All my contacts are missing with the new outlook. How to fix?

Question

All my contacts are missing with the new outlook. How to fix?

Leslie B 95

All my contacts are missing with the new outlook. How to fix thsi and get my contact list back? New tour of new outlook does not address this isssue

Reg Henderson 10 Reputation points

2026-03-19T15:46:57.9833333+00:00

Last week I completely uninstalled Microsoft 365, then reinstalled, and added my email accounts to new outlook. It worked for a week, but now I'm back to no contacts. I have deleted all files in: C:\Users[Removed PII]\OneDrive\Documents\Outlook Files
But when I add the app new Outlook from Microsoft Store, I can add email accounts, but the only one that is able to sync contacts is an Outlook email account. Gmail, icloud both fail to find contacts.
Sheryl Winter 25 Reputation points

2026-03-19T17:19:27.13+00:00

I have also lost all of my outlook contacts in NEW Outlook. I do not use classic outlook to enter my contacts and never have. I am told this is a Google issue but I am unable to make contact with Google. Is anyone else having this issue.
Leslie B 95 Reputation points

2026-03-20T01:51:43.7033333+00:00

So sorry this happed to you. I'm afraid to uninstall. Yikes! I don't have them backed up on any hard drive.
Jake @ HRZN 10 Reputation points

2026-03-23T15:00:52.8233333+00:00

Were you able to find a solution to this? I am seeing this on many different workstations. The user clicks the Contacts button; however, they only see an image of a plug with the text "This doesn't look right" and a Try again button. No matter how many times I delete and re-add the account, we keep seeing the same thing.
Sheryl Winter 25 Reputation points

2026-03-23T15:36:03.3533333+00:00

Yes I am still having the same issue. I either see a screen that says contacts are synching/this is taking longer and to check back soon-and contacts never sync. Or I see a screen that there was some kind of problem and the word "reload" in red - I click on "reload" and the image of a plug comes up. And yes SOME, not ALL, of my contacts are on the outlook web version but information is missing from the ones I can find there. I have had three techs from my company trying to circumvent this to no avail. This seems to be a system wide back office issue that no one so far has been able to fix. Every suggestion I have seen, although appreciated, has failed.
Jake @ HRZN 10 Reputation points

2026-03-23T17:13:33.4366667+00:00

@ Sheryl, I spent the last few hours with Microsoft. They couldn't explain why it suddenly failed in March, but they did state that Outlook New is a free app provided by Microsoft and is unsupported. Their solution was to move from Outlook New to Outlook Classic. Microsoft support stated they may address this issue in the future, but not at this time. The move from Outlook New to Outlook Classic does sync contacts; you lose the new interface and move to a paid application. It was not the solution I was looking for, but it is a working solution.
Sheryl Winter 25 Reputation points

2026-03-23T19:12:33.2833333+00:00

Thank you Jake. Believe me I am done with New Outlook. I only wish I had been using Classic all along. "New" was pitched to me by my tech team as being the latest and greatest when it came out. I never really liked it but got used to the look of it so it became easier to navigate. I don't understand why Microsoft would roll out and promote a software program that has problems and doesn't synch which they apparently on some level knew. Hard lesson to learn as I rebuild my people module. Best of luck to you.
Andy Scargill 35 Reputation points

2026-03-24T17:47:48.4166667+00:00

Microsoft are actively promoting New Outlook and at some point will stop supporting Outlook Classic. This problem of not being able to view, in my case Google contacts, in People. This is something which has just happened on both my PC and my wife's. I think that the contacts are still there in the background but not visible. Interestingly in my Contact Lists it does show me everyone. It's a problem affecting All Contacts.
Sheryl Winter 25 Reputation points

2026-03-24T18:49:31.48+00:00

Hi Andy, I find it completey irresponsible of Microsoft to promote a software program that doesn't deliver. I never made contact lists so I see nothing except what others have reported about the illustration of the plug, or the page that says contacts are synching (they are not!). I am confident Microsoft and Outlook know by now this has affected a lot of users and they really need to come up with a solution.
Chloe-V 7,265 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-25T07:18:51.4533333+00:00

Hi

I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you are experiencing.

As this is a user‑to‑user support forum, access to internal development details is limited. The primary role here is to help guide users toward relevant documentation and appropriate official support channels. In this case, contacting Microsoft Support directly is currently the most appropriate option for further review and assistance.

Thank you for your understanding, and apologies again for the inconvenience.
William Wickham 0 Reputation points

2026-03-27T03:31:02.0333333+00:00

Same issue on a new Dell laptop. My other PCs do not have this same problem.
Hornblower409 7,555 Reputation points

2026-03-27T04:23:51.9166667+00:00

@William Wickham said

My other PCs do not have this same problem.

Just to be sure - You are using New Outlook for Windows with a non-Microsoft email account (e.g. GMail) and it shows no Contacts for that account on one PC, but same setup and email account works fine on another PC?
Mack R Norton 5 Reputation points

2026-03-27T14:04:04.1966667+00:00

Congrats Microsoft, without warning you deleted my contacts when I changed over to new outlook from classic. I am so happy about this I will not be renewing my subscription this year and I will change over to apple.
Reg Henderson 10 Reputation points

2026-03-28T15:16:35.79+00:00
Latest update on Outlook:

this past winter Outlook (Classic) stopped handling contacts correctly.

Then new Outlook did handle them well, no more merging of lists, but each account (gmail, outlook, icloud) had it's own contact list that was accurate

March 12th, something went wrong, but I reinstalled Microsoft Office 365 completely, and new Outlook contacts worked again.

March 19th, contacts disappeared from People (in new Outlook)

March 28th, contacts for gmail are restored in new Outlook People, but not iCloud.
Clearly the Microsoft 365 Outlook team is going through some changes, you can waste a LOT of time trying to get it to work when they don't have it working on their side. Best bet is just to wait.
Fortunately gmail and icloud reliably save your contacts.

The iPhone contacts works perfect over any type of account you have icloud, gmail (personal or school), outlook. You can view the contacts as a merged list (All Contacts) or by each account.

I would guess that a Mac laptop would have iPhone contacts that would work just as well. After 30 years of Microsoft, it might be time for me to switch.
Jim Koberstein 15 Reputation points

2026-03-28T18:52:35.54+00:00

Today when I fired up New Outlook I got a message "Welcome to the new People app" and now all my Gmail and iCloud contacts have returned!
Hornblower409 7,555 Reputation points

2026-03-28T21:19:42.32+00:00

@Jim Koberstein said

I fired up New Outlook I got a message "Welcome to the new People app" and now all my Gmail and iCloud contacts have returned!

My guess would be that you have been upgraded to the "New People Experience". Does it look like what is described in this TechCom article?

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/outlook/the-new-people-directory-search-experience-in-outlook-smarter-faster-and-more-co/4504712

(Still no Contacts showing for me. Sigh).
Jim Koberstein 15 Reputation points

2026-03-28T22:31:29.0333333+00:00

My guess would be that you have been upgraded to the "New People Experience". Does it look like what is described in this TechCom article?

@Hornblower409

That is exactly it. I have no idea how I got it - seems like a random update...
Jim Koberstein 15 Reputation points

2026-03-28T22:37:10.5933333+00:00

You know, I did submit a Support Ticket the same day I posted here, so maybe they pushed the update to me to shut me up. 😂
Hornblower409 7,555 Reputation points

2026-03-28T23:53:32.0333333+00:00

@Jim Koberstein said

I did submit a Support Ticket the same day I posted here, so maybe they pushed the ["New People Experience" update] to me to shut me up.

I have never seen any reliable info on how Microsoft distributes a "rolling release" so I can't say.
Chloe-V 7,265 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-29T06:30:41.92+00:00

Hi everyone,

This behavior has been reported by multiple users in the new Outlook.

At this time, please submit feedback through the Feedback portal in New Outlook so the product team can review and track it.

Thank you for your understanding.

Answer accepted by question author

1 additional answer

Your answer

Reg Henderson 10 Reputation points

2026-03-19T15:46:57.9833333+00:00

Last week I completely uninstalled Microsoft 365, then reinstalled, and added my email accounts to new outlook. It worked for a week, but now I'm back to no contacts. I have deleted all files in: C:\Users[Removed PII]\OneDrive\Documents\Outlook Files
But when I add the app new Outlook from Microsoft Store, I can add email accounts, but the only one that is able to sync contacts is an Outlook email account. Gmail, icloud both fail to find contacts.
Sheryl Winter 25 Reputation points

2026-03-19T17:19:27.13+00:00

I have also lost all of my outlook contacts in NEW Outlook. I do not use classic outlook to enter my contacts and never have. I am told this is a Google issue but I am unable to make contact with Google. Is anyone else having this issue.
Leslie B 95 Reputation points

2026-03-20T01:51:43.7033333+00:00

So sorry this happed to you. I'm afraid to uninstall. Yikes! I don't have them backed up on any hard drive.
Jake @ HRZN 10 Reputation points

2026-03-23T15:00:52.8233333+00:00

Were you able to find a solution to this? I am seeing this on many different workstations. The user clicks the Contacts button; however, they only see an image of a plug with the text "This doesn't look right" and a Try again button. No matter how many times I delete and re-add the account, we keep seeing the same thing.
Sheryl Winter 25 Reputation points

2026-03-23T15:36:03.3533333+00:00

Yes I am still having the same issue. I either see a screen that says contacts are synching/this is taking longer and to check back soon-and contacts never sync. Or I see a screen that there was some kind of problem and the word "reload" in red - I click on "reload" and the image of a plug comes up. And yes SOME, not ALL, of my contacts are on the outlook web version but information is missing from the ones I can find there. I have had three techs from my company trying to circumvent this to no avail. This seems to be a system wide back office issue that no one so far has been able to fix. Every suggestion I have seen, although appreciated, has failed.
Jake @ HRZN 10 Reputation points

2026-03-23T17:13:33.4366667+00:00

@ Sheryl, I spent the last few hours with Microsoft. They couldn't explain why it suddenly failed in March, but they did state that Outlook New is a free app provided by Microsoft and is unsupported. Their solution was to move from Outlook New to Outlook Classic. Microsoft support stated they may address this issue in the future, but not at this time. The move from Outlook New to Outlook Classic does sync contacts; you lose the new interface and move to a paid application. It was not the solution I was looking for, but it is a working solution.
Sheryl Winter 25 Reputation points

2026-03-23T19:12:33.2833333+00:00

Thank you Jake. Believe me I am done with New Outlook. I only wish I had been using Classic all along. "New" was pitched to me by my tech team as being the latest and greatest when it came out. I never really liked it but got used to the look of it so it became easier to navigate. I don't understand why Microsoft would roll out and promote a software program that has problems and doesn't synch which they apparently on some level knew. Hard lesson to learn as I rebuild my people module. Best of luck to you.
Andy Scargill 35 Reputation points

2026-03-24T17:47:48.4166667+00:00

Microsoft are actively promoting New Outlook and at some point will stop supporting Outlook Classic. This problem of not being able to view, in my case Google contacts, in People. This is something which has just happened on both my PC and my wife's. I think that the contacts are still there in the background but not visible. Interestingly in my Contact Lists it does show me everyone. It's a problem affecting All Contacts.
Sheryl Winter 25 Reputation points

2026-03-24T18:49:31.48+00:00

Hi Andy, I find it completey irresponsible of Microsoft to promote a software program that doesn't deliver. I never made contact lists so I see nothing except what others have reported about the illustration of the plug, or the page that says contacts are synching (they are not!). I am confident Microsoft and Outlook know by now this has affected a lot of users and they really need to come up with a solution.
Chloe-V 7,265 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-25T07:18:51.4533333+00:00

Hi

I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you are experiencing.

As this is a user‑to‑user support forum, access to internal development details is limited. The primary role here is to help guide users toward relevant documentation and appropriate official support channels. In this case, contacting Microsoft Support directly is currently the most appropriate option for further review and assistance.

Thank you for your understanding, and apologies again for the inconvenience.
William Wickham 0 Reputation points

2026-03-27T03:31:02.0333333+00:00

Same issue on a new Dell laptop. My other PCs do not have this same problem.
Hornblower409 7,555 Reputation points

2026-03-27T04:23:51.9166667+00:00

@William Wickham said

My other PCs do not have this same problem.

Just to be sure - You are using New Outlook for Windows with a non-Microsoft email account (e.g. GMail) and it shows no Contacts for that account on one PC, but same setup and email account works fine on another PC?
Mack R Norton 5 Reputation points

2026-03-27T14:04:04.1966667+00:00

Congrats Microsoft, without warning you deleted my contacts when I changed over to new outlook from classic. I am so happy about this I will not be renewing my subscription this year and I will change over to apple.
Reg Henderson 10 Reputation points

2026-03-28T15:16:35.79+00:00

Latest update on Outlook:

this past winter Outlook (Classic) stopped handling contacts correctly.

Then new Outlook did handle them well, no more merging of lists, but each account (gmail, outlook, icloud) had it's own contact list that was accurate

March 12th, something went wrong, but I reinstalled Microsoft Office 365 completely, and new Outlook contacts worked again.

March 19th, contacts disappeared from People (in new Outlook)

March 28th, contacts for gmail are restored in new Outlook People, but not iCloud.
Clearly the Microsoft 365 Outlook team is going through some changes, you can waste a LOT of time trying to get it to work when they don't have it working on their side. Best bet is just to wait.
Fortunately gmail and icloud reliably save your contacts.

The iPhone contacts works perfect over any type of account you have icloud, gmail (personal or school), outlook. You can view the contacts as a merged list (All Contacts) or by each account.

I would guess that a Mac laptop would have iPhone contacts that would work just as well. After 30 years of Microsoft, it might be time for me to switch.
Jim Koberstein 15 Reputation points

2026-03-28T18:52:35.54+00:00

Today when I fired up New Outlook I got a message "Welcome to the new People app" and now all my Gmail and iCloud contacts have returned!
Hornblower409 7,555 Reputation points

2026-03-28T21:19:42.32+00:00

@Jim Koberstein said

I fired up New Outlook I got a message "Welcome to the new People app" and now all my Gmail and iCloud contacts have returned!

My guess would be that you have been upgraded to the "New People Experience". Does it look like what is described in this TechCom article?

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/outlook/the-new-people-directory-search-experience-in-outlook-smarter-faster-and-more-co/4504712

(Still no Contacts showing for me. Sigh).
Jim Koberstein 15 Reputation points

2026-03-28T22:31:29.0333333+00:00

My guess would be that you have been upgraded to the "New People Experience". Does it look like what is described in this TechCom article?

@Hornblower409

That is exactly it. I have no idea how I got it - seems like a random update...
Jim Koberstein 15 Reputation points

2026-03-28T22:37:10.5933333+00:00

You know, I did submit a Support Ticket the same day I posted here, so maybe they pushed the update to me to shut me up. 😂
Hornblower409 7,555 Reputation points

2026-03-28T23:53:32.0333333+00:00

@Jim Koberstein said

I did submit a Support Ticket the same day I posted here, so maybe they pushed the ["New People Experience" update] to me to shut me up.

I have never seen any reliable info on how Microsoft distributes a "rolling release" so I can't say.
Chloe-V 7,265 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-29T06:30:41.92+00:00

Hi everyone,

This behavior has been reported by multiple users in the new Outlook.

At this time, please submit feedback through the Feedback portal in New Outlook so the product team can review and track it.

Thank you for your understanding.

Answer 1

Chloe-V 7,265 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi everyone,

I understand how disruptive this can be when contacts remain unavailable and the behavior continues. Since the situation persists, the most effective next step is to contact Microsoft Support directly so they can review the account configuration and server‑side synchronization.

To contact Support:

Go to the Microsoft Support page and search for Outlook live chat.
Select Get Help > Contact Support.
Under Products & Services, choose Other Products > Outlook.
Select Chat with a support agent via web browser.
Clearly explain the situation.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors including external Microsoft employees cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas only.

Thank you for your understanding.

Reg Henderson 10 Reputation points

2026-03-23T17:04:32.99+00:00

I was able to get through to support

they took control and did a

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

with no warning my computer is rebooting and has message “updates are underway” for 45 minutes and counting

its just another day of my life working for Microsoft.

thank god I have an iPhone so I still have something that works and that’s where I’m typing this comment

gotta get a Mac if I want to use a laptop
Leslie B 95 Reputation points

2026-03-23T17:22:12.91+00:00

Thank you. This is what the microsoft tech did. However he ultimately said it was a bug in the the new outlook and tried to put the classic back. He got the classic in but the contacts didn't reappear. Thank goodness I can still see the contacts on my phone.

Thank you for your support.
Chloe-V 7,265 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-24T06:52:42.3966667+00:00

Hi

Thank you both for the update. Experiences like this can certainly be frustrating, especially when the device restarts unexpectedly and updates take longer than anticipated.

As a forum moderator, it’s important to note that access to internal development or engineering details is limited, so deeper investigation outcomes are not always visible here.

Thank you for your understanding, and sincere apologies for the frustration once again.

Answer 2

Diane Poremsky MVP 17,326 MVP Volunteer Moderator

Were you using classic Outlook and switched to new Outlook ? If so, only contacts (and calendar) in outlook.com or Microsoft 365 accounts migrated to new outlook. Calendar & contacts in POP or IMAP accounts need to be exported from classic and imported into new outlook.

--

Diane Poremsky / M365 Apps & Services MVP

https://www.slipstick.com

Leslie B 95 Reputation points

2026-03-20T01:53:39.6233333+00:00

Thank you for your support and writing to help me solve my problem. Contacts in POP or IMAP accounts need to be exported from classic and imported into new outlook? Hmmmm,,,,, Is thers a manual for that? How do non-tech folk know to do this and how to do it?
Reg Henderson 10 Reputation points

2026-03-24T12:34:13.1166667+00:00

When I switched to new outlook my contacts were not only available, they were shown in their own account groups, and updateable. I used it every day, as I have used outlook for years. But on March 19 it switched to a plug with the message "This doesn't look right" and a button "Try again". Pressing the button did nothing. And many hours of work with technicians can't get the contacts from online anymore. Old outlook no longer syncs contacts (you can import contacts), New outlook can't show contacts at all. Contacts didn't stopped working in old outlook after I gave new outlook a try and went back to old outlook.

Answer 3

Chloe-V 7,265 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Leslie B,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Based on your description: in the new Outlook, contacts are primarily synced from the cloud (Outlook on the web / Microsoft 365). As a result, if your contacts are stored under “Contacts (This computer only)” (local storage) or if the app has not synced correctly yet, they may not appear in the new Outlook.

1. Check your contacts on Outlook on the web

Sign in to Outlook on the web, open People, and check whether your contacts are still visible.
If your contacts are visible on the web: this usually indicates a sync or display issue in the new Outlook. Please try removing and then re‑adding your email account in the new Outlook to force a fresh sync.

2. If contacts are not visible on the web

You will need to export your contacts from Classic Outlook and import them into the new Outlook:
Open Outlook (classic) > File > Open & Export > Import/Export
Select Export to a file > Comma Separated Values (CSV)
Choose the Contacts folder (commonly “Contacts (This computer only)”) and export the CSV file
Open New Outlook > People > Manage contacts > Import contacts, then select the exported CSV file to import your contacts

Note: Please also check Filter contacts and make sure relevant options (such as Recent contacts / Microsoft People) are enabled.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any further updates, thanks

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Chloe-V 7,265 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-15T07:32:37.0933333+00:00

Hi Leslie B,

May I know if you have got any chance to check my answer? I am glad to help if you have any other questions.
Jim Koberstein 15 Reputation points

2026-03-19T15:26:06.1466667+00:00

I have the same problem now since the last Outlook (New) update. Allow me to elaborate.

I used to use Outlook Classic and the iCloud for windows app/plugin – I never had an iCloud email address. When I begrudgingly switched to Outlook (New) for OAuth, I had to create an iCloud email and add it to Outlook which then synced all my iPhone calendars and contacts, which was great! (My only complaint was that I had to make my iCloud email my primary so that my new calendar events and contacts would go to the right place. Gmail is still my main email, so I have to manually switch to Gmail every time to send emails out from that address)

It looks like you just released an update to Outlook (New), and suddenly my iCloud contacts are not syncing at all. They exist on iCloud and on my iPhone and iPad, but all I get from Outlook (New) is “This doesn’t look right” or “Something went wrong and we are unable to load this page.”

iCloud Calendars are still working fine.

I tried repairing, resetting, and deleting/readding my iCloud account several times to no avail.

Then I fired up my laptop and the Outlook (New) update apparently loaded, because now I am having exactly the same problem there.

At this point, I am fairly certain that it is Outlook (New), and not I, that has a problem.

Is there a way to roll back to the previous version of Outlook (New) until you acknowledge and fix this huge problem? I seem to have no control of updates at my end.
Leslie B 95 Reputation points

2026-03-20T01:50:28.49+00:00

Thank you all that have commented. Still didn't get my contacts back. They show up if I'm typing an email , but not if I hit contacts or people. Yes - it migrated to the new outlook and that's when this all started. So strange.
David Campbell 0 Reputation points

2026-03-21T17:00:47.1933333+00:00

Doesn't work :( spinning wheel of doom. No access to contacts to edit. Feels like an MS (365 in my case) issue that needs fixing ASAP. Pretty basic function!! Thanks.
Hornblower409 7,555 Reputation points

2026-03-22T05:07:45.5766667+00:00
@David Campbell said

Doesn't work :( spinning wheel of doom. No access to contacts to edit.

Did you try the suggestion from Chloe-V?

Check your contacts on Outlook on the web

Sign in to Outlook on the web https://login.live.com

Open People, and check whether your contacts are still visible.

If your contacts are visible on the web: this usually indicates a sync or display issue in the new Outlook. - Please try removing and then re-adding your email account in the new Outlook to force a fresh sync.

Feels like an MS (365 in my case)

Not sure which Outlook Client you are using. Please see this Microsoft Support article and reply with what platform (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS) and version of Outlook you are using.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/what-version-of-outlook-do-i-have-b3a9568c-edb5-42b9-9825-d48d82b2257c

You might be better served by starting a new thread using the "Ask a question" button at the top of this page to create a new Question and include the details for your specific problem. This provides much higher visibility to your issue than commenting on an old post, which is only seen by people who are already following this question. (You can put the link for this page in your new Question for reference)

Answer 4

@Mack R Norton said

without warning you deleted my contacts when I changed over to new outlook

This is a know bug in New Outlook for Windows. See this Q&A thread on the same problem for more details:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5837171/contacts-in-outlook-365

If your situation is the same as what most of us are seeing, you Contacts aren't gone, they just aren't visible in New Outlook for windows.

You can confirm by doing an Export:

In New Outlook for Windows select the "People" icon in the left pane, then from the Home Menu choose "Export Contacts".

User's image

This should allow you to download your Contacts as a CSV file

User's image

Check the CSV file. If it's empty, please report back and we'll look for other problems.

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All my contacts are missing with the new outlook. How to fix?

1 additional answer

Your answer