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Problems with iCloud Contacts Search in Microsoft 365 Outlook

Anonymous
2024-12-23T20:26:08+00:00

System: Windows Pro (fully updated)

I recently updated my old Office 10 (which I loved) with Microsoft 365. I use Outlook to run my life (calendar, email and contacts) particularly using the Contact Notes extensively to log details of phone calls, etc. The switch to 365 was made to provide the ability to sync with iCloud after Apple deprecated syncing in iTunes. I was able to get my data into Outlook 365 and sync it to iCloud, but am having a struggle getting Outlook to search the correct contact data. I followed the instructions in this link in an attempt to direct Outlook to the proper address book, but the Search People box does not return any contacts from my iCloud contact list which is the only one that has any entries after the sync to iCloud: https://www.outlook-tips.net/tips/icloud-contacts-address-book/

I can get the Search Bar at the top of the People Pane to work, but only if I switch manually in the side pane to the "Contacts-iCloud" contact list from the defaulted "Contacts-Outlook" list which always seems to take precedence (EVERY TIME!). I also have to change the "All Contact Items" selection to either "Current Folder" or "Subfolders" in the search bar after entering a contact name for the contact to appear. This is beyond cumbersome.

Another interesting problem is every time I start Outlook, I get the Reminders screen associated with the incorrect, bland calendar, and then shortly later the iCloud Calendar reminders also appear. It all seems to be related to Outlook not able to search in the correct iCloud dataset (everything else is empty after syncing). I have attached some screen shots to illustrate my settings (below). BTW: The "Contacts" entry that is now in the top position in the "Addressing" window is the iCloud contacts entry that was originally on the bottom, but I moved it to the top manually.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For business

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.

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-01-12T20:15:56+00:00

    Thank you.

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-01-11T09:12:31+00:00

    Hi slicksds,

    Thank you for your reply.

    Since there will be account privacy information involved, but the community team has limited tools and access to account information, you can try contacting customer support for their help.

    You need to fill in the correct options and use your personal accountto view the correct live chat window:

    1. Open the website: Contact - Microsoft Support
    2. Enter MSA in the box below "We're here for you", click "Get Help", and then click "Contact Customer Support" below, (this status must be logged in to your Microsoft account, if you haven't logged in, you can follow step 3)
    3. In this section, you need to sign in to your personal Microsoft account

    Note: You canonly log in with your personal MSA, and you can't display the correct content when you log in with your company account. If the account cannot be logged in, you can use another account or create a new account to execute;

    1. Select "Other Products" in Products & Services, select "Manage Account Security" as a category, and click Confirm
    2. You can select "Chat in a web browser and support specialist" to enter the chat window.

    Please contact support during business hours.

    Thank you for your patience and support. slicksds

    Have a great day.

    Best Regards,

    Linda.L-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-01-10T04:41:07+00:00

    Thank you for all of your information. I have followed the instructions and believe everything is properly configured, but the "Search People" box still does not function properly. As I mentioned above:

    ...when I enter known contact names into the "Search People" box, it returns "We couldn't find the person you were looking for". Interestingly, I have four people with the last name of Adams, but when I enter "Adams" in the Search People box, I only have one match which is a person whose FIRST name is "Adam" and no one with the name of "Adams".

    If I use the main search box at the top of the window, it will find the contact name I enter, but only if I switch from "All Contact Items" (which is the default) to "Current Folder", otherwise it returns nothing.

    Something is wrong, but I have run out of things to try and this is so much more difficult and less productive than previous versions of Outlook which I have used over the years.

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-01-08T09:42:20+00:00

    Hi slicksds,

    Thank you for your reply.

    I'm glad you successfully changed the name of your address book to “iCloud” and thank you for the 4 stars and for recognizing my work.

    In order to help users with the same problem find a solution quickly, you can mark my previous reply as “Yes”.

    If you are searching in Outlook's search box, the results are based on search and message history, so your matches are not the same as what you searched for.

    For more information, please refer to the following link: How to search in Outlook - Microsoft Support

    You can empty the list to suggest names:

    Open Classic Outlook,File - Options - Mail - Send Mail - Empty AutoComplete List

    After emptying, there will be no recent contacts suggestion when you send an email. If you want to search for a contact, you canjust click on the recipient and search for your contact in the address book.

    Thank you for your patience and support.

    Have a great day.

    Best Regards,

    Linda.L-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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