lost contact list during update

Question

in recent update i lost my contact list. how can I recover it?

Answer 1

Hi Amelia Egerer,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

I understand how worrying it can be to lose your contact list after an update, especially when you rely on those contacts regularly.

I see that there is already a Q&A Assist answer in this thread. The steps provided there are generally correct for Classic Outlook for Windows, particularly for checking Deleted Items and Recoverable Items. Have you had a chance to try those steps yet? From the forum side, contributors can help guide you through available recovery options, but there is no access to account‑level data or backend recovery tools.

In addition to what was already suggested, you may want to check the following to rule out common scenarios that do not involve permanent data loss:

1. In Outlook, switch to the People or Contacts view and review all available Contacts folders, as contacts may still exist under a different folder after an update.
2. If you use a Microsoft account, sign in to Outlook.com in a web browser and open the People section. If contacts appear there, the issue may be limited to local synchronization in Outlook for Windows.

If the contacts are not available in any folder, not visible on Outlook.com, and not recoverable using the steps already outlined by Q&A Assist, it is important to note that recovery options may be limited. In this situation, the next appropriate step would be to contact Microsoft Support so the account can be reviewed at the service level and confirmed whether any remaining recovery options are available.

1. Visit the Microsoft Support contact page: Contact - Microsoft Support  
2. In the search bar provided on the page, type "Outlook issue" and press Enter.  
3. Click on the "Get Help" button that appears.  
4. Scroll down the page until you see and click on the "Contact Support" option.  
5. When prompted to select your product or service, choose "Other Products".  
6. For the category, choose "Outlook".  
7. Look for and click on "Chat with a support agent in your web browser".  
8. Confirm your personal email when prompted - this is the email Microsoft will use to communicate with you during and after the support session.  
9. Explain your situation clearly: Be concise but provide all the relevant details.    

I hope this helps clarify where to check for the missing contacts and what the next steps could be.

Answer 2

For classic Outlook for Windows, deleted contacts can often be recovered from Deleted Items or the Recoverable Items folder.

Try these steps in order:

1. Check the Deleted Items folder
   1. In Outlook, go to the Mail view.
   2. In the folder list, select Deleted Items.
   3. Look for your missing contacts (they may appear with a contact or envelope icon).
   4. If found, drag them back to your Contacts folder, or right‑click and choose Move → Other Folder… → Contacts.
2. Recover from the Recoverable Items folder (if not in Deleted Items)
   1. Select the Deleted Items folder.
   2. On the ribbon, choose Recover Deleted Items from Server (wording may vary slightly depending on version).
   3. In the Recover Deleted Items window, locate the contacts to restore.
      • Use the Deleted On column to sort by the date they were removed.
      • All items (including contacts) show the same envelope‑style icon.
   4. Select the contacts, click Restore Selected Items, then OK.
   5. The recovered contacts will be placed back into Deleted Items. From there, move them to your Contacts folder.
3. If contacts are not in Recoverable Items
   • In many work/school environments, admins control how long items remain recoverable (for example, 30 days in Deleted Items plus 14 days in Recoverable Items). If the contacts are not visible there, contact the mail administrator to see if they can restore them from server‑side recovery.
   • If neither you nor the admin can find them in Recoverable Items, they are likely permanently deleted and cannot be restored.

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References:

• Restore or recover a deleted contact in Outlook