mailtag
Blog / Guides
Outlook app password for IMAP: what works in 2026
- Outlook.com, Hotmail and Microsoft 365 still let you create app passwords, but their mail servers reject them over IMAP.
- What works: apps that open Microsoft's own sign-in page, such as Thunderbird set to sign in with Microsoft, or Apple Mail with the account added as Outlook.com.
- If a tool only accepts a password, forward your Outlook mail to a mailbox it supports.
You created an app password in your Microsoft account and pasted it into Thunderbird, a backup tool or an email service. Then you got LOGIN failed or "authentication failed". The password is fine. Microsoft simply stopped accepting passwords of any kind over IMAP, the standard way mail apps fetch email. Its own app-password help page doesn't say so.
Here's what changed and when, how to tell which case you're in, and what actually works today.
What an app password is
It's a separate code your provider creates for one app: the app opens your mail with it and never sees your real password. Why it exists, when you need one and the risks: see what are app passwords.
What Outlook accepts today
Checked on 26 October 2026 against Microsoft's support and Learn pages linked below.
| Account | Change | Normal password over IMAP | App password over IMAP | Sign in with Microsoft (OAuth) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live, MSN | 16 Sep 2024 | No | No | Yes |
| Microsoft 365 (work or school) | Oct 2022 – early 2023 | No | No | Yes |
At Microsoft 365, signing in with Microsoft works if your admin allows the app.
What changed
Personal accounts: 16 September 2024
Microsoft announced that Outlook.com would require "Modern Authentication" in mail apps not made by Microsoft. That means signing in on Microsoft's own page (OAuth) instead of typing a password into the app. Since the change, "Basic Authentication no longer available to access any Outlook account" (Microsoft support).
Today Microsoft's IMAP settings page for Outlook.com says plainly: "Outlook.com requires the use of Modern Auth / OAuth2". It lists OAuth2 as the only sign-in method for IMAP, POP and SMTP.
An app password is still a password typed into the app. So IMAP treats it as Basic authentication and rejects it. Microsoft's support staff confirmed this on its Q&A forum (Microsoft Q&A).
Why the option is still there
Microsoft's page How to get and use app passwords still explains how to create one. Its examples are the Xbox 360 and Office 2010, and it doesn't mention IMAP; that's why so many guides still recommend it. It may help some old devices, not a mail app over IMAP.
Microsoft 365: October 2022
For work and school accounts, Microsoft turned off Basic authentication for IMAP, POP, Exchange ActiveSync and other protocols in every organization. The last extensions ended in early 2023. Its page states that this "also prevents the use of app passwords with apps that don't support two-step verification" (Microsoft Learn).
Sending mail is the last piece. Password sign-in for SMTP, the sending protocol printers and scripts use, is due to be turned off by default at the end of December 2026, though admins can turn it back on. The final date will be announced in the second half of 2027 (Exchange Team blog). It doesn't affect reading mail over IMAP, which already needs OAuth.
What works today
Thunderbird
Server outlook.office365.com, port 993, SSL/TLS, and set Authentication method to OAuth2. Thunderbird then opens Microsoft's sign-in window. This is the fix Microsoft gives when "Normal password" fails. If Thunderbird says the server doesn't support that method, check the server name: older setups use imap-mail.outlook.com.
iPhone, iPad and Mac Mail
Add the account by choosing Outlook.com (or Microsoft Exchange for work), not Other. Microsoft says Apple Mail "supports Modern Authentication by default when you setup the account as Outlook.com". With Other and a password, you get password prompts or connection errors. If that happens, remove the account and add it again as Outlook.com.
Classic Outlook on Windows
If your Outlook.com account is set up there as IMAP or POP, Microsoft says to create a new Outlook profile. Then add the account again so it connects the modern way.
Turn on IMAP if your app can't see the mail
On Outlook.com, IMAP access can be off. Go to Settings → Mail → Forwarding and IMAP and turn on Let devices and apps use IMAP, then Save (Microsoft support). That alone won't make a password work.
Tools that only accept a password: forward or redirect
If an app or service can't do Microsoft's sign-in, send your Outlook mail to a mailbox it can open:
- Forwarding: Settings → Mail → Forwarding → Enable forwarding, type the address and Save. Microsoft asks you to turn on two-step verification if it's off. Forwarded messages appear as forwarded from your account, so replies go to you, not to the original sender (Microsoft support).
- A redirect rule keeps the original sender, which is better if the other mailbox should show who wrote. Go to Settings → Mail → Rules → Add new rule, choose Apply to all messages, add the action Redirect to with the address, and Save (Microsoft support).
- Work accounts: many organizations block forwarding to outside addresses. The forward then bounces with
5.7.520 Access denied(Microsoft Learn). Ask your admin.
Don't count on Gmail's Check mail from other accounts (POP): it takes no new users after the first quarter of 2026 and goes away in January 2027. Google suggests automatic forwarding instead (Google help).
Outlook and MailTag
MailTag connects with app passwords over IMAP, so it can't sign in to Outlook.com, Hotmail or Microsoft 365 today. If you type an Outlook address under Settings → Mailboxes → Connect mailbox, it says so and offers a Tell me when it's ready button. That button leaves a message in Help & contact. Signing in with Microsoft is the next connection on its list.
What works now is the redirect above: send your Outlook mail to a Gmail address and connect that Gmail to MailTag with a Gmail app password. Each new email is then sorted into your own categories, as Gmail labels. To let an AI agent into Outlook today, see Outlook MCP servers.
FAQ
Do Outlook app passwords still work for IMAP?
No. You can create them, but Outlook.com's IMAP server only accepts signing in with Microsoft (OAuth), and Microsoft 365 doesn't accept them either.
Why do I get "LOGIN failed" with my Outlook app password?
Because IMAP treats an app password as Basic authentication, which Microsoft turned off. Use an app that signs in with Microsoft (OAuth2).
Where do I create an app password for my Microsoft account?
In account.microsoft.com, under Security → Advanced security options → App passwords, with two-step verification on. It won't help with IMAP mail apps.
What are the IMAP settings for Outlook.com and Hotmail?
outlook.office365.com, port 993, SSL/TLS, authentication OAuth2. Outgoing: smtp-mail.outlook.com, port 587, STARTTLS.
How do I fix Thunderbird with a Hotmail account?
Edit the account's server settings, set Authentication method to OAuth2, and sign in in the window that opens.
Can I forward Outlook.com mail to Gmail?
Yes, in Settings → Mail → Forwarding. Use a redirect rule instead if you want the original sender kept; work accounts may block forwarding outside the company.