Adding an email account to Outlook has generally become pretty straightforward—thanks to the convenience of automatic server settings. But sometimes, things don’t go quite as smoothly, leading to a bit of frustration.
Standard Steps to Add an Email Account to Outlook
For Microsoft 365 and Outlook 2016 and newer, adding an email account usually works like this:
- Go to File > Add Account.
- Enter your email address and select Connect.
- Based on your email provider, you might be prompted to enter additional info—like your name, email address, and password. Click Next.
- If prompted again, enter your password and select OK > Finish to start using your email account in Outlook.
Sounds easy, right? But if you’re using Yahoo Mail or certain other providers, this method may fail, and display this error message instead:
Something went wrong
We couldn't log on to the incoming (IMAP) server. Please check your email address and password and try again.
Troubleshoot problems setting up your account.
Why This Happens and How to Fix It
Many email providers—like Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, Outlook.com, and AOL—use two-factor authentication (2FA) to protect your account. When you try to add a 2FA-enabled account to Outlook, you’ll often need an app password (also known as an application password).
How to Know You Need an App Password:
If you see a message like “2-factor authentication is set up for your account. Please sign in using your application password,” then it’s time to generate an app password from your email provider.
Getting an App Password for Yahoo Mail
Here’s how to create an app password for Yahoo:
- Open Yahoo in your browser, log in, and click the Settings icon (upper-right corner).
- Go to Account Info > Account Security (you might need to sign in again here).
- If Two-step verification isn’t already on, enable it now. Then, select Manage app passwords.
- From the dropdown list, select Outlook Desktop and click Generate.
- Yahoo will display an app password. Copy it (without the spaces), and use this when Outlook prompts you for a password.
And that’s it—you should now be all set to send and receive emails in Outlook!
Step 1. Settings icon
Step 2. Account Security
Step 3. Manage app passwords.
Step 5. Copy this password
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