Outlook contacts will not display.

Question

In the desktop app, Outlook will not display contacts. If I export to a csv, they are in the file. If I import that .csv file, they still do not display

Answer 1

Hi Kenneth Fortier,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

I understand how frustrating this is, especially since you can confirm the contacts exist by exporting them to a CSV, but they still do not show in the desktop app after importing.

Please note that forum contributors can only share troubleshooting steps and public guidance. It is not possible to access or repair your Outlook data directly from the forum side.

To narrow this down and get the contacts to display, I recommend checking in this order:

1, Confirm whether the contacts appear in Outlook on the web

Sign in at https://outlook.live.com using the same account you added to the desktop app, then open People and check if the contacts are visible there. If contacts appear on the web, it confirms the contacts are stored in the account and the issue is specific to the desktop app experience.

2, If contacts are visible on the web, refresh the account in New Outlook

If the web shows the contacts but New Outlook does not, a practical next step is to remove the account from New Outlook and add it again, so it reloads the mailbox and People data.

3, If contacts are not visible on the web, check whether they are “local-only” in classic Outlook (if available)

If you still have classic Outlook available, open People there and look for a contacts folder named Contacts (This computer only). Contacts stored there are local, and New Outlook may not display them until they are exported from classic Outlook and imported into New Outlook’s People contact store.

4, Import contacts into New Outlook using the supported path

In New Outlook, go to People (use More apps to find it if needed), then select Manage contacts > Import contacts, browse to your CSV file, and select Import. These are the documented steps for importing contacts into New Outlook. Reference: Import or export contacts in Outlook using a .csv file - Microsoft Support 

5, If the import finishes but contacts still do not display, verify the CSV format/content

Open the CSV in Excel and confirm it contains contact rows (not just headers), and that the first row still contains column headings. This article lists common reasons contacts may not appear after an import and what to check: Fix problems importing contacts to Outlook - Microsoft Support

I hope this helps you pinpoint whether the issue is local-only contacts versus the New Outlook People contact store and gets your contacts displaying again.

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