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Issue Adding IMAP Email Accounts in New Outlook – "Sign in failed. Please try again in a few minutes. You may need an app password."

vaibhav shukla 0 Reputation points
2026-05-05T14:54:21.8466667+00:00

Dear Support Team,

I am facing an issue while configuring email accounts in the new version of Microsoft Outlook.

I have recently shifted my hosting back to Hostinger. Out of 4 email accounts, only 2 accounts are successfully added and working in Outlook. However, the remaining 2 email accounts are not getting configured.

While adding those accounts, Outlook shows the following error: “Sign in failed. Please try again in a few minutes. You may need an app password.”

Important points:

  • The same email IDs and passwords are working perfectly in webmail
  • IMAP/SMTP settings are correct and identical for all accounts
  • Only specific email accounts are facing this issue

Kindly help me with:

  1. Why only some email accounts are failing in Outlook while others are working
  2. Whether this is related to Outlook cache, authentication method, or account-level restrictions
  3. Steps to resolve this issue and successfully configure all email accounts

Looking forward to your support.

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For home
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  1. Chloe-V 7,815 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-05-06T03:41:55.9733333+00:00

    Hi vaibhav shukla,

    Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. 

    When only some IMAP mailboxes add successfully (even with the same IMAP/SMTP server settings), it’s usually because each mailbox can have its own security rules or sign-in requirements. For example, one mailbox may allow IMAP access with the regular password, while another mailbox may require an app password or may block third‑party app sign‑in.

    This behavior is most often tied to authentication or mailbox-level security settings. That said, it’s also worth clearing the new Outlook local cache/local state, because saved credentials or local data can sometimes interfere with adding an account.

    Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors including external Microsoft employees cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas only.

    Recommended steps (in order):

    • Update the new Outlook to the latest build.
    • Remove the failing mailbox from the new Outlook and re-add it:
      • Settings > Accounts > Email accounts > select the mailbox (if listed) > Manage > Remove.
    • Clear the new Outlook local state, then try again:
      • Close Outlook, then run: olk.exe --clearLocalState
      • Open Outlook and add the mailbox again.
    • Clear saved credentials on Windows:
      • Open Credential Manager > Windows Credentials, then remove any entries related to Outlook, MicrosoftOffice, or the mailbox.
      • Restart Windows and try adding the mailbox again.
    • If your provider requires an app password for IMAP/SMTP for those specific mailboxes, generate an app password on the provider side and use it in Outlook instead of the regular password.

    Please feel free to let me know if you have any further updates, thanks.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".  

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