Contact Lists

Question

I have two contact lists, both show the correct numbers in each group 7 and 54, however when you click on them it says there are no members. Also wont let me send email to group.

Answer 1

The behavior matches a known Outlook contacts issue where contact groups appear to have members (the count is correct) but show “No members have been added” and cannot be used to send mail.

For Outlook for Microsoft 365 on desktop, this was introduced with Version 2203 (Build 15028.20160). The documented workaround is:

1. Select New Email.
2. Select the To button to open the Address Book.
3. Find the contact group and double‑click it to add it to the message.
4. After adding the group this way, expand it in the message; it should expand without error and show the members.

If the issue is too disruptive and the affected client is Outlook for Microsoft 365 desktop, it can be mitigated by reverting Office to Version 2202 using the Click‑to‑Run command shown in the article:

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Run:

      cd %programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun
      officec2rclient.exe /update user updatetoversion=16.0.14931.20132
   

This restores a build where contact groups expand and can be used normally.

If the problem persists specifically with nested contact groups (a group inside another group) stored in shared/public folders, also check:

1. Right‑click the Contacts folder that holds the group > Properties > Outlook Address Book tab > enable Show this folder as an email address book.
2. Open the contact group and choose Update now; if prompted, select Try to repair the lost members and remove only those that cannot be resolved.

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References:

• Error expanding Contact Group in Outlook Desktop
• You can't expand a nested contact group and Unknown is displayed in the group name in Outlook