How to Fix: 'Your Yahoo account settings are out of date' Error

Infopackets Reader Marion L. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I've been using my Yahoo email with Windows Mail for quite a while, but now it keeps telling me 'Your Yahoo account settings are out of date' near the top of the screen. The options 'Fix Account' or 'Dismiss' don't work. If I click 'Fix Account' it says 'Something went wrong. We're sorry but we weren't able to do that. Error code: 80070422'. I cannot send or receive emails using my Yahoo account. Can you please help? "

My response:

As I mentioned in last week's post, the 'Your account settings are out of date' is a very generic error message, which also means it can have many meanings. In Marion's case, the fix for this error with respect to her Yahoo account had to do with a permissions issue on Yahoo's web portal page. That said, I'll briefly go through the steps I went through in order to fix this error.

How to Fix: 'Your Yahoo account settings are out of date' Error

1. The first thing you need to do is login to https://mail.yahoo.com using the web portal in order to verify that your email address and password are in fact working. Since the Windows Mail app isn't very descriptive with its error messages, this should at least eliminate that possibility. Once you have successfully signed into your account, proceed to the next step.
    
2. You should see your account name near the top right of the Yahoo email portal page. Hover your mouse over top of the account name and click the link that says "Account info".
    
3. Next, click the "Account security" menu from the top left of the screen. The "Account security" page should now be shown. Click the button that says "Allow apps that use less secure sign in" - it should turn blue.
    
4. Now, go to your Windows Mail app. If you already have a Yahoo account, try checking for email again; if your user name and password are correct, you should start receiving emails. If you receive an error, edit the account and re-enter in the user name and password. If you haven't added a Yahoo account yet, click the "Add account" button, then enter in your user name and password. You should start receiving emails now.

If you continue to receive an error, something else may be amiss - in that case, you are welcome to contact me for additional support, described next.

Additional 1-on-1 Support: From Dennis

As I've already mentioned, the 'Your account settings are out of date' is a very generic error message and therefore can have more than one meaning. That said, the solution I've proposed in this article is a very, very common issue and should fix most instances of this problem, especially for Yahoo or even Gmail users. That said: if you are still stuck and can't resolve this error, I am more than happy to assist using my remote desktop service. Simply contact me briefly describing the error, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Got a Computer Question or Problem? Ask Dennis!

I need more computer questions. If you have a computer question - or even a computer problem that needs fixing - please email me with your question so that I can write more articles like this one. I can't promise I'll respond to all the messages I receive (depending on the volume), but I'll do my best.

About the author: Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.