How do I update my phone number so that it appears in the GAL?

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How do I update my phone number so that it appears in the GAL?

David Shader 41

We are using Exchange Online and our users would like to know how they can change their phone numbers so that it appears in the GAL through the outlook 2016 client. https://myaccount.microsoft.com/ does not allow changing any contact details.

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Answer 1

Hi @David Shader ，

As per to your concern about "there isn't any Setting>Options link" in the OWA page, I just noticed that a similar feedback has already been submitted for the doc, see:
User self update of contact info documentation does not work nor does it match what users see on screen

Following the link shared in the disccusion, found some more information here:
added note about classic OWA #1541
"The following instructions are only applicable to the classic Outlook Web App. It will be deprecated in future, and you may need to use alternative ways to update your profile information, like using Microsoft 365 Delve"

So it seems that the instructions in this document is going to be improved by adding these notes. And currently, to update the contact information, the users can use the https://outlook.office.com/ecp page as you shared earlier, or as mentioned above, use the classic Outlook Web App (https://outlook.office365.com/owa/?path=/classic) or open delve.office.com:

classic Outlook Web App:
Settings > Options > General > My Account:

Delve: (But there's no option to edit Work phone number, so not suitable for your situation.)
Me > Update Profile:

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David Shader 41 Reputation points

2021-06-07T17:44:00+00:00

Delve will only allow the user to 'Add Mobile' There isn't an option to add a Work Phone. The Work Phone is the one that shows up in the GAL. Otherwise yes, this is the more complete and accurate answer. Thank you for following through with this, it's a big help and will hopefully help others as well.
Yuki Sun-MSFT 41,376 Reputation points Moderator

2021-06-08T01:55:11.397+00:00

Hi @David Shader ，

Delve will only allow the user to 'Add Mobile' There isn't an option to add a Work Phone. The Work Phone is the one that shows up in the GAL.

Happy to know that my reply above helped and thanks a lot for pointing this out. I'll edit my post above in case it causes confusion for others.

Answer 2

Andy David - MVP 157.8K MVP Volunteer Moderator

Are you syncing from on-prem? If so, then the change would need to happen there and there is really isnt a native way of doing that for an average user unless you give them access in ADUC on-prem (bad idea) or a process of some sort outside of Exchange and AD to update it that updates the on-prem AD entries.

If you are not syncing from on-prem then ensure that ability is not disabled:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/troubleshoot/administration/update-contact-information#how-administrators-can-limit-users-ability-to-update-their-own-contact-information

David Shader 41 Reputation points

2021-06-03T17:42:32.947+00:00

Thanks AndyDavid. So, when I use that doc and follow the instructions - there isn't any Setting>Options link. What I did find, and this might be some kind of legacy thing is https://outlook.office.com/ecp. This portal allows a regular user to change the phone number.

We are using WS-Federation with a 3rd party. Would you be able to confirm if that's the expected behavior?
Yuki Sun-MSFT 41,376 Reputation points Moderator

2021-06-04T02:16:55.787+00:00

Hi @David Shader ，

So, when I use that doc and follow the instructions - there isn't any Setting>Options link. What I did find, and this might be some kind of legacy thing is https://outlook.office.com/ecp. This portal allows a regular user to change the phone number.

Exactly the same when I checked it in my test tenant. Permissions have been given to the users:

But there's no option available to edit the phone number in either https://myaccount.microsoft.com/ or https://outlook.office.com/mail/inbox > Settings. When accessing https://outlook.office.com/ecp, however, the regural user is able to change the phone number:

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How do I update my phone number so that it appears in the GAL?

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