My Microsoft Phone Account is the Same as my Microsoft Laptop Account but my Contact List Won't Sync

I agree. I had a Windows phones for years and was probably one of the last to give it up. I wish they'd go back in to the mobile phone business.

So, far the only thing that has worked for me, is to use google contacts as default and from there (beta) select my Microsoft contacts folder as the ONLY contact source list.

This has eliminated duplicates and I can create a new contact on my Samsung note 9, however, once I get into outlook, I have to correct the first last name, manually, as new contacts are not put in correct order.

Samsung apps have been a huge disappointment and thus using only google (android) apps that will work with professional Microsoft products somewhat successfully.

Those of us that use our phones for all types of work not just social media etc... Microsoft is still, in my opinion, the best for functioning professionally and analytically. MS did not appear ready to drop their mobile platform and move us all to android or apple.

Hello Diane,

Those are all good questions. To answer your first: I have an Outlook icon/app on my phone, but I never ever use. The contact list is accessed through my phone icon (look like a telephone receiver), and if I go in to the "contacts" part of the phone icon and press three small dots, "contact settings" will appear, and in "contact settings" are "accounts & sync" and in "accounts and sync" are several accounts including AOL, Office, email, and OneDrive and Outlook. When I press Outlook my Microsoft account shows up with Outlook:Beta at the end of its name and under that is "Contacts Touch to sync now," which I have.

Surprise: I noticed that something I put in this morning and that I tried to sync this morning is finally on the phone -- though I did press sync again now -- but that may mean it takes a long time, much longer than it takes to sync my calendar and email, for my contacts to sync, but sync they did!!! I'm surprised, to say the least.

What also surprised me is that even thought I never ever use Outlook app, I noticed there were several emails sent from it  or to it, and I know they're mine because they're to places I contacted recently, such as Warby Parker, the eyeglass store -- but on a form their website, not through my aol mail. I don't understand how my Outlook app on my phone has them because everything was done on my laptop. Not even sure, to this day, what Outlook is -- is it my Microsoft account? Is it the email/contacts part of the account? It's so confusing.

Also "Merge" on my phone -- still don't understand? I have only -- only -- contacts on my phone that are from my Microsoft account, and when I bought the phone a little while ago, all -- to my knowledge -- of those contacts downloaded to the phone contact list, so, again, not sure what the merge is, because the merge is asked always from the contact list on my laptop. There are too many names for the same thing, or slightly different thing, in Microsoft. 

Thanks,

Daffy D

Hi DaffyDuck,

Are you using the native app on the phone or the Outlook app? The Outlook app doesn't sync contacts - it can copy them to the phone so you use the contacts for calls.

Merge on the phone means to combine the contacts that are in Outlook.com with the contacts that are on your phone.

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I assume it's outlook because the list is part of my Microsoft account, but I'm a bit confused about that -- will not sync even when I press "sync contact list"

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Unless things changed with newer versions of Android (I have an older version), the Outlook.com contacts are read-only. changes made in Outlook.com will sync over but you can't update or create new contacts on the phone. Changes will be saved local to the phone only.