People in Outlook 365 won't open

Question

People in Outlook 365 won't open

Sue Williams 20

when i open Outlook and click on People it spins and takes a long time to load

John Jefferson Doyon 83,030 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-02T23:24:26.8966667+00:00

Hi, @Sue Williams

Does this happen in New Outlook, Classic Outlook, or Outlook Web? Please also check whether your contacts open normally at https://outlook.live.com/people

Does the People section eventually load, or does it keep spinning without opening? Also, are you using a Windows PC, Mac, or mobile device?

Thanks!
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T01:16:00.8233333+00:00

When I right click the people when it’s spinning and open it in a new window, it opens in the new window.
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T01:18:07.4366667+00:00

Also o am using office 365 family on my desktop. I guess it’s drawing from the web to my Dell computer. I updated Windows on the computer and restarted it and it still spins.

Answer accepted by question author

John Jefferson Doyon 83,030 Independent Advisor

When I right click the people when it’s spinning and open it in a new window, it opens in the new window. Also o am using office 365 family on my desktop. I guess it’s drawing from the web to my Dell computer. I updated Windows on the computer and restarted it and it still spins.

Thank you for letting me know. Based on what you described, it sounds like you are using New Outlook.

Since People opens in a separate window, your contacts are still available. The problem appears to be with the People page loading inside the main Outlook window.

Please try repairing New Outlook:

Open “Settings” > “Apps” > “Installed apps.”
Find “Outlook (new).”
Select the three dots > “Advanced options.”
Select “Repair.”

Restart Outlook afterward and test People again.

If it still spins, please check whether People loads normally at https://outlook.live.com/people/ and share the result. Thanks!

Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T03:09:08.4566667+00:00

I did the repair which was really quick. Then opened outlook new and it totally froze. Couldn’t do anything. I had to go to task manager and end the task/program. I reopened outlook new and it opened now it freezes all the time. I mean ALL the time.
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T03:12:24.3033333+00:00

I’m also not receiving emails
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T03:20:25.31+00:00

Outlook.live.come/people dies open but there’s only two contacts there. I’m not sure if I’m doing this right at all. Talking to a real person would really be nice.
John Jefferson Doyon 83,030 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-03T03:37:56.2066667+00:00
I’m sorry the repair made Outlook worse.

Since Repair did not help, please try resetting New Outlook:

Open “Settings” > “Apps” > “Installed apps.”

Find “Outlook (new).”

Select the three dots > “Advanced options.”

Select “Reset.”

Restart your PC, then open New Outlook again.

Resetting the app may remove its local settings, but your emails should remain stored with your email provider.

After restarting, please also open https://outlook.live.com/mail/ in your browser.

Do your recent emails appear there?

Can you send and receive a test email from the website?

Does the account shown in the upper-right corner match the account added to New Outlook? Please do not post the full email address here.

Seeing only two contacts may mean the browser is signed into a different Microsoft account, or the other contacts were stored under another account.

Please let me know what happens after the reset and restart, and whether email works normally on Outlook Web. Thanks!
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T03:49:08.3933333+00:00

There is only one email in the account I had to set up in outlook live.com and that one says to continue sending mail sign in and validate the outlook.com account. I have no idea where to go to do that. I did click on people in outlook live and it now says I have 126 contacts. I know I have over 400. I’ll try again tomorrow. This is way too overwhelming. And I know it shouldn’t be this hard.
John Jefferson Doyon 83,030 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-03T04:14:20.9333333+00:00
I understand. Please take a break and continue when you are ready.

To clarify what you are seeing:

What type of email account do you normally use in Outlook, such as Outlook.com, Gmail, Yahoo, or another provider?

Is the email address shown in Outlook Web the same one you normally use in New Outlook? Please do not post the full address.

The message asking you to sign in and validate the Outlook.com account needs to be checked first before testing email again.

Please share what happens when you click that validation message. Thanks!
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T22:25:04.8633333+00:00

Thanks for your patience with me. I think everything is ok. We contacted Cox complete care and he logged into our computer and helped us out. I’ve got the contacts now but have a lot of clean up to do

One thing, I sent the link to my iPad to add it to the family members and it made me make an alias outlook email address. I have no idea why it did that.
John Jefferson Doyon 83,030 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-03T22:32:16.6933333+00:00

I’m glad Outlook and your contacts are working now.

The new Outlook address may have been created because the email used on the iPad was not already linked to a Microsoft account. It may only be an alias, not a separate account. Please check it here: https://account.live.com/names/manage Do not remove it yet. Thanks!
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T23:03:31.0633333+00:00

That makes sense. I do have a separate outlook email address that I use primarily for one thing and that’s not in our Microsoft account. The alias and primary email are there. I’ll just leave it for now. I thank you for your quick responses to my problems.
John Jefferson Doyon 83,030 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-04T03:46:44.27+00:00

I’m glad Outlook and your contacts are working again. Take care!

Glad to assist!

If all is resolved, feel free to mark the answer for this thread. Otherwise, please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

Thanks!
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-04T15:42:15.79+00:00

I don’t know where to mark the answer but yes it’s resolved

1 additional answer

Your answer

John Jefferson Doyon 83,030 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-02T23:24:26.8966667+00:00

Hi, @Sue Williams

Does this happen in New Outlook, Classic Outlook, or Outlook Web? Please also check whether your contacts open normally at https://outlook.live.com/people

Does the People section eventually load, or does it keep spinning without opening? Also, are you using a Windows PC, Mac, or mobile device?

Thanks!
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T01:16:00.8233333+00:00

When I right click the people when it’s spinning and open it in a new window, it opens in the new window.
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T01:18:07.4366667+00:00

Also o am using office 365 family on my desktop. I guess it’s drawing from the web to my Dell computer. I updated Windows on the computer and restarted it and it still spins.
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T03:09:08.4566667+00:00

I did the repair which was really quick. Then opened outlook new and it totally froze. Couldn’t do anything. I had to go to task manager and end the task/program. I reopened outlook new and it opened now it freezes all the time. I mean ALL the time.
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T03:12:24.3033333+00:00

I’m also not receiving emails
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T03:20:25.31+00:00

Outlook.live.come/people dies open but there’s only two contacts there. I’m not sure if I’m doing this right at all. Talking to a real person would really be nice.
John Jefferson Doyon 83,030 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-03T03:37:56.2066667+00:00

I’m sorry the repair made Outlook worse.

Since Repair did not help, please try resetting New Outlook:

Open “Settings” > “Apps” > “Installed apps.”

Find “Outlook (new).”

Select the three dots > “Advanced options.”

Select “Reset.”

Restart your PC, then open New Outlook again.

Resetting the app may remove its local settings, but your emails should remain stored with your email provider.

After restarting, please also open https://outlook.live.com/mail/ in your browser.

Do your recent emails appear there?

Can you send and receive a test email from the website?

Does the account shown in the upper-right corner match the account added to New Outlook? Please do not post the full email address here.

Seeing only two contacts may mean the browser is signed into a different Microsoft account, or the other contacts were stored under another account.

Please let me know what happens after the reset and restart, and whether email works normally on Outlook Web. Thanks!
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T03:49:08.3933333+00:00

There is only one email in the account I had to set up in outlook live.com and that one says to continue sending mail sign in and validate the outlook.com account. I have no idea where to go to do that. I did click on people in outlook live and it now says I have 126 contacts. I know I have over 400. I’ll try again tomorrow. This is way too overwhelming. And I know it shouldn’t be this hard.
John Jefferson Doyon 83,030 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-03T04:14:20.9333333+00:00

I understand. Please take a break and continue when you are ready.

To clarify what you are seeing:

What type of email account do you normally use in Outlook, such as Outlook.com, Gmail, Yahoo, or another provider?

Is the email address shown in Outlook Web the same one you normally use in New Outlook? Please do not post the full address.

The message asking you to sign in and validate the Outlook.com account needs to be checked first before testing email again.

Please share what happens when you click that validation message. Thanks!
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T22:25:04.8633333+00:00

Thanks for your patience with me. I think everything is ok. We contacted Cox complete care and he logged into our computer and helped us out. I’ve got the contacts now but have a lot of clean up to do

One thing, I sent the link to my iPad to add it to the family members and it made me make an alias outlook email address. I have no idea why it did that.
John Jefferson Doyon 83,030 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-03T22:32:16.6933333+00:00

I’m glad Outlook and your contacts are working now.

The new Outlook address may have been created because the email used on the iPad was not already linked to a Microsoft account. It may only be an alias, not a separate account. Please check it here: https://account.live.com/names/manage Do not remove it yet. Thanks!
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-03T23:03:31.0633333+00:00

That makes sense. I do have a separate outlook email address that I use primarily for one thing and that’s not in our Microsoft account. The alias and primary email are there. I’ll just leave it for now. I thank you for your quick responses to my problems.
John Jefferson Doyon 83,030 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-04T03:46:44.27+00:00

I’m glad Outlook and your contacts are working again. Take care!

Glad to assist!

If all is resolved, feel free to mark the answer for this thread. Otherwise, please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

Thanks!
Sue Williams 20 Reputation points

2026-08-04T15:42:15.79+00:00

I don’t know where to mark the answer but yes it’s resolved

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