Periodic "Contacts Password Required" popup

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Level 1

76 points

Periodic "Contacts Password Required" popup

I am having daily popups on my 2020 27" iMac asking me to input my "contacts password". When I click on the popup, I am presented with a list of all my accounts - three of them include the user name that's mentioned in the popup, but are for different mail services. When I click on any of them, none asks me for my password. Only one of the accounts, for Outlook.com, has a standing password field that's always there. I re-enter it there, but the next day the popup returns.

I have gone into the three internet accounts with this user name and have unchecked Contacts, but I still get the popup.

I have removed the accounts and reinstalled them, to no avail. The popups continue.

This started happening in Big Sur, and continued when I upgraded to Monterey. I am on the latest version of Monterey.

I also have a 2021 14" MacBook Pro. I don't get the popups there, but I also don't have all my email accounts there, either.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Nov 24, 2021 5:25 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

James Brickley

Level 5

5,692 points

Nov 26, 2021 12:49 PM in response to LeVeau

Many email providers have started requiring the use of an App Password which differs from your account password due to 2-factor / Multi-factor Authentication security. Outlook.com is among them. The symptom is that your account password is rejected and only an App Password will work. So you need to login to your Microsoft account and go to Security and add an App Password for the Mail App on macOS. See the article below:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/using-app-passwords-with-apps-that-don-t-support-two-step-verification-5896ed9b-4263-e681-128a-a6f2979a7944

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Answer 2

Nov 26, 2021 1:57 PM in response to LeVeau

Well you just now provided that information. Try removing the account completely from the Mac with the issue and re-adding the account from scratch. It should sync.

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Answer 3

LeVeau Author

Level 1

76 points

Nov 26, 2021 1:26 PM in response to James Brickley

That would make sense if I wasn’t able to get email from my Outlook.com, but email is not the issue. I get email just fine. In addition, when I go to the Internet Accounts page, Contacts is not even a checkbox item. Also, as I said in my initial post, this doesn't happen on my MacBook Pro … or on my iPhone, where I also use the account.

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Answer 4

LeVeau Author

Level 1

76 points

Nov 27, 2021 8:59 AM in response to James Brickley

You may been correct in your suggestion, but not regarding Outlook. I have an AOL account with that user name, and that appears to be the culprit.

BUT ... it also drove me to try the Spark email app, which I really like to far. It likely will replace the macOS Mail app completely. Check it out in the App Store.

And thanks for the help.

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Periodic "Contacts Password Required" popup

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