Mac Mail: Unable to Verify Account Name or Password (Fix)

Short answer: "Unable to verify account name or password" means your email provider rejected the sign-in from Mail. Either the password Mail has is out of date, or the provider now needs a different kind of sign-in. Re-enter your current password in System Settings > Internet Accounts first. If that fails, and especially for Gmail, Outlook.com, Hotmail and Yahoo, remove the account and add it back using the provider's own option (Google, Microsoft Exchange or Yahoo) so you sign in on the provider's page. Use an app password only when there's no such option.

The steps are for macOS 27 and also work on macOS Tahoe 26, Sequoia 15 and Sonoma 14.

Why Mail can't verify your account

Apple lists these reasons a provider rejects the password Mail sends:

It isn't your current password, for example because you changed it on another device or on the web.
The provider wants you to reset or update it for security reasons, such as after turning on two-step verification.
The account is suspended or locked.
The provider changed how apps sign in. This is the big one. Google and Microsoft no longer accept a plain username and password from many email apps, so an account set up years ago can stop working overnight. Apple's fix: remove the account and add it back.

Step 1: Check the password on the web

Sign in to your provider's webmail with the same password. If it fails there too, reset the password with your provider first. If webmail also shows a security notice or new terms to accept, deal with that before going back to Mail.

Step 2: Re-enter the password in Internet Accounts

Quit Mail.
Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Internet Accounts in the sidebar.
Click the account, click Details if you see it, and type your current password.
Open Mail again.

If the error comes back straight away, the provider probably doesn't accept a password from Mail anymore. Go to step 3 for your provider.

Step 3: Fix it for your provider

Your address	Choose this when adding the account	App password needed?
@gmail.com, Google Workspace	Google	No, normally
@outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com, @msn.com	Microsoft Exchange (on a Mac)	No
@yahoo.com and other Yahoo addresses	yahoo!	Only if you add it as Other
@aol.com	Aol.	Only if you add it as Other
@icloud.com, @me.com	iCloud (through your Apple Account)	No, not in Apple's own Mail
Work, school or other providers	Other Mail Account, with your provider's settings	Ask your provider

In every case, remove the old account first: in Mail choose Mail > Accounts (which opens Internet Accounts), select the account and remove it. Then click Add Account and pick the option from the table.

Gmail and Google Workspace

Google has stopped accepting username-and-password sign-in from older apps for Google Workspace accounts and tells you to use Sign in with Google. When you add the account with the Google option, Mail opens Google's sign-in page, where you enter your password and any two-step code. Google says app passwords are unnecessary in most cases and shouldn't be used when an app supports Sign in with Google. They also aren't available for work or school accounts, or if you use only security keys for two-step verification.

Outlook.com, Hotmail and Live

Microsoft turned off basic authentication (a plain password) for every Outlook.com account on September 16, 2024. Accounts added to Mail before that often show this error. On a Mac, remove the account and add it back with the Microsoft Exchange option, which takes you to Microsoft's sign-in page. (On iPhone and iPad the option is called Outlook.com.) For a work or school Microsoft 365 account, check with your IT team how it should be set up.

Yahoo and AOL

Choose the yahoo! or Aol. option and you'll sign in on the provider's own page, so your normal password works. Yahoo's app passwords are meant for apps that don't use Yahoo's sign-in page. If you set the account up as Other Mail Account, generate one in your Yahoo account under Account Security > External connections > Create app password, and use it in place of your password.

iCloud

Apple's Mail doesn't need an app-specific password for iCloud. If you're signed in to your Apple Account on the Mac, turn on iCloud Mail in System Settings under your name > iCloud. App-specific passwords are for apps made by other developers, and all of them stop working when you change your Apple Account password.

Work, school and other IMAP accounts

Check the server names and sign-in method with your provider or IT team, then compare them with Mail > Settings > Accounts > Server Settings. The Authentication menu there must match what the server expects. Leave Allow insecure authentication off unless your provider tells you to turn it on.

Still asking for your password?

Check the outgoing server too. Sending has its own user name and password in Server Settings, under Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP). If you only updated the incoming password, Mail can verify the account but fail when you send. See Mac Mail not sending emails.
Clear an old saved password. Many users report that an outdated password saved in the Keychain Access app keeps coming back. Apple doesn't document this, but deleting the old entry for that mail server in Keychain Access, then signing in again, can help.
Make sure the account isn't locked. Too many failed attempts can lock it for a while. Webmail will tell you.
Look for a connection error instead. If Connection Doctor (Window > Connection Doctor) shows the server can't be reached, it isn't a password problem. See Mac Mail can't connect to the server.

If Mail keeps letting you down

Disclosure: we make Canary Mail. Most password errors are fixed by re-adding the account, but if you're setting accounts up again anyway, you could try another app. Canary Mail is an email app for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows and Android that works with Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Yahoo, Exchange and other IMAP accounts. The free plan covers unlimited accounts on 2 devices with AI inbox sorting; the Growth plan ($36 a year) adds AI writing and summaries, read receipts and send later. More than 2 million people use it, and Apple has featured it on the App Store and the Mac App Store.

Be clear about what switching can't fix, though: if your provider is down, your password is wrong or your mailbox is full, every email app will hit the same wall.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my Mac keep saying "Unable to verify account name or password"?

Your provider is rejecting the sign-in. Either the password Mail has is out of date, or the provider (often Google or Microsoft) no longer accepts a plain password from Mail. Re-enter the password in Internet Accounts, or remove the account and add it back with the provider's option.

How do I clear "Unable to verify account name or password"?

Quit Mail, open System Settings > Internet Accounts, click the account and type your current password. If the error returns, remove the account and add it back, choosing Google, Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo or iCloud as appropriate.

Do I need an app password for Apple Mail?

Usually not. If you add the account with the provider's own option (Google, Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo, Aol.), you sign in on their page. App passwords are for accounts added as Other Mail Account when the provider requires them.

Why did my Outlook or Hotmail account stop working in Mac Mail?

Microsoft ended plain-password sign-in for Outlook.com accounts in September 2024. Remove the account and add it back with the Microsoft Exchange option, which uses Microsoft's sign-in page.

Why does Mail keep asking for my password?

The provider keeps rejecting the saved password. Check it on webmail, re-enter it in Internet Accounts, and update the outgoing (SMTP) password in Server Settings too. If it continues, re-add the account.

Other Mac Mail fixes

Sources

Try another email app for Mac

Download Canary Mail

Unable to Verify Account Name or Password in Mac Mail: How to Fix It