Here’s How to Troubleshoot AOL Mail Login Issues

Despite being one of the oldest and most preferred free-email platforms in the world that is known for offering flawless services and a wide range of features to its users; AOL Mail is still not free from errors. 

Every now and then, its users register complaints regarding various kinds of issues that they encounter while using AOL services. Among all, ‘Can’t Sign into AOL Mail’ is the most common one that majority of the AOL users run into!

Considering the seriousness of this particular issue that restricts the AOL users from accessing their own account, we’ve come out with this blog to help all such AOL Mail users who’ve recently encountered problems while signing in to their AOL Mail accounts.  Well, before moving ahead to know about the possible solutions for ‘AOL Mail Login Issues,’ let us first aware you of the fact that there are many ill-factors that can create login-related issues with your AOL mail account. For instance, most of the time, ‘AOL Mail Sign-in Problems’ derive from the followings—

• Authentication Error
• Blank AOL Login Screen Error
• Server Error
• Browser Error
• Missing AOL Sign-In Error
• Invalid Login Credentials Error 
• Forgotten Password
• Compromised or Hacked Account 
• Outdated AOL Desktop Gold Version Error

However, no matter what the ‘login-related’ error you’re experiencing, the following below-mentioned troubleshooting solutions will definitely help you login back to your AOL Mail account quickly. So, now without wasting any time, let’s just begin—

Solutions to Troubleshoot AOL Mail Login Issues

[Prerequisite: First of all, you have to ensure “getting a strong and good enough internet connection to open the AOL mail login site.” Otherwise, it goes without saying that a faulty internet connection is one of the reasons that hampers your AOL mail sign-in process. So, consider – “establishing a strong network connection between your device and your AOL Mail” as a prerequisite solution for AOL mail login issues.]

Solution 1: Check Server Status of AOL Mail Service

Until and unless, the server of the AOL Mail service is down, you cannot login to your AOL Mail account. To be precise, when the server of the AOL Mail becomes overloaded with heavy traffic, it may not consider your ‘sign-in’ request for a while. So, in scenarios where regardless of how hard you try, if you can’t access your account then, make yourself sure whether the server of your particular email service is down or not, simply by checking about the same on either of the following given websites—

• Outage Report
• Downdetector
• Is it down Right Now?
• Downforeveryoneorjustme?

And, if they confirm the server issue, then wait for some time till the AOL Mail service itself fixes its server-issue.

Solution 2: Optimize/Reset/Update Web Browser 

Sometimes, even your web browser that you regularly used to access your AOL Mail account, acts as a culprit behind why you receive an authentication login error while accessing your account. So, in order to assure yourself about the same that mainly occurs either due to incorrect settings or due to an outdated version of your browser; try to login to your AOL Mail account in a different browser. And, if you can access your account using it then, you’ll to need to fix the issue in your preferred browser simply by considering the following troubleshooting options—

• You can optimize your preferred web browser by clearing its old cookies, caches, bookmarks and browsing history.
• Now reset settings of your preferred web browser. 
• Or, (if update available) you can also update the same web browser with the latest version of it.

And, along with doing so, you can also resolve AOL mail authentication problems by adding AOL to your preferred browser’s trusted sites. So, basically, after resolving the browser-related issues that lead to can’t login to your AOL Mail account, you can hopefully login to your AOL Mail account without any further trouble.  

Solution 3: Disable, Delete, Remove or Uninstall Security Programs and Software

Various security programs like antivirus, media players, firewall settings, add-ons, plugins, extensions, proxies, VPN software and so on can also cause trouble in the AOL Mail login process. So, before you make another attempt to login to your AOL Mail account, we recommend you to remove, delete, uninstall or disable all such programs and software from your respective device to simply get rid of getting a popup or blank AOL login screen.

Solution 4: Verify the Login Credentials of Your AOL Mail Account

Quite obvious in most of the cases, the ‘AOL Mail Login’ error arises when users unconsciously while in a hurry enter the wrong, invalid or old login credentials for their respective email accounts. So, in case you also have received ‘Invalid Username/Password’ error-message on the AOL Mail login screen then, you need to do either or all the followings—

• Try to calm down your mind and cross-check your account’s username and password.
• Carefully use both the ‘NUM LOCK and CAPS LOCK’ keys when you type password because passwords are case-sensitive and these keys can replace the meaning of what you are entering in the password text box. 
• Try to manually type your AOL mail account password even though you’ve enabled the autofill option. It is so because if you’ve updated your AOL mail account password in the recent past and haven’t updated the same for autofill settings of your web browser then, you’ll continue receiving the ‘Invalid Username/Password’ message as your browser keeps autofilling the old password for your AOL account, every time you try login to your AOL Mail account. 
• Last but not least, avoid copy-pasting your AOL mail account password as you might end up copying a ‘Space’ character at the beginning or at the end of your actual AOL account password.

Solution 5: Recover Username and Reset Password of Your AOL Mail Account

No matter whether you’ve forgotten your AOL Mail account login credentials or someone has hacked your account, most likely by locating the username and changing the current password of your AOL Mail account with a new one, you can quite easily access your account back. So, based on whether you need to recover your account’s username, or you need to change its current password with a new one, simply follow the below-given steps accordingly—

To Recover Username—

• Visit the ‘AOL Sign-in Helper Page’ from your preferred web browser.
• There, enter your ‘Recovery mobile number or alternate email address’ in the given text field and click on the ‘Continue’ button to get started with the process of recovering your AOL username.

• Now, the AOL server emails you containing your account’s username.

However, if you know your username but not your password then, you can either check your browser’s autofill settings to find your password (in case you’ve enabled the same) or, (in case you’ve disabled the same) you can simply reset the password of your AOL Mail account. Also, as said above, you can consider resetting your account’s password also when you suspect or realize that your account has been hacked by someone.

To Reset Password—

• Open your preferred web browser and visit the ‘AOL.COM’ website.
• There, click on the ‘Login/Join’ link from the top-left corner of the screen to simply direct yourself onto the ‘AOL Sign-in Page.’

• Once you reach there, enter your ‘AOL account’s username/email address/registered mobile number’ in the required text field and hit the ‘Next’ button. 

• Doing so, you’ll be navigated on the next page and there, simply click on the ‘I Forgot My AOL Mail Password’ link.
• This will further direct you onto the ‘AOL Password Recovery Methods Page’ and being there, you’ll be offered with the following options by AOL—

1. Recovery Email address
2. Registered Phone Number
3. Answer Security Question

• Out of all these available options, select the ‘Recovery Email address’ method and enter the address of your secondary email ID in the required text field.
• After entering the same, click ‘Yes’ in front of ‘Send me a code via Email’ option to simply receive a verification code from AOL on the same secondary email ID.
• Once you receive the code, enter the same in the required field and click on the ‘Continue’ button to move further onto the last ‘Password Reset Page.’
• On this last page, you’ve to enter a new password twice for your AOL Mail account and that’s it!
• Now, using the newly set password, you can try to log in to your AOL email account.

Solution 6: Configure AOL Mail Account in MS Outlook— the ‘Desktop Email Client’

Last but not least, if none of the above-mentioned solutions works in your favor and still, AOL won’t let you sign-in then, what best you can do is set up your AOL Mail account in a desktop email client like MS Outlook. And, to help you with the same, we’ve also mentioned steps regarding the procedure of how you can set up your AOL Mail account in MS Outlook. Have a look—

• To start the configuration process of setting up your AOL mail account in MS Outlook, you need to first launch the MS Outlook program on your respective PC.
• Once the program launches, locate its ‘File’ section which is there in the top-left corner of the screen and then, click on the same to expand its menu.
• From the drop-down menu, click simply on the ‘Account Settings’ option.
• Doing so will open a wizard in front of you and inside the same, click on the ‘Email Tab’ to choose the ‘New’ option.
• This will further open an ‘Add New Account’ wizard and there, you have to select the ‘Manual Setup or Additional Server Types’ checkbox. 
• After that, hit the ‘Next’ button to move onto the ‘Choose Service Page.’
• There on the ‘Choose Service Page,’ select the ‘Internet E-mail’ option and at the same time, again hit the ‘Next’ button to enter the following given details inside the ‘User Information’ section:
  • Name: Enter Your Full Name
  • Email Address: Enter Your Complete AOL Email Address

• In continuation, click on the drop-down icon of ‘Account Type’ option and select either “IMAP” or “POP” as the server-type of your AOL Mail account. 
• Now, based on your selection of ‘Account Type,’ enter their respective ‘Incoming and Outgoing AOL Server Settings’ in the ‘Server Information’ section:

Server Information for ‘IMAP’ Account Type:

Server Information for ‘POP3’ Account Type: 

• Moving on further, you also have to fill the ‘Logon Information’ section with these following details:

• Email ID: Enter Your AOL Email Address
• Password: Enter Your AOL Mail Account Password 
• Login With: SSL Encrypted Connection
• And, in the end, select the ‘OK,’ ‘Next’ and ‘Finish’ buttons to finally complete the configuration process. Now, login to your configured ‘AOL Mail’ account without encountering any further login trouble.

That’s it! Doing so, you’ll be able to get rid of various kinds of webmail login issues that you encounter quite frequently with your AOL email account. However, if you need assistance for all kinds of AOL Mail problems then, consider visiting our next blog on the same.

Author: Khushboo Chhibber

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