How to fix my outlook email

The AT&T/Yahoo webmail sign-in must work before Outlook can reconnect; because the same “It’s not you, it’s us” error occurs outside Outlook, AT&T needs to investigate its authentication or service path first.

1. Escalate the webmail failure to AT&T

Contact AT&T support again and state:

“My full @bellsouth.net address fails when signing in directly to AT&T/Yahoo webmail. The AT&T page says, ‘It’s not you, it’s us. We can’t complete your request right now.’ This happens before Outlook is involved. Please escalate this as an AT&T/Yahoo webmail authentication or service issue and verify that the mailbox is active and accessible.”

Ask them to test or address:

• Whether the Bellsouth mailbox is active and unlocked.
• Whether its AT&T/Yahoo sign-in association is working.
• Whether a password reset or account-recovery action is required.
• Whether there is a current service incident affecting legacy Bellsouth accounts.

There is no useful Outlook-side repair while direct provider sign-in still fails: Outlook must authenticate with the system hosting the mailbox. Adding a third-party address to Outlook does not turn it into a Microsoft-hosted mailbox.[^1^](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID] "Connecting a Microsoft subscription to Outlook")

Do not remove the account, delete the Outlook profile, or clear locally stored mail yet. Removing an account deletes its offline cached content from Outlook, and removing a profile removes all accounts in that profile.^2^^3^

2. After AT&T webmail works

First confirm that you can sign in through a browser and can both send and receive a test message. Then reconnect Outlook.

Classic Outlook for Windows

A closely matching Bellsouth/Outlook case was resolved by manually configuring IMAP with an AT&T Secure Mail Key rather than the normal account password.^4^

1. In your AT&T account profile, create a Secure Mail Key.
2. In Outlook, select File → Add Account → Advanced options → Let me set up my account manually → IMAP.
3. Enter:
   • Incoming server: imap.mail.att.net
   • Port: 993
   • Encryption: SSL/TLS
   • Outgoing server: smtp.mail.att.net
   • Port: 465 with SSL, or 587 with STARTTLS
   • Username: your complete @bellsouth.net address
   • Password: the Secure Mail Key, not the regular password
   • Secure Password Authentication (SPA): unchecked

Outlook supports advanced manual setup when server names, ports, and encryption settings must be entered.^2^

If the account remains in Outlook, try its nondestructive repair first:

1. File → Account Settings → Account Settings
2. Select the Bellsouth account.
3. Select Repair, complete the wizard, and restart Outlook.^5^

If you recently changed the AT&T password and classic Outlook keeps using an old sign-in token, close Outlook and open Control Panel → Credential Manager → Windows Credentials. Remove only MicrosoftOffice16_Data:OAUTH2 entries clearly associated with the Bellsouth account, then reopen Outlook and authenticate again. This fallback specifically applies to classic Outlook for Windows after credentials have changed.^6^

New Outlook for Windows

Select View → View settings → Accounts → Your accounts → Add Account, enter the complete Bellsouth address, and follow the prompts. New Outlook supports Yahoo and other IMAP/POP accounts.^7^

Outlook for Mac

After browser sign-in works, use Microsoft’s provider-neutral instructions for adding a third-party email account to Outlook for Mac, linked from its account guidance.[^1^](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID] "Connecting a Microsoft subscription to Outlook") Avoid removing the existing account until any mail stored only on the Mac has been backed up.

If AT&T cannot restore direct webmail access, request escalation specifically for the legacy Bellsouth mailbox; changing Outlook settings cannot bypass that failed provider sign-in.

References

1. [Connecting a Microsoft subscription to Outlook](https://support.microsoft.com/accounts-billing/subscriptions/[Subscription ID])
2. Add an email account to Outlook for Windows
3. Remove a profile
4. Problem with outlook settings. Can't login to legacy yahoo email address. "We couldn't log onto the incoming IMAP server" - Microsoft Q&A
5. Fix your Outlook email connection by repairing your profile
6. Cannot access e-mail in Outlook...error 0x800CCC0E - Microsoft Q&A
7. Supported accounts in new Outlook for Windows