DreamHost reset your email or SFTP password? Here's what to do.
Since 23 October 2026, DreamHost has been resetting the passwords of some email and FTP/SFTP users as a precaution. If Outlook, Apple Mail, your phone or webmail suddenly rejects your password, that is likely the reason. The DreamHost account owner can set a new password now, in the DreamHost panel. Here are DreamHost's own steps, how to tell a real reset email from a fake one, and what is still unknown.
Why your email or SFTP login stopped working.
On 23 October 2026, DreamHost started investigating an incident affecting several of its services. Its File Manager at files.dreamhost.com went offline and some webmail users were signed out. As a precaution, DreamHost reset the passwords of some email and FTP/SFTP users.
If your password was one of them, webmail and your email apps stop accepting the old password. They keep asking for it, or show a login error. Nothing is wrong with your phone or computer. The account needs a new password.
Where things stand
- Password reset: complete since 24 October 2026, 10:37 AM PDT. Account owners can set new passwords now.
- DreamHost's emails: sent to all affected account owners by 25 October 2026, 9:32 PM PDT, with step-by-step instructions. You don't need to wait for it.
- File Manager: files.dreamhost.com is still unavailable in DreamHost's latest update.
- Status: DreamHost's status page still shows the incident as open, with webmail and email hosting marked as a service disruption.
DreamHost's own steps.
These follow DreamHost's updates of 24 and 25 October 2026. Only the DreamHost account owner can do this. If you just use the mailbox or SFTP login, ask the person who owns the account.
Log in to the panel yourself
Type panel.dreamhost.com into your browser. Don't use a link from an email.
Set the new password
Email: Mail > Manage Email. FTP/SFTP: Websites > SFTP Users & Files. DreamHost's help article shows the mail screen.
Wait 15 minutes, then sign in
DreamHost says a new password can take up to 15 minutes to work. Then update it in Outlook, Apple Mail, your phone and your SFTP app.
On DreamHost Professional Email, some owners saw a "Failed to edit" error when setting the new password. DreamHost says that is fixed (25 October, 11:43 AM PDT), so try again. Early on, DreamHost asked owners to wait for its email before changing passwords. That no longer applies: since 24 October, 10:37 AM PDT, it says you can set them right away.
Treat every reset email with care.
Owners are expecting an email from DreamHost right now, which is exactly when fake ones work best. DreamHost says, in almost every update:
- It will never email you asking for your password.
- Its notification won't ask you to log in through a link.
- Go to panel.dreamhost.com directly to change any password.
- Ignore a reset email you didn't request.
So the safe habit is simple: read the email if you like, but never click its links or reply with a password. Open a new browser tab and type panel.dreamhost.com yourself. The same goes for any host that forces a password reset.
DreamHost hasn't said yet.
- The cause: DreamHost hasn't published what caused the incident. Guesses online are speculation, so we don't repeat them.
- How many users: DreamHost says "some" email and FTP/SFTP users, with no number.
- Whether mail or files were accessed: DreamHost hasn't said either way.
We'll update this page if DreamHost publishes more. Until then, setting a new, unique password for each affected mailbox and SFTP user is the right step.
What DreamHost said, and when.
From DreamHost's status page, oldest first. Times are Pacific time (PDT), as DreamHost posts them.
23 and 24 October
- 23 Oct, 2:20 PM: investigating connection problems with the File Manager.
- 23 Oct, 5:20 PM: File Manager offline, some webmail users signed out. Passwords of some email accounts reset as a precaution.
- 23 Oct, 10:13 PM: resetting some email and FTP/SFTP passwords; asked owners to wait for its email.No longer current.
- 24 Oct, 12:25 AM: resets in progress overnight; still asked owners to wait.No longer current.
- 24 Oct, 10:37 AM: reset complete. Owners can set new passwords now; no need to wait.
- 24 Oct, 6:09 PM: step-by-step emails to owners start going out in batches.
25 October
- 25 Oct, 11:43 AM: most owner emails sent. Owners can set passwords now under Mail > Manage Email or Websites > SFTP Users & Files. Professional Email "Failed to edit" error fixed. File Manager still unavailable.
- 25 Oct, 9:32 PM: all affected owners emailed. Users can't log in until the owner resets their password. Work on the File Manager continues.Latest update when we checked on 26 October 2026, 07:06 UTC.
Why did my DreamHost email stop accepting my password?
Since 23 October 2026, DreamHost has reset the passwords of some email and FTP/SFTP users as a precaution during an incident. If yours was reset, webmail and email apps like Outlook, Apple Mail and your phone stop accepting the old password until the DreamHost account owner sets a new one.
How do I set a new password?
The DreamHost account owner logs in at panel.dreamhost.com and goes to Mail > Manage Email for email users, or Websites > SFTP Users & Files for FTP/SFTP users. DreamHost says a new password can take up to 15 minutes to work. If you only use the mailbox, ask the account owner.
Do I need to wait for DreamHost's email?
No. Early updates asked owners to wait, but since 24 October 2026, 10:37 AM PDT, DreamHost says the reset is complete and owners can set new passwords right away.
Is the DreamHost reset email real?
DreamHost says it will never email you asking for your password, and its notification won't ask you to log in through a link. Don't click links in a reset email. Type panel.dreamhost.com into your browser yourself, and ignore a reset email you didn't request.
I get a "Failed to edit" error when setting the password. What now?
DreamHost says the "Failed to edit" error on Professional Email was fixed on 25 October 2026, 11:43 AM PDT. Try setting the new password again.
Was my email or website hacked?
DreamHost hasn't published the cause, how many users were affected, or whether any mail or files were accessed. The password reset was described as a precaution. Setting a new, unique password for each affected mailbox and SFTP user is the right step either way.
When will the File Manager be back?
DreamHost hasn't given a time. In its latest update, files.dreamhost.com was still unavailable and DreamHost said it will post an update when it is restored.