Why is sign-in to personal email account required every month?

Question

Why is sign-in to personal email account required every month?

Courtney Brinson 20

Every month, usually towards the first of the month, my wife and I are both required to re-sign into our personal email accounts in order to gain access our accounts and our email messages. Why is this required every month? Can Microsoft prevent this from occurring by accepting/certifying both my and my wife's sign-in to our accounts permanently? I continue to pay Microsoft for my account so why are we required to sign-into our accounts every month?

TaoLi 116.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-14T15:27:53.8433333+00:00

Hi, I understand why this is frustrating. A paid Microsoft 365 subscription doesn’t guarantee permanent sign-in; Microsoft may still request identity verification for security. However, that doesn’t establish why both accounts are being signed out every month.

Are you both using the Outlook app on Windows, or accessing email through a web browser? What exactly does the sign-in message say?

If you use a browser, check whether it or a cleanup tool automatically deletes cookies. Deleting cookies can remove your saved sign-in session.
Courtney Brinson 20 Reputation points

2026-10-14T16:42:38.15+00:00

I am using the Outlook app with Windows 11. Each month, it just restricts my access to Outlook and requires that my wife and I sign-in to our email accounts to use them. I can’t remember the exact wording of the message, but all of our Outlook folders are hidden and unavailable until a sign-in is made and accepted.
TaoLi 116.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-15T12:27:39.01+00:00
Thanks for clarifying. Let’s try repairing Outlook first.

Close Outlook and other Office apps, then open Windows Settings >> Apps >> Installed apps.

New Outlook: Find Outlook >> … >> Advanced options >> Repair, if available.

Classic Outlook: Find Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office >> … >> Modify >> Quick Repair >> Repair.

Restart your computer, then reopen Outlook and sign in if prompted.

Answer accepted by question author

Bulldog 5,035

Signing in isn't necessarily required every month, but it can be required 'evey now and then' and that's actually common for online accounts. For example, I have to sign in to Microsoft Q&A every now and again.

There can be several reasons why this is needed. Some accounts may make you sign in from time to time to prove your identity, as a way to stop someone else from using your account. Another reason is that the website owner - in your case, Microsoft - is reconfiguring its servers so everyone (or evryone within a certain range of IP addresses) has to sign in again. Yet another reason is that your connection uses (a tiny amount of) the server's resources and if the server thinks you're no longer interacting with the website you may get signed out so as to return those resources for use by someone else.

None of these are signs of a problem. There's isn't anything that needs to be 'fixed'. Just part of living in a digital world.

With that said, it is possible to remain signed in for a very long time, but not permanently, if the website offers that. For example, Google offers that, so I am almost never required to sign in again. They do this by recording data akin to a cookie on your hard drive, which keeps your session alive. Then again, I use my Google apps every day so there's no reason for Google to sign me out in the first place.

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3 additional answers

Your answer

TaoLi 116.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-14T15:27:53.8433333+00:00

Hi, I understand why this is frustrating. A paid Microsoft 365 subscription doesn’t guarantee permanent sign-in; Microsoft may still request identity verification for security. However, that doesn’t establish why both accounts are being signed out every month.

Are you both using the Outlook app on Windows, or accessing email through a web browser? What exactly does the sign-in message say?

If you use a browser, check whether it or a cleanup tool automatically deletes cookies. Deleting cookies can remove your saved sign-in session.
Courtney Brinson 20 Reputation points

2026-10-14T16:42:38.15+00:00

I am using the Outlook app with Windows 11. Each month, it just restricts my access to Outlook and requires that my wife and I sign-in to our email accounts to use them. I can’t remember the exact wording of the message, but all of our Outlook folders are hidden and unavailable until a sign-in is made and accepted.
TaoLi 116.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-15T12:27:39.01+00:00

Thanks for clarifying. Let’s try repairing Outlook first.

Close Outlook and other Office apps, then open Windows Settings >> Apps >> Installed apps.

New Outlook: Find Outlook >> … >> Advanced options >> Repair, if available.

Classic Outlook: Find Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office >> … >> Modify >> Quick Repair >> Repair.

Restart your computer, then reopen Outlook and sign in if prompted.

Answer 1

TaoLi 116.5K Independent Advisor

Could you please provide some additional information—are you using the new version of Outlook or the classic (old) version?

Courtney Brinson 20 Reputation points

2026-10-15T12:44:40.84+00:00

New version of Outlook

Answer 2

TaoLi 116.5K Independent Advisor

Close Outlook >> Windows Settings >> Apps >> Installed apps >> Outlook >> … >> Advanced options >> Repair.

If that doesn’t help, try Reset on the same page.

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Answer 3

Stefan Blom 354.6K MVP Volunteer Moderator

The regular sign-ins could be a requirement from the e-mail services. Are you using any third-party (non-Microsoft) e-mail addresses, such as @gmail.com?

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