How to Fix Mac Mail Repeatedly Asking for Password Issue
Are you having trouble with Mac Mail and accessing your e-mail? A common problem you could run into is one where the Mail app repeatedly prompts you for your password when you're opening your inbox or attempting to send a message.
It can be quite annoying to deal with it, but it's fixable. Here are a few tips:
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Turn your internet off and on
Sometimes the reason Mac Mail keeps asking for your password is that it cannot properly connect to your network. Sometimes this happens in the middle of browsing your inbox or writing a message, so try resetting your internet. There's a good chance it could help.
Wait a few minutes
Sometimes the problem with Mac Mail is an outside one. It could be a server issue or something else outside of your control. In those cases, the best course of action may be to simply wait it out. I know it's terribly boring to sit around 15 minutes doing nothing, but it could be the solution to your problem.
Exit and enter Mac Mail
While you're waiting you may as well quit the mail service and open it again to see if the issue is just a temporary one with how Mail loaded.
Make sure you’re using the right password
Usually, passwords are saved in your Mac's keychain app, but if you have entered the password again for some reason and then saved it in your keychain, then you may have entered it incorrectly, which could be the cause of your Mail issue. So, re-enter the password again and make sure you have entered the correct password.
Make sure your Keychain is up to date and clean
Enter the Keychain Access app, and look for your e-mail account to find the keychain entries used for accessing your Mail. Choose the relevant ones and erase them. Afterward, go back to Mail and enter your password when asked, and select the option to save the password.
Aside from using the Mail password prompts, you can manually put in passwords in Mail's settings. This could be appropriate if the password prompt happens only when you try to send a message, or when you try to receive mail:
SMTP server passwords in OS X Mail
Manually put in your passwords in Mail's preferences for the SMTP server along with your inbound servers.
- To do so, go to Mail's preferences and press "Accounts".
- Choose the affected account(s) from the list.
- Update your password in the "Password" field from Account Information tab.
- Within the Outgoing Mail Server (SMTL) menu, select "Edit SMTP Server List…"
- Choose the SMTP server you use with your account
- Press the Advanced tab.
- Re-enter your password when prompted.
Also, check if your outgoing server's port number and SSL options are set correctly, according to the configuration needs of your mail service. You might have to check the Web or with your ISP to see what these settings are. Finally, toggle the box to automatically detect and keep account settings.
Verify Keychain in OS X
If you spot any errors when verifying your keychain you must run the repair routine to correct them.
My company domain is provided by hostgator. Every once in a while all my Apple mail just stops working when Hostgator says passwords are no good. Finally figured it out. I have Verizon FIOS as my ISP. FIOS assigns a new IP address every 24 hours. And bless Verizon, but they have some bad customers that do things that get their IP address blacklisted. Only Verizon does not then remove that blacklisted IP address from the pool. So you might get assigned one of those blacklisted IPs for your next 24 hours. And bless hostgator for not bothering to tell you the REAL reason for the password failures has nothing to do with an incorrect password but rather your blacklisted IP address. So cycling power to your router as recommended by this site is likely to solve the problem only because you get assigned a new IP address. You can also go into your router management and renew your IP address. But this has been the problem vexing me for YEARS!
Thanks for helping me understand that some issues on the computer can be due to an improper internet connection. I will make sure to check that first when I experience an issue when I hire an onsite Mac software installations service. I just want this software for my computer since I need to know if it might be easier for me to navigate through my files and finish what I need to do.
What is the repair routine for keychain? I have Mojave -- OS hasn't provided the repair keychain option for many years now AFAIK.
Mine goes through this and starts asking for password via safari far too often now. What is wrong? Another apple BUG?
So how do I repair my keychain to make it stop? Thanks.