outlook Contacts are no longer working.

Question

outlook Contacts are no longer working. I get the following error message.

Answer 1

That’s different from a loading error. Your account is currently showing zero contacts stored in the cloud, not just a display issue. That means there is no contacts stored in the cloud, check on the top right hand corner (encircled letter MH) is this your correct email account? If so, there is no stored contacts it could be that you contacts was stored locally only and not saved on this email (MH which is currently logged in) account.

ON the screenshot there is "All Contacts" click it as well and check if you can find any there.

Before we go further, tell me if did you used to see your contacts in desktop Outlook only?

Answer 2

That is a generic error leaning to internet connection (could be intermittent).

Let's continue doing troubleshooting. Go and open: https://outlook.office.com/people

If contacts work there, the issue is just the desktop app.

Answer 3

Hi!

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Can I get a bit more information can you provide the exact error message that appears and what are you doing when the error shows up.

Answer 4

For contact issues in Outlook, the resolution depends on the exact symptom and version, but the following known fixes apply to current Outlook clients on Windows:

1. If contacts with S/MIME certificates cannot be edited and show “Operation Failed”
   • This occurs when a contact was added from the Global Address List (GAL) and has an X509 (S/MIME) certificate.
   • The underlying service issue has been fixed, but existing broken contacts are not automatically repaired.
   • Fix existing broken contacts:
     1. Delete the affected local contact from the Contacts folder.
     2. In Outlook, open the Address Book and select the Global Address List (GAL).
     3. Right‑click the user and select Add to Contacts.
     4. Save the contact. The new local contact should now be editable and work normally.
   • Temporary workarounds if the contact must be edited urgently:
     • Use Outlook on the Web to edit the contact without removing the certificate, or
     • Remove the certificate from the local contact in classic Outlook, then edit the contact.
2. If the Contacts (People) view is not displaying correctly
   • After certain updates, People view can be overlaid by a contact card so contacts cannot be accessed.
   • This has been fixed by an Outlook service change, but some clients may not have picked up the updated settings.
   • To force Outlook to refresh service settings:
     1. Close Outlook.
     2. Start Outlook while holding the Ctrl key.
     3. When prompted, confirm starting in Safe Mode.
     4. After Outlook fully opens in Safe Mode, close it.
     5. Start Outlook again normally and check Contacts/People view.
3. If the Contacts folder appears empty but contacts exist in another Contacts folder
   • In some mailboxes there can be two “Contacts” folders (for example after migration or localization), and Outlook uses the wrong one as the default.
   • The folder with the actual contacts may have a standard folder icon, while the new default Contacts folder has a contact‑card icon.
   • To work around this:
     1. In Outlook, locate the Contacts folder that actually contains the contacts (folder icon).
     2. Drag all contacts from that folder into the new Contacts folder (contact‑card icon).
     3. After moving, use the Contacts/People view again; Outlook will now use the correct folder.

If the issue is specifically in the new Outlook for Windows and the app itself is failing or behaving inconsistently, resetting its local state can also help:

1. Close the new Outlook.
2. Run olk.exe --clearLocalState from Windows (for example from Run or a command prompt).
3. Start the new Outlook again and sign in when prompted so it can resync data.

If the error message mentions permissions after a migration (for example from GSuite) or says “You don't have permission to create an entry in this folder,” the mailbox may be in a known bad state that requires the specific remediation steps described in the referenced article; the underlying service issue is fixed for new cases but does not retroactively repair existing mailboxes.

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References:

• Classic Outlook Contacts that have an X509 S/MIME certificate added to the Global Address List can no longer be edited with Operation Failed error
• Outlook cannot display contacts in People View
• Contacts folder empty and contacts are in a different folder in Outlook for Microsoft 365
• Error when trying to create or edit contacts in Outlook: You don't have permission to create an entry in this folder
• New Outlook has stopped working, Fails when starting after 30 to 60 seconds - Microsoft Q&A