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How to Change Your Email Password in Outlook (The Right Way)
If you searched for *how to change your email password in Outlook*, there’s an important distinction worth clearing up before you click a single button. People usually mean one of two different things — and confusing them is exactly why Outlook ends up stuck on a “password incorrect” loop. This guide explains both, in the correct order, so your mailbox keeps working instead of breaking.
Key Takeaways
• You don’t actually change your email password “in Outlook.” Outlook is just a mail client — the real password lives at your email provider or host.
• Always change the password at the provider first (webmail control panel, hosting cPanel, or your Microsoft account), then update Outlook with the new one.
• To update Outlook: respond to its password prompt, or go to File > Account Settings > select the account > Change, or clear the old entry in Windows Credential Manager.
• For your own-domain email, change the mailbox password in your hosting/webmail control panel, then update the IMAP/SMTP password in Outlook.
• Change passwords regularly and immediately after any suspected breach.
What Does “Changing Your Email Password in Outlook” Actually Mean?
There are two separate actions that people lump together under this phrase, and they happen in different places:
- Changing the actual email account password. This is the real credential that protects your mailbox. It is set and changed at your email provider — never inside Outlook. For an outlook.com or Microsoft 365 address, that’s your Microsoft account. For an own-domain address (like `[email protected]`), it’s your hosting or webmail control panel.
- Updating the saved password in Outlook. After you change the real password at the provider, Outlook is still trying to connect with the old one. You have to tell Outlook the new password so it can authenticate again.
Here’s the part most tutorials skip: you cannot change your email password “in Outlook” at all. Outlook doesn’t own the password — it only stores a copy to log in on your behalf. The password lives at the email provider or host. So the correct sequence is always: change it at the provider first, then update Outlook with the new one. Do it the other way around and Outlook will simply keep failing to connect, because the password you typed into Outlook doesn’t exist on the server yet.
Why the Order Matters So Much
Think of Outlook like a key copy and your provider like the lock. If you cut a new key (set a new password in Outlook) without changing the actual lock (the provider), the door won’t open. And if you change the lock (provider) but keep using the old key (Outlook’s saved password), Outlook locks you out and starts prompting repeatedly. Change the lock first, then cut a key that matches it.
How Do You Change the Real Email Password (At the Provider)?
This is step one, and where it happens depends on the type of email address you use.
For an Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 Account
Microsoft email addresses (outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com, or a Microsoft 365 work account) are tied to a Microsoft account. You change that password through Microsoft’s account security page, not through the Outlook app:
- Sign in to your Microsoft account security settings in a web browser.
- Open the password / security section.
- Choose to change your password, verify your identity if prompted, and set a new one.
Because the address and the sign-in are the same Microsoft identity, the desktop Outlook app will typically prompt you for the new password the next time it syncs.
For an Own-Domain Email (Hosted Email / IMAP)
If your address ends in your own domain — `[email protected]` — the mailbox lives on your hosting account, not on a Microsoft server. You change that password in your hosting or webmail control panel (commonly the Email Accounts section of cPanel):
- Log in to your hosting control panel (such as cPanel).
- Open Email Accounts.
- Find the mailbox, choose Manage or Change Password, and set a new password.
- Save. The mailbox password is now changed on the server.
This new password is what Outlook will use for both IMAP/POP (receiving) and SMTP (sending). Until you update Outlook, it will fail to connect.
How Do You Update the New Password in Outlook?
Once the real password is changed at the provider, you have three reliable ways to get Outlook back in sync.
Method 1: Respond to the Password Prompt
The simplest path. After you change the password at the provider, Outlook usually pops up a sign-in / password prompt the next time it tries to send or receive. Enter the new password, tick Save password (or Remember my credentials), and Outlook reconnects.
Method 2: Update via Account Settings
If Outlook doesn’t prompt you, update it manually:
- In Outlook, go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
- Select the email account from the list.
- Click Change (or Repair).
- Enter the new password in the password field.
- Click Next / Done to let Outlook test and save the connection.
Method 3: Clear the Old Password in Windows Credential Manager
Sometimes Outlook stubbornly reuses a cached old password and won’t prompt. The fix is to remove the stale saved credential:
- Open Windows Credential Manager (search for it in the Start menu).
- Select Windows Credentials.
- Look under Generic Credentials for entries containing Outlook or your email/server name.
- Remove the relevant entry.
- Reopen Outlook — it will prompt fresh, and you enter the new password.
Tip: If Outlook *keeps* asking for your password even after you typed the correct new one, a stale Credential Manager entry is the most common culprit. Clearing it (Method 3) resolves the loop in the majority of cases.
At the Provider vs. In Outlook: What’s the Difference?
This table makes the two actions crystal clear — what each one does, where it happens, and when you do it.
| Change password at the provider | Update password in Outlook | |
|---|---|---|
| What it actually does | Changes the real mailbox/account password on the server | Updates the saved copy Outlook uses to log in |
| Where you do it | Microsoft account page, or hosting/webmail control panel (cPanel) | Outlook app: File > Account Settings, the prompt, or Credential Manager |
| Affects security? | Yes — this is the credential that protects your mailbox | No — it only stores the credential locally |
| When to do it | First | After the provider change |
| Skip it and… | Nothing actually changes; the old password still works everywhere | Outlook keeps failing to connect with the old password |
| Applies to | All devices and clients (phone, webmail, other apps) | Only this one Outlook installation |
The key insight from this table: changing the password at the provider is the security-relevant action, and it updates the credential everywhere. Updating Outlook is purely local housekeeping so this one app keeps working.
Why Should You Change Your Email Password Regularly?
Beyond the mechanics, it’s worth knowing *why* you’d do this in the first place.
- After a suspected breach. If you received a data-breach notice, noticed sent messages you didn’t write, or saw unfamiliar sign-in activity, change the password immediately — at the provider.
- Shared or old passwords. If you reused this password elsewhere, or it’s years old, rotate it. A unique, strong password per account limits the damage if any one service is compromised.
- After granting and revoking access. If a contractor, former employee, or old device had the password, change it when their access should end.
- General hygiene. Periodic changes, combined with two-factor authentication where available, keep your mailbox resilient.
Remember: a strong new password only protects you if you set it at the provider. Typing a “new” password only into Outlook changes nothing on the server.
Managing Your DarazHost Email Password
If your domain email is hosted with DarazHost, changing your mailbox password follows exactly the provider-first workflow above — and it’s straightforward.
- Change it at the provider (your control panel). Log in to your DarazHost hosting cPanel, open Email Accounts, find the mailbox, and set a new password. This updates the real credential on the server.
- Update Outlook (IMAP/SMTP). Back in Outlook, enter the new password at the prompt or via File > Account Settings > Change so both incoming (IMAP/POP) and outgoing (SMTP) connections reconnect cleanly.
DarazHost is built around easy email management: mailbox passwords, forwarders, and settings are all handled from your cPanel control panel, and every plan runs on fast SSD hosting backed by 99.9% uptime. If you ever get stuck on a password loop, mismatched IMAP/SMTP settings, or a stubborn credential, our 24/7 technical support team can walk you through it.
Whether you run a single business mailbox or email across an entire domain, our cPanel SSD Web Hosting (Starter, Business, Premium) gives you full control of your email accounts — change a password in seconds, then update Outlook and you’re back to work.
Conclusion: Get the Order Right and Outlook Just Works
The whole problem dissolves once you remember the core truth: you don’t change your email password in Outlook — you change it at the provider, then update Outlook. To recap:
- The real password lives at your email provider (Microsoft account) or host (cPanel/webmail) — change it there first.
- Then update Outlook via the prompt, File > Account Settings > Change, or by clearing Windows Credential Manager.
- Doing it in the wrong order is the #1 reason Outlook gets stuck asking for a password.
- Change passwords on a regular schedule and immediately after any breach.
Get the sequence right, and Outlook reconnects quietly the way it should.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change my email password directly inside Outlook?
No. Outlook is a mail client, not your email provider — it only stores a copy of your password to log in. You change the real password at the provider: your Microsoft account for outlook.com/Microsoft 365, or your hosting/webmail control panel (cPanel) for an own-domain address. Afterward, you update Outlook with the new password.
Why does Outlook keep asking for my password after I changed it?
Usually because Outlook is still using the old cached password, or the new password wasn’t saved correctly. Re-enter the new password at the prompt and tick Save password. If it keeps looping, open Windows Credential Manager, remove the stale Outlook/email entry under Windows Credentials, then reopen Outlook and enter the new password fresh.
I changed my password in Outlook but email still doesn’t work. What happened?
You likely changed it only in Outlook, not at the provider — so the server never received a new password and rejects the login. Change the password at the provider first (Microsoft account or cPanel Email Accounts), then enter that same new password in Outlook.
How do I change my own-domain email password?
Log in to your hosting control panel (commonly cPanel), open Email Accounts, select the mailbox, choose Change Password, and save. That updates the real mailbox password on the server. Then update the IMAP/SMTP password in Outlook so it can send and receive again.
How often should I change my email password?
Change it immediately after any suspected breach, unusual sign-in activity, or when someone who had access should no longer have it. As general hygiene, rotate older or reused passwords and pair a strong, unique password with two-factor authentication where your provider supports it.
