Level 1

39 points

Exchange Account Keeps Disappearing from Internet Accounts on macOS Mojave

I just upgraded to macOS Mojave. Previously, I was unable to add my Exchange account because we require 2FA and disable app passwords, and the prior macOS didn't support the newer Web-based 2FA (unlike iOS).

Anyhow, so now it lets me add it just fine--opens the Web window, I sign in, I approve 2FA notification. I choose Done to add all the different things (mail, calendar, etc.). Things start showing up--mail, calendar items, etc.

Then randomly, sometimes within seconds, other times minutes, even like 30m-hr once, the account just disappears.

I suspect, maybe, this was due to prior failed attempts to set it up on prior macOS, and somehow the commands to remove the failed account are out in the iCloud system (you know, it asks if you want to Remove from All when removing..).

I can't imagine a way to tell it, no, really I really want this account no really. I just keep re-adding it, hoping it will eventually take, but it's pretty annoying.

Any other suggestions?

MacBook Pro TouchBar and Touch ID, macOS Mojave (10.14), Late 2018

Posted on Sep 24, 2018 12:39 PM

Top-ranking reply

mikemadden

Level 1

14 points

Posted on Oct 24, 2018 8:07 PM

I'd been having this problem, too, this week, and wound up chatting with Apple support about it. They said a new internal document today was suggesting the screen recording, and set up a call for later today after I'd made the recording.

But actually, once the support desk called me to connect me with engineering, they were able to help me fix it without escalating it further. They had me reset my keychain completely, then restart the computer. Once I did that, I was able to re-add the Exchange account, authenticate with third-party oAuth, and even turn iCloud Keychain back on. So far, seems to be working well.

Hopefully they'll have pushed a new update out before the next time I have to change my Exchange password, which I think is partly what triggered this whole glitch on my end. Good luck to anyone trying it for themselves, too!

View in context

45 replies

superbam

Level 1

4 points

Sep 27, 2018 8:54 AM in response to ambrogio

I was just about to post nearly the same conclusion. They had me reset the NVRAM and boot into safe mode to try to figure this out. In safe mode it worked fine so I wiped my account and created a new one. Signed into iCloud and started setting everything back up. It worked great until a minute ago when whatever is happening in the background happened again. I was trying to add a delegate calendar from Exchange and something flipped out and now the account is gone again. At this point I'm pretty frustrated since I have about 3 hours into resolving this.

superbam

Level 1

4 points

Sep 27, 2018 10:06 AM in response to ambrogio

This is what I've tried now:

Logged out of iCloud
Added the account back
Logged back into iCloud

And... no luck. Account stuck around for about 10 minutes and is gone again.

I suspect this is due to choosing yes to remove the account from all computers since this computer worked fine until I clicked that button yesterday after having issues on another computer. Since then I haven't been able to get the account to stick for more then 30 minutes.

Oct 3, 2018 3:45 PM in response to moedavis

Moe, I did that but was surprised to see that after disabling Keychain in iCloud and adding my Exchange account, within a few minutes the Exchange account disappeared and Keychain was re-enabled. Tried again but this time did not add the Exchange account and Keychain still re-enabled itself again. Maybe a separate issue or could be related?

ambrogio Author

Level 1

39 points

Oct 4, 2018 6:49 AM in response to moedavis

moedavis, thanks, I can confirm this is an effective workaround for me, too.

So I think we've narrowed it down to the iCloud Keychain, particularly for macOS.

I couldn't find reliable info on how to reset the iCloud Keychain. I think I'd be willing to go through that pain to get it all working again. I've looked at the relevant Apple articles, but most deal with the case of being locked out, from what I can tell. And I'm a little squeamish to muck around too much with this. LOL I'm half wondering if I can just live with this MBP being disconnected from Keychain..

ambrogio Author

Level 1

39 points

Oct 10, 2018 8:10 AM in response to jens_francis

My case is still open. I last talked to the support rep yesterday. He is in communication with "engineers" about the issue, who had additional questions. I told them about this thread and specifically that I and others have narrowed it down to iCloud Keychain. It turns out that was one of the questions the engineers had, so here's hoping this will help them get to the bottom of it.

Koopmans

Level 1

8 points

Oct 18, 2018 1:56 PM in response to ambrogio

All, has anyone solved this? I haven't seen a reply in a week and I am having the same issue. If you have it figured out, I'd love to know what the solution was (other than permanantly disabling keychain). Anything official from Apple? Are they recognizing this as an issue yet?

ambrogio Author

Level 1

39 points

Oct 24, 2018 3:33 PM in response to ambrogio

Hi all, they asked me for a screen recording showing the behavior. I'm just throwing this out there--if anyone else wants to record it happening, feel free, and post it here, if you can/there's nothing sensitive showing in it.

cndfr

Level 1

8 points

Nov 27, 2018 3:40 PM in response to mikemadden

That doesn't work for me. I'm having the same issue right now (I have two exchange accounts, and one of them keep disappearing). Have reseted keychain two times - no effect, account still disappearing.

Jan 11, 2019 4:08 AM in response to PodgySamurai

A quick update on this....received a prompt from system preferences saying Mail needed by exchange password, and after successfully re-authenticating the account disappeared from Internet Accounts within a few seconds, even with Contacts still disabled. So although it seems possible to add the account without enabling Contacts, when you hit the 30 days limit to re-authenticate then it looks like there is still a problem.

Has anybody who has managed to get their fix to work re-enabled Contacts AND gone through a re-authentication process, with the account still not deleted?

superbam

Level 1

4 points

Sep 26, 2018 5:43 PM in response to ambrogio

Did you find a solution? I'm running into the same thing.

ambrogio Author

Level 1

39 points

Sep 27, 2018 8:57 AM in response to superbam

You and me, both. At least 3 hours..

zdubbub

Level 1

10 points

Sep 28, 2018 10:37 AM in response to ambrogio

I'm also having this issue. In an attempt to alleviate this issue, I've signed in using a O365 App password. Will report back with my status later.

Sep 28, 2018 11:16 AM in response to ambrogio

I have the same issue. I have a Google Apps account configured just fine, but my work O365 account keeps randomly disappearing. Going to try to the app password method mentioned in this thread.

ambrogio Author

Level 1

39 points

Sep 28, 2018 1:01 PM in response to zdubbub

danielsjt and zdubbub, did you previously choose "Remove from All" as well, before upgrading to Mojave?

Sadly my company does not allow app passwords, so I'm SOL on that front.

Sep 28, 2018 1:20 PM in response to ambrogio

Yes, a few weeks ago on High Sierra I did the "Remove from All" step.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Exchange Account Keeps Disappearing from Internet Accounts on macOS Mojave