Outlook 2FA Issue

Summary If Outlook embedded in PaT keeps asking you to log in with two-factor authentication (2FA), delete Microsoft's cookies in Google Chrome. In Chrome's settings, under Privacy and security, Third-party cookies, open See all site data and permissions and delete the cookies for Microsoft sites and for Office sites such as outlook.office365.com. Then refresh your browser and log in to PaT again. This works because Microsoft keeps some of your access tokens in cookies, and over time these can become corrupt.

Steps

Note. Use these steps when Outlook embedded in PaT keeps asking you to log in with two-factor authentication (2FA), again and again. The steps are for the Google Chrome browser.

Step 1

In Google Chrome, click the three dots in the top right corner of the window, to the right of your profile picture. Chrome's menu opens.

Step 2

Click Settings, at the bottom of the menu. Chrome's Settings page opens.

Step 3

In the menu on the left of the page, click Privacy and security.

Step 4

In the Privacy and security list in the middle of the page, click Third-party cookies, the third item. The Third-party cookies page opens.

Step 5

Scroll down to See all site data and permissions, below Advanced, and click it. The All sites list opens.

Step 6

In the search box at the top right of the All sites list, type Microsoft. Then delete the cookies of each Microsoft site in the list: click the rubbish bin at the right end of its row.

Step 7

Do the same with any Office sites, for example outlook.office365.com: type office in the search box and delete each Office site's cookies. The search can also list other sites, such as PaT's own site, so delete only the Microsoft and Office sites.

Step 8

Once you have deleted them, refresh your browser and log in to PaT again. When you open Outlook embedded in PaT, it should open straight away.

Note. Why does this happen? Microsoft caches some of your access tokens in cookies, and over time these can become corrupt or cause problems. Deleting the cookies lets them be recreated, which should fix it.