Outlook Problem

Question

I need help getting my contacts back in Otlook on my account. Contacts

Answer 1

Dear @Frank Angeleri,

Good day, and thank you for reaching out. Please correct me if I’m mistaken, but I understand that you’re looking to recover missing contacts in Outlook. This is a fairly common issue and, in many cases, the contacts are still recoverable. To provide you with the most accurate guidance, could you please share a bit more detail?

Specifically:

• Are you using the New Outlook or the classic Outlook?
• Do you use a Microsoft 365 / work account, Outlook.com / Hotmail, or another email (Gmail, etc.)?
• Are the contacts visible when you go to outlook.office.com > People?
• Did this happen after an update, after switching to New Outlook, or suddenly?

In the meantime, please try the steps below, as they often help resolve this issue.

1.Check whether your contacts still exist online

In many cases, the contacts are still safely stored in the cloud but are not displaying correctly in the desktop app due to a sync issue.

• Open your browser and go to outlook.office.com or outlook.live.com and sign in with the same account.
• Click People (or the people icon) on the left.
• Look under All contacts or your main Contacts folder.
• If you see your contacts here > They are safe. The problem is just with the Outlook desktop app (new or classic).
• If they are not here, go to the Deleted folder in People view and check there.

2.Restore from Deleted / Recoverable Items (works in both New and Classic Outlook)

In New Outlook or on the web:

1. Click People.
2. In the left pane, select Deleted.
3. Look for your contacts.
4. Select the ones you want > right-click > Restore (or use the Recover deleted button at the top).

In Classic Outlook (the traditional desktop version):

1. Check the Deleted Items folder.
2. If not found, go to Recover Items Recently Removed from this Folder.
3. Recovered contacts usually return to your main Contacts folder.

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this. Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments so I can continue to support you. I'm looking forward to your reply.

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Answer 2

To restore missing contacts in Outlook, use these steps depending on the situation.

1. Check if contacts were deleted (Outlook on the web / Outlook.com)
   1. Open Outlook on the web or Outlook.com.
   2. From the left navigation pane, select People.
   3. In People, select the Deleted folder.
   4. Find the contact(s) to restore, right-click, and select Restore.
2. Recover contacts removed from Deleted (web / Outlook.com)
   1. In People, still in the Deleted folder, select Recover deleted at the top.
   2. Select the contact(s) to recover, then select Restore.
   3. Recovered contacts are restored to their original folder when possible; if that folder no longer exists, they go to the default Contacts folder.
3. Check Deleted Items (if not visible under People)
   1. In the navigation pane, select Mail.
   2. In the folder list, select Deleted Items.
   3. Find the contact item, right-click it, and select Restore.
4. Restore deleted contacts in new Outlook for Windows
   1. In new Outlook, select People in the navigation pane.
   2. Select the Deleted folder.
   3. Find and select the contact, then right-click and choose Restore.
   4. If the contact is no longer in Deleted:
      • In People, open the Deleted folder.
      • Select Recover deleted at the top.
      • Select the contact and choose Restore.
5. If contacts disappeared after a migration from Hotmail to Outlook.com
   1. Sign in to the Outlook.com account.
   2. In the upper-right corner, select ? (Help) → Feedback.
   3. Select Give Feedback.
   4. Describe that some contacts are missing after the Hotmail → Outlook.com move, then select Next.
   5. Select Skip and send message.
      • The issue is then assigned to a Microsoft engineer to investigate and move the missing contacts.

If contacts were originally stored in a .pst backup and are missing after import, ensure they were exported with Include subfolders checked and re-export/re-import if needed.

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References:

• Restore or recover a deleted contact in Outlook
• Fix problems importing contacts to Outlook
• Fix problems importing an Outlook .pst file