Outlook Fix

Outlook App Password Not Working? Here's Why (and the Fix)

If an Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live, MSN, or Microsoft 365 app password that used to work in your mail app now fails with an auth error, even though you're certain the password is correct, you're in the right place. In most cases this isn't a bug on your end and it isn't temporary.

Get Curo free →

What actually happened

An app password is a form of Basic Authentication: the mail app sends a username and password straight to Microsoft's server. Microsoft has been switching that off. Personal Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live, and MSN accounts lost it on September 16, 2024, app passwords included, for every outside mail app. Microsoft 365 work and school accounts lost it for reading mail over IMAP and POP starting October 1, 2022. Where it's off, an app password is rejected because Microsoft no longer accepts that sign-in method, not because the password is wrong.

Microsoft 365 sending is on its own timeline

For Microsoft 365 work accounts, sending mail with a password (SMTP AUTH) still works today where your organization allows it. Microsoft plans to switch it off by default for existing organizations at the end of December 2026; admins can turn it back on for a while, and Microsoft plans to announce a final removal date in the second half of 2027. Reading mail with a password (IMAP or POP) on Microsoft 365 is already off and can't be turned back on.

A new app password won't fix it

Generating a fresh app password doesn't help wherever Basic Authentication is off, because the method is what's being refused. What works is OAuth 2.0, which Microsoft calls Modern Authentication: you sign in on Microsoft's own page and the mail app gets a revocable access token instead of your password.

Your Gmail app passwords are a separate system

If you also connect a Gmail account somewhere, this change is Microsoft's alone. Gmail app passwords still work as long as 2-Step Verification is turned on for that Google account.

The fix: sign in with Microsoft

Questions

Why did my Outlook app password stop working?
For a personal Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live, or MSN account, Microsoft turned off Basic Authentication, app passwords included, on September 16, 2024. For a Microsoft 365 work or school account, reading mail over IMAP or POP with a password has been off since Microsoft began disabling it on October 1, 2022. It isn't your password or your account; Microsoft stopped accepting that sign-in method.
Can I generate a new app password to fix this?
Not where Basic Authentication is off. Microsoft refuses the method, so a new app password fails the same way as the old one. Signing in with Microsoft (OAuth) is the fix.
Is this a temporary Microsoft outage?
No. It's a planned, permanent change. The one part still in motion is Microsoft 365 sending (SMTP AUTH), which accepts passwords until Microsoft switches it off by default at the end of December 2026, with a final removal date to be announced in the second half of 2027.
What do I use instead of an app password now?
OAuth 2.0, which Microsoft calls Modern Authentication - signing in with your Microsoft account on Microsoft's own secure page, rather than typing a password or app password into the third-party app.
Does this affect my Gmail app passwords too?
No. This change is specific to Microsoft accounts. Gmail app passwords still work as long as 2-Step Verification is enabled on the Google account.
Related
All resources →"IMAP Basic Authentication Is Disabled" on Outlook - What It MeansHow to Connect Outlook to a Third-Party Email Client (2026 Update)What Is Microsoft Modern Authentication, and Why Does My Client Need It?Outlook SMTP Authentication Failed? Here's the Real CauseProton Mail IMAP for Third-Party Clients: Why You Can't Find ItHEY alternativeBest email for executivesinbox zero with AI

Stop managing email. Let Curo handle it.

Connect your accounts in minutes. Free to start.

Create your free account →