BACKGROUND I had Microsoft Small Business (Office 365) service with domain at my registrar pointing to Microsoft EAS servers. I shut down my business and got excellent help from the Business support in transitioning to Outlook.com as there was a minor hiccup whilst my account was in a temporary state. I have two aliases on Outlook.com: ******@outlook.com and I also a have a premium personalized email through GoDaddy as ******@MyDomain.XX. This is a collaboration between Outlook.com and GoDaddy as a registrar. GoDaddy has no email services(!) it points to my Outlook.com inbox through DNS settings. This is automatically managed from Outlook.com. I'm stating this as none of the support I've talked to are aware of this feature. Both these logins reach the same Outlook.com services. OUTLOOK.COM - MAIN PROBLEM When I create a contact in Outlook.com - it doesn't appear in All Contacts . It only appears in: Folders>Contacts . This is not the way it should be. When I import a CSV contact list that contains only the most basic name and email, it ends up in All Contacts . But it is not visible in Folders>Contacts . This is the way it should be. If I want to send an email from Outlook.com and select recipient, I get offered 3 contact lists. My Contacts - containing my 3 imported contacts Contacts - containing my manually created contact Default Global Address list - which is empty Please note: before this test I have made sure there are no other services running from my end except my login to Outlook.com OWA. I have: Deleted all contacts and purged them in Outlook.com Deleted any profiles in Outlook 2016 on two PCs running latest windows with all updates. Removed any devices carrying microsoft products (Outlook 2016), Onedrive etc. Changed password so that no other systems will access EAS or Microsoft services Deleted email account in Android phone Turned off Android phone. In other words - there is only one thing working towards EAS and Microsoft services - my Outlook.com OWA login when this occurs. SECONDARY PROBLEM IN OUTLOOK 2016 Description of what I have done after the test above. Enabled my Office subscription Start Outlook 2016 on windows 10, 1909 with latest updates Allowed the system to automatically create a profile as I am starting fresh Entered details for outlook.com in Add Account Waited for the OST file to populate with emails, calendars and the contact list that I just created in Outlook.com above. The issue: Contact list shows only the manully created contact from Folders>Contacts (Test1) I have one address book. It contains the 3 imported contacts in Outlook.com, but not the contact I have manually added in Outlook.com described above. If I add a contact in Outlook 2016, it appears in my list of contacts in the software, but not in my address book. Similarily, they get synced only in Folders>Contacts next to Test1 in Outlook.com. If I want to pick an email recipient in Outlook 2016, I can not find any recipient from my manully added contacts in Outlook 2016 or Outlook.com. I only get the option of contatcs I have imported in Outlook.com. Thus, I can not manage my contacts. Sidenote: The address book contains incorrect naming, having something that looks like a temporary entry in the name Contacts_ACFXXXX - ******@outlook.com Summary of Problem I can only import contacts and make them work in both Outlook.com and Outlook 2016 I can not manually add contacts in Outlook.com or Outlook 2016 and have them displayed in All Contacts in Outlook.com or have them listed in address book in Outlook 2016. I can not edit contacts in Outlook 2016 or manage my contacts SECONDARY PROBLEM IN ANDROID EMAIL-APP SAMSUNG Android (Samsung S20 Ultra) syncs only the manually added contacts in Folder>Contacts , not All Contacts This not correct. This is exactly the same issue as with Outlook 2016. However, when creating a contact in Android, it gets placed in All Contacts . This is where it is supposed to be! The conclusion must be that it is not Outlook 2016 or Android that is the issue, but the EAS that Outlook 2016 and Android syncs with which is corrupted. MICROSOFT SUPPORT I have over 8 tickets with Microsft. I will not go in to detail of mentioning how frustrating this has been as no one wants to, or is capable of assisting.I do not know if this is the case because Outlook.com is associated with a free service, but I am a paying customer. I expect my support to be treated equally well as when I was a business customer. So far I have been in contact with: I contacted support (Sweden) who logged in remotely for over 1 hour. The support agent had very little experience and even blamed this on virus. Could not escalate to next level support. Did not know how to. I contacted help through the virtual assistant as I was not satisfied with the answer. Entered keywords Outlook Sync contacts fail. Agent connected remotely (US). He was from Office. Said this was an Outlook.com server issue. He clicked on help in Outlook.com whilst connected remotley and requested assistance for me. I got an email from Outlook.com support. I emailed a Word document desribing the issues above. He replied this was an Office/Outlook 2016 issue, not Outlook.com. He never responded when I wrote that I have been directed to them from the Office side. It has been 4 days. I got a call back from the Swedish support which was my first point of contact. He had nothing further, left a message to contact them in case I needed any further assistance(?). I called back, talked to another support agent. She connected remotely for over thirty minutes. Unlike the first agent, she understood the issue and did not play some sort of virus card. She connected me with business support (US) as she believes this may have to do with transitioning my account from Small Business Office 365 and because she has no knowledge of EAS. The new support tech logged in remotely. Call got cut off and his login was terminated before we got too far. He seemed to understand the issue. I called back to Office 365 business. Ended up in UK. Talked to a support agent who spent an hour or more remotely and trying to escalate. Since I am no longer a business customer, and his manager refused to bring this up to Exchange technicians, even though i had tickets prior regarding issues with the transition of the account, I was given a link for support. I was also told by his manager to post the question on this forum so this is why I'm here. To ask for assistance and to share how support is conducted between departments at Microsoft. The support tech I got cut off from called me back 5 hours later. He had indeed tried to assist and checked the office 365 servers as he was a technician on business, but could not deal with Outlook.com as it is a different system. At least he tried and appologised that he had no access. Kudos to him for trying! I followed the link given to me via the manager at UK Office 365. I got support from Office private who logged in remotely. Over two hours later, she is explaining to me that this is not an Outlook 2016 issue (like this was news to me). It is an Outlook.com. She clicks help in Outlook.com and writes in Contact Sync Error Outlook.com. I received an response from Outlook.com representative. She logged in remotely. Asked me to deactivate any other computers or phones. I had already done so. No other software or systems have access to Microsoft EAS as desribed above. I responded to her that this (of course) did not solve the problem in Outlook.com with my contacts. She tells me this is an Outlook 2016 issue, and I need to go to Office support (!!!) Even though the problem is clear as day in Outlook.com. THIS IS A TRUE STORY - WITH NO HAPPY ENDING - SO FAR. I am quite skilled in the world of computers and I have accepted that you need to give everyone a break, even when some of the support staff had very little skills or understanding - far below what should be expected. I understand there is an entrylevel to each problem. Eventually it will be directed to someone who actually knows. If you are a skilled ambassador for Microsoft, caring about your company and the image you portrait, and you feel that you actually understand that this is a server issue, that someone should look into this, that it deserves an escalation to a technician, then for the love of God, whatever dominion or form you believe in, please assist in making it happen. However, please, refrain from giving me a generic link to support, the virtual assistant tool, outlook.com, office 365 or office private. I kindly decline any generic help links. I have done all those things at least twice as listed above. Some even thrice. If you do not understand the services per se, please refrain from cluttering up this thread. If you are a manager reading this. Ask yourself - is this how support should be conducted? Is there anything I can do to make this a better customer experience for the future? Otherwise, you will have very disappointed customers. If you are someone who calls the shots in Microsoft - make sure you have good people servicing your customers. Educate your staff. None of the Outlook.com support knew about personalized email. They kept telling me to go back to my email supplier (!) even after explaininig and showing them the DNS page through Outlook.com and that this was a Microsoft feature(!!) As a personal side-note: If I would have treated my customers in my line this poorly, I would have been sued for negligence. I would have had my license retracted. I would have been barred. I would have lost my daily bread. Maybe everyone should have a license to practice. It would definitely make people more attentive. Food for thought. If you've read all of this up to here, then you deserve a medal. Thank you.

>> They never get placed in All Contacts All contacts is a unified contacts folder in web access (but not in Outlook). Let's first make sure contacts are going where they are supposed to and are syncing, then we'll worry about that folder. Is the contact in the Contacts folder?

As stated, the contact I create in Outlook 2016 or Outlook.com all go into Folder>Contacts They never get placed in All Contacts I just discovered that my Android phone gathers all contacts from Folder>Contacts , but when creating a new contact in the phone, it places the contacts in All Contacts. Where it belongs. You are absolutely right. This inconsistency is beyond what I can fix. Only the techs can fix this. How do you get to a support specialist for Outlook.com who cares and has the competence of fixing this? Without going through another 8 tickets of extremely poor support where no one wants to solve the problem?

When you create a contact in outlook, where does it go? The techs may be correct, but if so, only they can fix it.

Hi Diane, Thank you for reaching out this fast. The contacts_acf* is definitely weird. Do you see it in Outlook 2016 if you switch to the folder list view? Right click on all contact folders and choose Properties > Outlook address book. Are all contacts folders enabled as an address book? I only see Contacts. Not the Contacts_ACF**** Contacts is made visible. However, if I click on Address Book - then I can see both Contacts_ACF**** and Contacts (Where Test1) is located. I can not manually add contacts in Outlook.com or Outlook 2016 and have them displayed inAll Contacts in Outlook.com or have them listed in address book in Outlook 2016. I can not edit contacts in Outlook 2016 or manage my contacts >> What exactly happens when you try? I can only manage the contacts manually added from Outlook.com or Outlook 2016. Any imported contact that ends up in All Contacts in Outlook.com (where everything should be visible in OWA), can not be edited or viewed in the Contact list in Outlook 2016. I can open the Contacts_ACF*** Address Book from the icon Address Book, but that is it. This is the only way I can access those contacts. This should be the default place for all contacts in Outlook 2016 and Outlook.com. My reasoning and some of the technicians I talked to privately tells me that m folder must corrupted or that there are remains of a temporary account from the transition, hence he sketchy naming. Thanks.

Hi Zero, I don't work for Microsoft but know a lot about Outlook. :) >> My Contacts - containing my3 imported contacts Contacts - containing my manually created contact Default Global Address list - which is empty >> Empty GAL is 'normal' for outlook.com accounts. Contacts is the default contacts folder. The contacts_acf* is definitely weird. Do you see it in Outlook 2016 if you switch to the folder list view? Right click on all contact folders and choose Properties > Outlook address book. Are all contacts folders enabled as an address book? >> I can not manually add contacts in Outlook.com or Outlook 2016 and have them displayed inAll Contacts in Outlook.com or have them listed in address book in Outlook 2016. I can not edit contacts in Outlook 2016 or manage my contacts >> What exactly happens when you try?

Outlook.com contact creation error and inconsistent sync. Update: 3 months later, +50 emails and 10 remote sessions with second / third level support have not resolved the problem. Help wanted!

Anonymous

BACKGROUND

I had Microsoft Small Business (Office 365) service with domain at my registrar pointing to Microsoft EAS servers. I shut down my business and got excellent help from the Business support in transitioning to Outlook.com as there was a minor hiccup whilst my account was in a temporary state.
I have two aliases on Outlook.com: ******@outlook.com and I also a have a premium personalized email through GoDaddy as ******@MyDomain.XX. This is a collaboration between Outlook.com and GoDaddy as a registrar. GoDaddy has no email services(!) it points to my Outlook.com inbox through DNS settings. This is automatically managed from Outlook.com. I'm stating this as none of the support I've talked to are aware of this feature.

Both these logins reach the same Outlook.com services.

OUTLOOK.COM - MAIN PROBLEM

When I create a contact in Outlook.com - it doesn't appear in All Contacts. It only appears in: Folders>Contacts. This is not the way it should be.
When I import a CSV contact list that contains only the most basic name and email, it ends up in All Contacts. But it is not visible in Folders>Contacts. This is the way it should be.

If I want to send an email from Outlook.com and select recipient, I get offered 3 contact lists.

My Contacts - containing my 3 imported contacts
Contacts - containing my manually created contact
Default Global Address list - which is empty

Please note: before this test I have made sure there are no other services running from my end except my login to Outlook.com OWA. I have:

Deleted all contacts and purged them in Outlook.com
Deleted any profiles in Outlook 2016 on two PCs running latest windows with all updates.
Removed any devices carrying microsoft products (Outlook 2016), Onedrive etc.
Changed password so that no other systems will access EAS or Microsoft services
Deleted email account in Android phone
Turned off Android phone.

In other words - there is only one thing working towards EAS and Microsoft services - my Outlook.com OWA login when this occurs.

SECONDARY PROBLEM IN OUTLOOK 2016

Description of what I have done after the test above.

Enabled my Office subscription
Start Outlook 2016 on windows 10, 1909 with latest updates
Allowed the system to automatically create a profile as I am starting fresh
Entered details for outlook.com in Add Account
Waited for the OST file to populate with emails, calendars and the contact list that I just created in Outlook.com above.

The issue:

Contact list shows only the manully created contact from Folders>Contacts (Test1)
I have one address book. It contains the 3 imported contacts in Outlook.com, but not the contact I have manually added in Outlook.com described above.
If I add a contact in Outlook 2016, it appears in my list of contacts in the software, but not in my address book. Similarily, they get synced only in Folders>Contactsnext to Test1 in Outlook.com.
If I want to pick an email recipient in Outlook 2016, I can not find any recipient from my manully added contacts in Outlook 2016 or Outlook.com. I only get the option of contatcs I have imported in Outlook.com. Thus, I can not manage my contacts.
Sidenote: The address book contains incorrect naming, having something that looks like a temporary entry in the name Contacts_ACFXXXX - ******@outlook.com

Summary of Problem

I can only import contacts and make them work in both Outlook.com and Outlook 2016
I can not manually add contacts in Outlook.com or Outlook 2016 and have them displayed in All Contacts in Outlook.com or have them listed in address book in Outlook 2016.
I can not edit contacts in Outlook 2016 or manage my contacts

SECONDARY PROBLEM IN ANDROID EMAIL-APP SAMSUNG

Android (Samsung S20 Ultra) syncs only the manually added contacts in Folder>Contacts, not All Contacts

This not correct. This is exactly the same issue as with Outlook 2016.

However, when creating a contact in Android, it gets placed in All Contacts. This is where it is supposed to be!

The conclusion must be that it is not Outlook 2016 or Android that is the issue, but the EAS that Outlook 2016 and Android syncs with which is corrupted.

MICROSOFT SUPPORT

I have over 8 tickets with Microsft. I will not go in to detail of mentioning how frustrating this has been as no one wants to, or is capable of assisting.I do not know if this is the case because Outlook.com is associated with a free service, but I am a paying customer. I expect my support to be treated equally well as when I was a business customer.

So far I have been in contact with:

I contacted support (Sweden) who logged in remotely for over 1 hour. The support agent had very little experience and even blamed this on virus. Could not escalate to next level support. Did not know how to.
I contacted help through the virtual assistant as I was not satisfied with the answer. Entered keywords Outlook Sync contacts fail. Agent connected remotely (US). He was from Office. Said this was an Outlook.com server issue. He clicked on help in Outlook.com whilst connected remotley and requested assistance for me.
I got an email from Outlook.com support. I emailed a Word document desribing the issues above. He replied this was an Office/Outlook 2016 issue, not Outlook.com. He never responded when I wrote that I have been directed to them from the Office side. It has been 4 days.
I got a call back from the Swedish support which was my first point of contact. He had nothing further, left a message to contact them in case I needed any further assistance(?). I called back, talked to another support agent. She connected remotely for over thirty minutes. Unlike the first agent, she understood the issue and did not play some sort of virus card. She connected me with business support (US) as she believes this may have to do with transitioning my account from Small Business Office 365 and because she has no knowledge of EAS.
The new support tech logged in remotely. Call got cut off and his login was terminated before we got too far. He seemed to understand the issue.
I called back to Office 365 business. Ended up in UK. Talked to a support agent who spent an hour or more remotely and trying to escalate. Since I am no longer a business customer, and his manager refused to bring this up to Exchange technicians, even though i had tickets prior regarding issues with the transition of the account, I was given a link for support. I was also told by his manager to post the question on this forum
so this is why I'm here. To ask for assistance and to share how support is conducted between departments at Microsoft.
The support tech I got cut off from called me back 5 hours later. He had indeed tried to assist and checked the office 365 servers as he was a technician on business, but could not deal with Outlook.com as it is a different system. At least he tried and appologised that he had no access. Kudos to him for trying!
I followed the link given to me via the manager at UK Office 365. I got support from Office private who logged in remotely. Over two hours later, she is explaining to me that this is not an Outlook 2016 issue (like this was news to me). It is an Outlook.com. She clicks help in Outlook.com and writes in Contact Sync Error Outlook.com.
I received an response from Outlook.com representative. She logged in remotely. Asked me to deactivate any other computers or phones. I had already done so. No other software or systems have access to Microsoft EAS as desribed above.

I responded to her that this (of course) did not solve the problem in Outlook.com with my contacts. She tells me this is an Outlook 2016 issue, and I need to go to Office support (!!!) Even though the problem is clear as day in Outlook.com.

THIS IS A TRUE STORY - WITH NO HAPPY ENDING - SO FAR.

I am quite skilled in the world of computers and I have accepted that you need to give everyone a break, even when some of the support staff had very little skills or understanding - far below what should be expected. I understand there is an entrylevel to each problem. Eventually it will be directed to someone who actually knows.

If you are a skilled ambassador for Microsoft, caring about your company and the image you portrait, and you feel that you actually understand that this is a server issue, that someone should look into this, that it deserves an escalation to a technician, then for the love of God, whatever dominion or form you believe in, please assist in making it happen.

However, please, refrain from giving me a generic link to support, the virtual assistant tool, outlook.com, office 365 or office private. I kindly decline any generic help links. I have done all those things at least twice as listed above. Some even thrice. If you do not understand the services per se, please refrain from cluttering up this thread.

If you are a manager reading this. Ask yourself - is this how support should be conducted? Is there anything I can do to make this a better customer experience for the future? Otherwise, you will have very disappointed customers.

If you are someone who calls the shots in Microsoft - make sure you have good people servicing your customers. Educate your staff. None of the Outlook.com support knew about personalized email. They kept telling me to go back to my email supplier (!) even after explaininig and showing them the DNS page through Outlook.com and that this was a Microsoft feature(!!)

As a personal side-note: If I would have treated my customers in my line this poorly, I would have been sued for negligence. I would have had my license retracted. I would have been barred. I would have lost my daily bread.

Maybe everyone should have a license to practice. It would definitely make people more attentive. Food for thought.

If you've read all of this up to here, then you deserve a medal.

Thank you.

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

16 answers

Anonymous

2020-05-01T15:27:07+00:00

>> They never get placed in All Contacts

All contacts is a unified contacts folder in web access (but not in Outlook). Let's first make sure contacts are going where they are supposed to and are syncing, then we'll worry about that folder.

Is the contact in the Contacts folder?
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2020-05-01T15:21:10+00:00

As stated, the contact I create in Outlook 2016 or Outlook.com all go into Folder>Contacts

They never get placed in All Contacts

I just discovered that my Android phone gathers all contacts from Folder>Contacts, but when creating a new contact in the phone, it places the contacts in All Contacts. Where it belongs.

You are absolutely right. This inconsistency is beyond what I can fix. Only the techs can fix this. How do you get to a support specialist for Outlook.com who cares and has the competence of fixing this? Without going through another 8 tickets of extremely poor support where no one wants to solve the problem?
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2020-05-01T15:13:35+00:00

When you create a contact in outlook, where does it go?

The techs may be correct, but if so, only they can fix it.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2020-05-01T14:36:11+00:00
Hi Diane,

Thank you for reaching out this fast.

The contacts_acf* is definitely weird. Do you see it in Outlook 2016 if you switch to the folder list view? Right click on all contact folders and choose Properties > Outlook address book. Are all contacts folders enabled as an address book?

I only see Contacts. Not the Contacts_ACF****

Contacts is made visible.

However, if I click on Address Book - then I can see both Contacts_ACF**** and Contacts (Where Test1) is located.
I can not manually add contacts in Outlook.com or Outlook 2016 and have them displayed inAll Contacts in Outlook.com or have them listed in address book in Outlook 2016.

I can not edit contacts in Outlook 2016 or manage my contacts

>>

What exactly happens when you try?
I can only manage the contacts manually added from Outlook.com or Outlook 2016. Any imported contact that ends up in All Contacts in Outlook.com (where everything should be visible in OWA), can not be edited or viewed in the Contact list in Outlook 2016.

I can open the Contacts_ACF*** Address Book from the icon Address Book, but that is it. This is the only way I can access those contacts. This should be the default place for all contacts in Outlook 2016 and Outlook.com.

My reasoning and some of the technicians I talked to privately tells me that m folder must corrupted or that there are remains of a temporary account from the transition, hence he sketchy naming.

Thanks.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2020-05-01T14:10:30+00:00
Hi Zero,

I don't work for Microsoft but know a lot about Outlook. :)

>>
- My Contacts - containing my3 imported contacts
- Contacts - containing my manually created contact
- Default Global Address list - which is empty
>>

Empty GAL is 'normal' for outlook.com accounts. Contacts is the default contacts folder.

The contacts_acf* is definitely weird. Do you see it in Outlook 2016 if you switch to the folder list view? Right click on all contact folders and choose Properties > Outlook address book. Are all contacts folders enabled as an address book?

>>

I can not manually add contacts in Outlook.com or Outlook 2016 and have them displayed inAll Contacts in Outlook.com or have them listed in address book in Outlook 2016.
- I can not edit contacts in Outlook 2016 or manage my contacts
>>

What exactly happens when you try?
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments

Share via

Outlook.com contact creation error and inconsistent sync. Update: 3 months later, +50 emails and 10 remote sessions with second / third level support have not resolved the problem. Help wanted!

16 answers