Contacts gone after Microsoft update

Question

After Microsoft ran an update last week, I can no longer access my contacts or folders

Answer 1

Hi Jennifer,

Your contacts are not lost - This is an issue from Microsoft's end I am afraid. There are a lot of reports on this issue. Example:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5828243/outlook-contacts-are-not-visible

Please take a moment to report this. Click Help > Send feedback in the New Outlook, and let the Team know so they can quickly fix the issue.

I hope this information helps. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Otherwise, please take a moment to rate the answer. Wishing you good luck!

Answer 2

Based on known Outlook behavior, there are two common causes when contacts or folders suddenly appear missing after an update:

1. Outlook is showing the wrong Contacts folder
2. Contacts that came from social media or external accounts are no longer synchronized

Follow these checks:

1. Check if contacts are in a different Contacts folder
   • In classic Outlook for Windows, switch to the People view.
   • Look in the folder list for more than one folder named Contacts (or a localized equivalent).
   • If one Contacts folder shows a standard folder icon and another shows a contact-card icon, the actual contacts may be in the wrong one.
   • Drag all contacts from the folder that currently contains them (folder icon) into the Contacts folder that has the contact-card icon. That folder is the one Outlook uses.
2. If contacts came from social media or external email services
   • Microsoft no longer supports contact synchronization from third‑party social media and external email networks (LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Sina Weibo, etc.) to a Microsoft account.
   • If contacts were originally pulled in via the People web app or via connected accounts, they will no longer appear in Outlook.com or OneDrive contact lists after this change.
   • Those contacts still exist in the original social media or email services and must now be managed directly in those native apps.

If the folders themselves (mail folders) are missing, also verify whether Outlook is using the correct profile and data file (PST/OST) and that the correct account is selected, as an update can sometimes switch profiles or default data files.

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References:

• Contacts folder empty and contacts are in a different folder in Outlook for Microsoft 365
• Contacts from social media connections no longer sync with your Microsoft account