Bug causing issues adding Outlook accounts to Apple Mail on Mac
Users have reported the issue on Apple forums. The affected users describe that there is failed authentication when trying to add Outlook.com, Hotmail, or Live accounts to Apple Mail. There seems to be a variety of different errors, including “Authentication Failed” or “Unable to verify account name or password”. Right now, it seems that iCloud, Gmail, and Microsoft 365 Exchange accounts seem unaffected by the bug. And it doesn’t seem to affect all users of Outlook emails either.
The bug seems to have started in October 2025
The bug seems to have shown up in early October. It’s been reported on multiple platforms, including Apple Discussions and Reddit. Users running macOS Tahoe 26.0.1 have encountered the issue after updating. But there are also people running macOS Sequoia 15.7.1 who have reported the same problem.
So, it may not be directly related to macOS Tahoe. It’s possible that here we’re talking about a broader authentication problem between Apple Mail and Microsoft’s email services, and more specifically, Outlook.
MacOS Tahoe. | Image Credit – Apple
A MacBook Pro owner notes that Outlook still works fine on their iPhone and iPad, but not on their Mac after the update. Another person claims that the Cupertino tech giant’s support team recommended updating the OS or using Microsoft’s Outlook app. But apparently, at least for that one person, this didn’t fix the situation.
Meanwhile, other users complain about missing account options inside Apple Mail. For one, previously, Mail allowed you to add “Outlook.com” directly, but now there’s only Exchange or IMAP.
Some users are speculating that this change is confusing Microsoft’s authentication process, while others seem to be ready to blame Microsoft’s Authenticator app integration that may be failing on macOS.
Workarounds… are not perfect
Unfortunately, though, the workarounds at the moment are far from working. For some people, configuring IMAP manually (servers outlook.office365.com and smtp.office365.com) can work, while for other affected users, unfortunately, this also fails. Right now, the best option is to use Microsoft’s standalone Outlook app or check your emails from the browser. Obviously, this isn’t great news for people who are used to having all their email accounts in Apple Mail, as these people will now have to jump back and forth between multiple apps. And that’s quite annoying, if you ask me.
Luckily, though, not everyone is affected by the problem. At the moment, neither Microsoft nor Apple has acknowledged the issue or provided any form of a solution. It doesn’t seem to be a widespread issue, and most Mac users, even on macOS Tahoe, appear to be unaffected at this point in time.
Things like this are reasons why I don’t jump into updates straight away. Sometimes, minor tweaks in code or configuration can cause a chain effect of annoyances, so I’m more of the type of people who prefer waiting around a bit before installing a new update. Especially on the computer that I work on.
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