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I've lost my phone contacts on iphone. It was set to default to Outlook. How can I find them?

GIL HODGES 0 Reputation points
2025-11-05T16:21:06.9866667+00:00

Two days ago, I noticed over 100 of my phone contacts were missing on iphone. After speaking with Apple, they noticed my missing addresses were not on my icloud. The default setting was for Outlook. They believe these missing contacts are in One Drive or Outlook. How can I search for them?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | iOS
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  1. Anonymous
    2025-11-05T16:54:20.64+00:00

    Hi Gil,

    If your iPhone was set to use Outlook as the default account for contacts, those contacts are likely stored in your Microsoft account rather than iCloud.

    Check Outlook Contacts Online - Sign in at Outlook.com using the same account linked to your iPhone. Click the People icon to see if your missing contacts are there.

    Verify iPhone Settings - Go to Settings > Contacts > Accounts and confirm your Outlook account is listed and enabled for Contacts.

    If it’s missing, re-add it under Settings > Mail > Accounts > Add Account > Outlook, then enable Contacts sync.

    Restore Deleted Contacts - If you think they were deleted, you can restore them within 30 days at: Restore Contacts in Outlook.

    OneDrive Note - Contacts aren’t stored in OneDrive unless you exported them manually as a file. If you didn’t do that, they won’t be there.

    Once you confirm they’re in Outlook, you can re-sync them to your iPhone by enabling the Outlook account for contacts.

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