Cannot find contacts when composing emails in "new outlook".

Question

Cannot find contacts when composing emails in "new outlook".

Nicola Deards 20

When I type the contact's first name a list appears but it is not complete and does not include the one I am looking for necessarily. When I look at my contacts list (for the same email account) I can see the contacts I am looking for and I have checked that their first name is saved in full, which it is. Why can I see some but not all contacts in the email?

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Answer 1

Liora D 10,730 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear @Nicola Deards,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A.

Thank you for sharing the details of your experience. I’ve taken some time to look into this scenario carefully, as the behavior you’re seeing can certainly be confusing.

Based on my own experience using the new Outlook for Windows, when searching for a contact while composing an email (for example, by typing @ followed by the person’s name, you can add a space if the recipient's name isn't immediately visible), there are situations where the contact does not appear immediately. In some cases, it can take a short moment for the suggestion list to fully populate, and even then, not all saved contacts are always shown right away.

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To help narrow this down further and support you more effectively, it would be helpful if you could share a bit more information, for example:

Does this behavior occur with all contacts, or only certain ones?
Are the affected contacts newly created or recently modified?
If you type the full email address instead of the first name, does the contact appear as expected?

If possible, screenshots of what you see when composing the email and when viewing the same contact in your Contacts list (with any personal information hidden) would be very useful. This can help confirm whether the issue is related to indexing, autocomplete behavior, or another limitation currently present in the new Outlook experience.

Please understand that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

Once we have a bit more detail, we should be in a better position to advise on the next steps or potential workarounds. Please feel free to share any additional findings, and I’ll be happy to continue assisting you.

Looking forward to hearing back from you with any updates or additional details.

Warm regards,

If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Nicola Deards 20 Reputation points

2026-01-13T11:56:16.2333333+00:00

It looks like this is only occurring with one of my contacts who i email frequently. Their details do not appear when I pause or even if I type in their email address in full. I can't show you screenshots without sharing personal information but after some investigation I have noticed that this contact is a Linked Source unlike others in my contacts list.
Liora D 10,730 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-13T16:26:46.0133333+00:00

Dear @Nicola Deards,

Thank you very much for taking the time to investigate this further and for sharing the additional detail about the contact being a Linked Source. That observation is actually very helpful and aligns closely with what I’ve seen after spending time researching this specific scenario.

I’ve looked into several similar reports from other users who are experiencing the same behavior in the new Outlook for Windows. At this time, I haven’t been able to identify a reliable or practical workaround within the new Outlook experience itself that consistently resolves this limitation.

I’m sorry to say that, despite the time and effort put into exploring this, the most workable option today, if this behavior is impacting your regular workflow is to switch back to Classic Outlook. While this may not be the answer you were hoping for, Classic Outlook continues to handle contacts and recipient resolution more consistently, especially for linked or directory‑based contacts.

The reason for this difference is that the new Outlook is still evolving and is built on a different architecture, where certain features are not yet fully aligned with the functionality available in Classic Outlook. I genuinely hope these gaps will be addressed as the new Outlook continues to mature.

If possible, I would also encourage providing feedback directly from within the new Outlook, as this is one of the most effective ways to help improve future updates.

You can refer to the article on troubleshooting this issue in Classic Outlook if you encounter a similar problem in Classic: 5 Ways to Fix Outlook Contact List Not Showing Up on Windows - Guiding Tech

Additionally, if you’re in a managed business environment, your IT administrator may raise a support ticket so the feedback can be shared directly with the product team.

I truly appreciate your patience and the thorough way you’ve approached this issue. If this reply is helpful, please consider marking it as the accepted answer so other users encountering the same limitation can more easily find guidance.

Thank you for engaging in the discussion and for your understanding.
Nicola Deards 20 Reputation points

2026-01-13T16:37:03.74+00:00

Many thanks
Liora D 10,730 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-14T08:03:35.5466667+00:00

Hi @Nicola Deards,

Thank you very much for your kind message. I’m really glad to hear that the information was helpful. Please feel free to reach out again if you have any other questions or need further assistance.

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Cannot find contacts when composing emails in "new outlook".

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