how do i retrieve contacts

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how do i retrieve contacts

Texish 20

Someone was reading my emails without my permission. In trying to fix situation I lost all of my contacts. How do I retrieve them?

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Answer 1

Winnie-B 7,765 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Texish

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Forum. I’m sorry to hear about the trouble with your account and the loss of your contacts. I understand this situation can be very stressful.

Just to confirm, about how long ago did the contacts disappear? That helps determine how likely they are still in the Deleted/Recoverable area.

In addition, please try the following steps:

1. Restore contacts from the People page

Sign in to Outlook on the web
Select the People icon on the left
Select Deleted
Find the contact(s) > Right‑click > Restore

2. If they’re not in "Deleted"

In People > Deleted, select Recover deleted (or similar wording)
Select the contacts > Restore

3. Check if contacts were synced or exported If you previously synced your contacts with:

A mobile phone
iCloud
Google Contacts
Windows Contacts

you may be able to re‑import or re‑sync them.

4. Secure your account

Since someone accessed your emails without permission, please also make sure to secure your account:

Change your Microsoft account password
Review and remove unknown devices
Remove unknown recovery emails/phone numbers
Turn on two‑step verification

You can manage your security settings here: https://account.microsoft.com/security

For more details, please see this guide: Restore or recover a deleted contact in Outlook - Microsoft Support

Please feel free to let me know how it goes after trying these steps. I truly appreciate your time and understanding.

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Texish 20 Reputation points

2026-02-11T17:18:13.69+00:00

Thank you so much. I really do not understand what occurred. I have used Outlook for my emails, calendar, excel for years. Recently, I had trouble with getting my emails in Outlook. They were in my internet provider's. I received 2 emails asking me to fix situation and when I clicked on one it started to ask for personal info so I stopped immediately and contacted provider. They found that emails were being forwarded elsewhere. I immediately changed all my passwords, contacted all financial entities, and signed up for Safe lock. I also started using Thunderbird for emails. They discontinued sending my emails to Outlook and I lost all emails at that time (2 weeks ago). I am pretty sure that my contacts were still there. Yesterday, I found that they were all gone. Have tried everything I could find and your very good instructions. Nothing. The restore tab does not light up. I decided to just start over and figure that what I can't recover "probably was not important anyway". They were but I am trying to look at this as Spring cleaning. I really did not need all of my former bosses and colleagues. Biggest problem is that there were things that were important, that I will have to try to remember or really dig to get info back. I had previously tried to back up and send to my portable hard drive, but could not pull them out of this. Good news is that there has not been any unwanted activity and perhaps internet provider was more aggressive than necessary, but better safe than sorry I guess. Thanks again.
Winnie-B 7,765 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-12T06:49:48.5933333+00:00

Hello Texish

Thanks for your reply. I'm sorry to hear about the data loss, but you handled the security breach perfectly. Your "Spring cleaning" mindset is the most resilient and safest way to move forward. Since the "Restore" button is inactive, the data likely was removed from the server during the breach. Starting fresh ensures your new setup remains secure and uncompromised. I am glad to hear that there has been no further suspicious activity.

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Take care.

Answer 2

To retrieve your contacts in Outlook after losing them, you can follow these steps:

Check for Other Contacts Folders: Sometimes, your contacts may be in a different folder. Look for any other folders named "Contacts" or similar in Outlook.
Import from a Backup: If you have previously backed up your Outlook data, you can restore your contacts from a PST file. Here’s how:
- Open Outlook.
- Go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
- Choose Import from another program or file and select Outlook Data File (.pst).
- Follow the prompts to import your contacts.
Check for Sync Issues: If your contacts were synced with an online account (like Microsoft 365 or another email service), ensure that the sync is functioning correctly. Sometimes, re-syncing can restore missing contacts.
Use the Account Recovery Options: If you suspect that your contacts were deleted due to unauthorized access, consider reviewing your account activity and using recovery options provided by Microsoft to secure your account.

If you need further assistance, please check the Outlook support documentation or contact Microsoft support for help.

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