Share via

all my outlook contacts on Dell laptop are missing

brian conway 0 Reputation points
2026-03-19T22:28:13.5366667+00:00

went to my outlook contacts and all the contacts are gone. Not sure but they may be in deleted folder

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For home
0 comments

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Alice-N 8,650 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-03-28T05:23:04.8466667+00:00

    Hi brian conway

    Since many users also encounter this issue. Please submit in‑app feedback: Help > Feedback > Report a problem and include diagnostics so that back-end team could escalate:

    • Share feedback (Windows Feedback Hub). See: Send feedback to Microsoft with the Feedback Hub app
    • Press Windows logo key + F to open Feedback Hub.
    • Choose Report a problem, describe the issue (e.g., “New Outlook — contacts didn’t migrate”), and attach diagnostics/screenshots if you can. Submit to help the team investigate. Your feedback is valuable for further escalation.

    Thank you for your understanding! Have a lovely day.

    0 comments
  2. Q&A Assist
    2026-03-19T22:28:24.7433333+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    Use these steps in classic Outlook on the Dell laptop to find and restore the missing contacts.

    1. Check if contacts are in another Contacts folder
    • In Outlook, go to the People view.
    • Look in the folder list on the left for more than one Contacts folder.
      • One may have a standard folder icon and another a contact-card icon.
    • If contacts are in the wrong Contacts folder (the one with the folder icon), drag all contacts from that folder into the main Contacts folder (the one with the contact-card icon). This makes them available again to Outlook and other apps.
    1. Check Deleted Items and Recoverable Items If the contacts were deleted, they may be recoverable:
    • Go to the Mail view.
    • Open the Deleted Items folder and search for the missing contacts.
      • If found, move them back to the Contacts folder.
    • If they are not in Deleted Items, use the Recover Deleted Items feature (if available in the ribbon for the mailbox):
      • Open the Recoverable Items window.
      • Select the contacts to restore, choose Restore Selected Items, then OK.
      • Restored contacts go to Deleted Items; from there, move them back to Contacts.

    If the contacts are not in any Contacts folder, not in Deleted Items, and not in Recoverable Items, they are likely permanently deleted and cannot be recovered from Outlook.

    References:

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.