Outlook contacts just disappeared and have NOT returned

Question

On March 24th, while in the middle of adding a new contact (in Outlook New), I clicked Save and all contacts disappeared from view. I rebooted 3 times since then, Tried Safe Mode, per instructions, to no avail. I also tried using Outlook Classic and that did not work. I have spent a lot of time and effort on Microsoft web sites. Can someone help me?

Answer 1

I have had the same issue. Mine have been out for probably about a week now. This has happened to me before and was corrected after Microsoft came out with a new update (after a week or so). Hoping for some answers soon, as this has been super frustrating.

Answer 2

Based on the screenshot and description, the contacts are likely either in a different Contacts folder or were deleted and can be recovered from the Deleted/Recoverable folders in People view.

Try these steps in new Outlook (or Outlook on the web), in the People area shown in the screenshot:

1. In the left pane, select Deleted under your account.
2. Look for the missing contacts or contact lists.
3. If found, right‑click each and choose Restore. They will return to their original folder when possible, or to the default Contacts folder.

If they are not in Deleted:

1. Still in People, select the Deleted folder.
2. At the top of the list, select Recover deleted.
3. Select the contacts to recover, then choose Restore. These will also be restored to their original folder or to the default Contacts folder if the original no longer exists.

If contacts appear in a different Contacts folder (for example, after migration/localization), drag them from that folder into the default Contacts folder so Outlook and other apps can use them.

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References:

• Restore or recover a deleted contact in Outlook
• Contacts folder empty and contacts are in a different folder in Outlook for Microsoft 365