Fixing ‘Something went wrong and we can’t sign you in right now’ issue

If you use an email service provided by Microsoft, then you probably ended up on this page because you saw a message like this: Something went wrong, and we can’t sign you in right now.

Why can’t I log into Outlook web app?

For users who saw the error when they tried to use an email client (Outlook app, for example) to log into their Microsoft-based mailbox, we believe external influences or factors most likely have something to do with the issue.

On the other hand, if you were trying to access your Hotmail or Outlook email account through your browser when you got confronted by the error message, then there is a good chance that something is wrong with your browser (or its cache).

The message often comes up to inform users about an unknown problem. Corrupted browser files, errors affecting Microsoft servers, and a few other things are often responsible for the issue. With these details in mind, we can move on to provide practical solutions for people who came here to find out how to fix the Something went wrong, and we can’t sign you in right now Outlook error.

How to fix issues associated with the ‘Something went wrong, and we can’t sign you in right now’ error message on Windows?

We have no idea of the form of the problem you are dealing with; we do not know what factors are in play regards your issue. We have arranged the fixes in a way that enables them to tackle the problem for every category of user uniformly. To this end, we recommend that you begin with the first solution on the list, and if the need arises, you must continue with the fixes in the order they are listed.

Check your antivirus:

If you are unable to access your Hotmail or Outlook account through an email client after the appearance of the Something went wrong, and we can’t sign you in right now error message, then your antivirus is the first program you must check. You were probably wondering what if something went wrong with Outlook 365 since you were unable to sign into your account.

We understand that antiviruses do the difficult job of keeping PCs safe from viruses and malware, and for this reason, they are often coded to be powerful enough to execute top-level operations. Well, unfortunately, they sometimes go too far in terms of what they do to protect your system.

There is a good chance that your antivirus is strangling Outlook’s connections with the internet or preventing your browser from accessing the required servers. We often struggle to understand why security applications perceive otherwise harmless apps as threats.

You will do well to check your antivirus settings to see how things are going there. Go through all the operations it has carried out recently (if a log for its actions is available). You might be able to make the necessary alterations to stop your antivirus from interfering to cause the problem if you are lucky.

If you are in doubt, you must move on to find out if your antivirus is responsible for the problem at all. You can do this by taking away the powers your antivirus needs to function and observing the changes that result from such an action. To minimize the risks that may result from you depowering your security app, we will guide you to perform the necessary operations in stages.

Follow these instructions:

Launch your antivirus app. Open its settings or configuration menu. Locate the functionalities it employs to perform its duties. Disable or turn them off. The Real-time protection feature (available on some security programs) is an example of the feature we are referring to here.

Find the equivalent of this feature or its component in your antivirus, then get rid of it. Perform the same action on any other feature or functionality you believe plays a vital role in the operations of your security app. If an option for disabling your antivirus altogether exists, use it.

Exit all the program windows you opened. It is time you restarted your system to see the changes that might result from the action you just took. Open the Outlook app or try visiting the email site on your browser and see how things go.

If you can now access your mailbox on your web browser or through the email client without issues, then you have more or less confirmed that your antivirus had something to do with your problem.

If you realized nothing had changed as regards the problem you had been dealing with, then you must continue with the instructions below:

Now, since it seems the actions you took against your antivirus were not enough to stop it from interfering with things unnecessarily, you are left with no choice but to uninstall it because this is the only way you can be sure it is no longer active.

After you finish uninstalling your antivirus app, you must reboot your PC to let the resulting changes become effective. After your computer comes on and Windows settles down, you must verify that you can now access your mailbox without issues.

If things significantly improved after the removal of your antivirus, then you will have to adjust to its absence on the Windows operating system environment since you have proved its presence is detrimental to your work.

At this point, you have to start thinking about the security issue that arose because you got rid of your antivirus. Surely, you understand that it is dangerous to leave your PC without any form of protection.
Well, this time you need a security app that goes about its job without causing headaches for you. In this regards, Auslogics Anti-Malware is as good as it gets.

After you download and run the recommended app, your system will end up with first-class protection, and at the same time, you will not have to worry about the issues resulting from the interferences of security applications.

Clear your browser cache, cookies, and related data:

Your browser app like every other application can become corrupted. To be fair, it is far from immune to the common problems that afflict other programs. Therefore, your inability to access your mailbox manifested as the Something went wrong, and we can’t sign you in right now error message might just be a consequence of an underlying issue affecting your browser.

Fortunately, the vast majority of browser problems are connected to its cache, the cookies it saved, your internet history data, and this means you can fix the issues at hand by simply clearing the stored files.

We will provide instructions you can follow to clear the cache on Google Chrome (since this browser has the highest number of users). The steps are similar for other browser apps, anyway. Here we go:

• Open the Chrome app. Click on the menu icon (consisting of 3 dots arranged vertically) in the top right corner of the program window. From the options that appear, select Settings.
• Scroll down through the menus and options you see for various functionalities or features. Click on Advanced (usually at the bottom of everything). Click on the Clear browsing data option to enter the needed menu
• Expand the drop-down menu for Time range to see the available options. Choose All time. Tick the checkbox for all the categories or items you want to remove (Browsing history, Cookies, and so on). We recommend that you tick the box for every single item or category
• Once you have selected the categories or items you want your browser to delete, click on the Clear data button to allow the operation to commence. After your browser removes all the stored data, you must check if your mailbox website or webpage is now accessible on its platform.

Check if certain settings or options are enabled for the Outlook website or Microsoft webpage:

Most sites employ cookies to deliver a good browser experience to visiting people. The Outlook or Microsoft email websites are no exception to this. You will do well to verify that your browser accepts cookies from them without issues.

In general, if your browser somehow ends up being configured to block cookies from Outlook or Microsoft-based sites (or all web pages in general), you might encounter issues like the one defined by the Something went wrong, and we can’t sign you in right now error notification.

In fact, according to reports, a good number of users who struggled with the problem in view got the result they wanted after they made a few changes to their browser settings. We will guide you on how to carry out the necessary alterations. Carry on with these steps:

Open your web browser (we would like to assume you use Chrome). Look to the top right-hand corner of its window, then click on the Menu icon there. Select Settings from the list of options you see

Scroll all the way down until you see Advanced. Click on it to enter its menu. Click on Content Settings. From the list of items or menu available, click on Popups. Under the Allow section, you should see the Add button, which you must click on to continue

Input the URL for the Outlook mail into the text field provided, then click on the Add button. Do the same thing for the URL for the Microsoft mail service or any other email you are struggling with in general.

The operation you just carried out will force your browser to allow popups from the sites you added. This change was enough to eliminate the issues for some users, so it is time you checked the state of things to find out if you got a similar breakthrough.

Update your browser:

If you have not updated your browser in a while, then chances are that its struggles with the latest web technologies have something to do with the issue you are facing currently. After all you have done, if the Something went wrong, and we can’t sign you in right now error message continues to appear while you remain unable to access your email account, then it is time you moved on to update your browser.

To be fair, most modern browsers are built to check for updates automatically and install them as directed. Nevertheless, due to unforeseen circumstances, events or factors, a program might fail to work as it was designed. Your browser might be missing a critical update (or component).

Well, you must be glad to know that there is a way of checking for updates manually.

Follow these instructions:

Open your web browser (Chrome). Click on its menu icon to see a list of options. Select Help. From the short menu list you see, click on About Google Chrome

A new tab should come up now. Your browser should move on to check for updates. The Google Chrome app will download and install updates (if they are available). Otherwise, you will know that your computer is running the latest browser version if there is no update for it to fetch.

Reinstall your browser app:

If at this point you are still struggling with the problem associated with the Something went wrong, and we can’t sign you in right now error message, then further work is required on your browser. Unfortunately, at this stage, since it is incredibly difficult to identify what problem precisely is afflicting your browser to cause the issue at hand, we cannot proffer new direct fixes to the problem.

What we can do, however, is to propose a procedure that might force enough changes to get rid of all problems regardless of what they might be. Uninstallation and reinstallation of an app works fine. As far as we know, some users who struggled to access their mailbox through the Firefox browser stated that their problems had ceased to exist after they had uninstalled and reinstalled their browser app.

You can go about the uninstallation of applications in several ways. Nevertheless, this time, to ensure that the operation you are about to carry out remains potent enough, you must remove all files, entries, registry keys, and other items related to your browser. Leftover data for your browser might jeopardize the success of the reinstallation procedure in case you do not know.

If you know the directories where your browser stores its files and data, you will do well to get rid of the contents contained in those folders. If you have experience working on the registry, then you can go a step further to get rid of the traces of the browser app there.

When you are ready, you must follow these instructions on uninstalling an app on Windows 10:

Launch the Settings program by tapping (and holding) the Windows button on your keyboard, then hitting the letter I key. After the program window shows up, click on System to enter its menu

You will see a list of options on the left pane. Locate Apps and Features. Windows will now display all the applications currently installed on your PC. Go through them to locate your browser app, which you must click on to highlight it

The Uninstall button must have appeared by now. Click on it to continue. Windows will display a popup to request confirmation for the operation you just initiated. Click on the Uninstall button there to confirm your action

Windows should begin to remove the app now. Its files, data, and so on might be deleted, depending on how the uninstallation process for the app was set up to be. After the uninstallation is complete, you must restart your PC

After your computer restarts and Windows reaches stability, you must move on to download and install the browser. Ensure that you download the latest stable version of the browser. After you finish installing the new browser, you must launch it and see if you are now able to visit the website for your email without issues.

Other things you could try to fix the Something went wrong, and we can’t sign you in right now error affecting email accounts, mail clients, and web browsers on Windows 10

Try out an email client (if you are struggling to access your mailbox through your web browser):

Many users already employ Email clients to help them fetch and manage their email. If you cannot use mail services online due to issues affecting your web browser, then you must consider an alternative method of accessing your email. On Windows 10, you can try out the Mail app (free, but basic Email client), or you can check out the Outlook app (premium, but paid Email client).

Try out a different browser:

If the issues plaguing your browser result in the Something went wrong, and we can’t sign you in right now error message no matter what you do to fix them, then there is a lot of logic in you dumping your current browser for now. Perhaps, an alternative browser app will serve you better.

Check if Microsoft servers are down:

If you are still struggling with the issue even after you went through the fixes and applied all the recommendations we provided in this guide, you will do well to confirm that everything is in order at Microsoft’s end.