I get the error message This doesn't look right when I try to open all contacts in new Outlook and no contacts appear.

Question

I see no contacts when I click on All Contacts in new Outlook whereas the contacts were there before. I see contacts in old Outlook. When I click on All Contact Lists, I see all the lists I created.

Answer 1

I'm having the identical issue, and this is a recent change/problem that did not occur previously.

Answer 2

In new Outlook, contacts may not appear correctly even though they are still present and visible in classic Outlook. Use these checks and workarounds:

1. Verify contacts exist and are in the correct folder in classic Outlook
   • Open classic Outlook (where contacts are visible).
   • Go to People.
   • Confirm that contacts are in the main Contacts folder and not only in another similarly named folder.
   • If there are two folders named Contacts (or a localized equivalent), and the contacts are in the one with a folder icon (not the contact card icon), drag all contacts from that folder into the Contacts folder that has the contact card icon. This is the folder Outlook and other apps use as the primary contacts store.
2. Check for duplicate/invalid Contacts folders caused by migration/localization
   • The issue can occur when Exchange creates a new Contacts folder and marks the old one invalid.
   • After moving items as above, restart Outlook and then check new Outlook again to see if All Contacts now shows the items.
3. If contacts were imported and now appear missing in new Outlook
   • If contacts were recently imported via CSV and do not appear:
     • Locate the exported .csv file.
     • Open it in Excel and confirm that rows of contact data are present.
     • If the file is empty or corrupted, re-export from the source system, ensuring all contacts (or the correct group) are selected, save again as CSV when prompted, and re-import into Outlook.
4. Use classic Outlook as a fallback for full contacts access
   • Since contacts are visible in classic Outlook, continue to manage and use them there while Microsoft improves new Outlook’s contacts behavior.

If the problem persists after ensuring all contacts are in the primary Contacts folder (contact card icon) and correctly imported, manage contacts in classic Outlook for now, as the data itself is intact.

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References:

• Contacts folder empty and contacts are in a different folder in Outlook for Microsoft 365
• No contacts appear in Outlook after import
• Microsoft 365 operated by 21vianet: Import contacts to Outlook for Windows
• Open and use all contacts