. Such an issue happens in Outlook for Mac due to corruption inside the Keychain Access program. Mac Outlook is the default app on Mac machines, equivalent to Windows Outlook, and it is utilised for saving information of email account login. So, whenever such an issue arises in Keychain Access, Outlook for Mac keeps asking for the password repeatedly. Here, in this blog, we will be discussing the most relevant solution for fixing this problem with utmost ease.

So, are you also confused why Outlook for Mac keep asking for my password again & again, even after you have put in the correct one? Well! You aren’t the only one experiencing this. But the good news is that there is a solution that you can do for sure. If you have been using Mac Outlook, this blog is going to take you through the efficient way to resolve this frustrating problem. So, stay connected here to check out the steps you can take to finally put a closure on such recurrent password prompts.

Why Does Outlook for Mac Keeps Asking For Password?

Mac machines are known for top-tier security as well as dependable performance. A main feature, which supports such a reputation, happens to be Keychain Access, which is an in-built password manager that’s designed to safely save login details for applications & services, including Outlook. A common outcome is the formation of multiple conflicting tokens that are associated with the Outlook account. Such duplication leads to confusion during the authentication process.

The keychain data becomes corrupted or outdated, which happens mostly due to:

  • macOS or Outlook update.
  • Malware/virus cleanup that includes wiping and rebuilding the system.
  • System restore or any fresh Mac setup after the formatting.
  • Interrupted sync with the MS Exchange or Office 365

As a result, even when the user enters the right password, Outlook still gets “stuck” and asks repeatedly for the credentials. When this happens, the keychain ends up storing multiple, conflicting authentication tokens for the same Outlook account. As Outlook doesn’t know which token to trust, it keeps asking you to re-authenticate, even if the password is correct. Such an issue is specifically seen to occur in Outlook 2016 & 2011 for Mac, where the application depends largely on Keychain for verifying the user’s identity. So, if Mac Outlook keeps prompting you for passwords, it is quite likely that there is an underlying issue within Keychain. So, fixing this problem is needed to put an end to such otherwise never-ending pop-ups.

After formatting a number of Mac machines in a Mac virus infection, Outlook was continuously prompting for the Exchange password on setup (even though it was correct and the profile settings checked out).

Real Experience of a User

Hey guys! I happen to work in a reputed firm where Mac machines are used across the teams. Lately, some of our Mac systems got hit by a virus. Our team handled the problem by formatting the affected MacBooks. But after setting everything back up, we then started encountering a fresh issue. Outlook for Mac keeps asking for password again & again while connecting to MS Exchange, even though the credentials are correct to our knowledge. I have already double-checked my account as well as my profile settings, and all things seem to be in perfect place. I am now thinking whether such an issue could be a result of some post-formatting bug, or is it something deeper. If any person has encountered a similar thing and knows the real reason & solution for this, I would appreciate the help!

What to Do When Outlook for Mac Keeps Asking for Password?

If your Keychain Access program has been corrupted, then whenever you try to connect with Office 365 on your Mac, the password issue comes up. As a result, Outlook 2016 for Mac repeatedly asks for the password of your Outlook account. The same steps can be used to resolve issues like – cannot sign in to Outlook on Mac.

For troubleshooting this issue, you can carry out the instructions given below:

Before starting, close Outlook completely.

Open Keychain Access

  1. Open Finder.
  2. Go to Go > Utilities.
  3. Double-click Keychain Access (or search it in Spotlight)

Remove Exchange-Related Entries

  1. In the Keychain Access search bar, type Exchange.
  2. Review the results; select the entry that is associated with the Outlook account.
  3. Click Delete for each of them.
  4. Repeat until all the Exchange-related entries are removed.

Remove ADAL Authentication Tokens

  1. Search adal in the search bar.
  2. Select the entries labelled MicrosoftOffice15_2_Data: ADAL
  3. Click the Delete button.

Clear Cached Office Identities

  1. Search for Office
  2. Select MS Office Identities Cache 2 and MS Office Identities settings 2.
  3. Click on Delete.

Restart and Reconnect

  1. Quit Keychain Access
  2. Reopen the Outlook application.
  3. Sign in with credentials; Outlook will generate a fresh and single set of tokens in Keychain.

Once all the above-given steps are performed well, you need to now exit from Keychain Access.

*ADAL (Active Directory Authentication Library) is Microsoft’s authentication framework that lets Outlook securely sign in to the MS 365, Exchange and all the other Microsoft services.

Final Summation

You were perplexed as to why Outlook for Mac keep asking for my password? It is quite evident from the above discussion that Keychain Access happens to be a crucial part of the Mac system, keeping all the passwords in macOS. But after the formation of multiple tokens of the same kind in Keychain, Outlook asks for the password repeatedly. So, the method suggested here fixes this glitch with no hassle.