Outlook (Microsoft 365) lost all my contacts!!!!! Not a happy person right now. How do I get them back?

Question

Outlook (Microsoft 365) lost all my contacts.

Not a happy person right now.

How do I get them back?

Answer 1

Same here, I opened my Microsoft 365 outlook people/contacts and they were not there. It's frustrating to have Microsoft think and say I accidently deleted them... NO I DID NOT!!! Fix this please, I need my years of information returned to me...

Answer 2

Hi Randy,

Thanks for reaching out to the community. I get how important those contacts arer to you. Usually, this happens when contacts are accidentally deleted or moved during a sync or update, so they’re not gone forever.

First, check the People section in Outlook and look for other folders like “Contacts” or “Suggested Contacts.” If nothing shows, open your Deleted Items folder and see if they’re there. If still missing, click “Recover Deleted Items” at the top of that folder to restore them.

Do you remember if you recently changed accounts, imported data, or synced with a phone? That can help narrow down where they might be. If you have a backup PST file, we can import that too. Are you using Outlook on the web or the desktop app?

Warm regards,

Rez

Answer 3

If your contacts folder appears empty in Outlook for Microsoft 365, it's possible that your contacts are in a different folder. This can happen if there are multiple folders named "Contacts" or due to issues during migration or localization. Here are steps you can take to recover your contacts:

1. Check for Other Contacts Folders: Look for any other folders that might contain your contacts. You may have a folder that has the same name or a localized version of the name.
2. Drag Contacts to the Correct Folder: If you find your contacts in a different folder (which may have a folder icon), you can drag them to the new Contacts folder (which should have a contact card icon) in Outlook Desktop.

If you still cannot find your contacts, consider checking if there are any backup options available or if your contacts were synced with another service.

---

References:

• Contacts folder empty and contacts are in a different folder in Outlook for Microsoft 365
• The address list cannot be displayed error when you try to view the contacts of a public folder in Outlook
• Duplicate Outlook contacts appear in iOS Contacts app