lost contact

Question

lost an important contact in outlook, and it's not in my deleted files?

Answer 1

Hi Jim Gruener

First of all, you could review the AI response to see whether it provides any helpful insight. 

In the meantime, to better understand your situation, may I kindly ask the following: 

1. What type of account are you using, a personal account such as @hotmail.com or @outlook.com, or a work account with a custom domain? 
2. Which Outlook platform is affected, Classic Outlook, New Outlook, or Outlook on the web? Does the behavior occur across all platforms, or only on a specific one? 
3. Are the contacts missing only from the People or Contacts view, or are they also unavailable when you type the name in the To field of a new email? 

If I’ve misunderstood any part of your situation, or if you have further questions or updates, please don’t hesitate to reply. 

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

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Answer 2

If the contact is not in Deleted Items, it may still be recoverable depending on which Outlook experience and account type is in use.

For classic Outlook (desktop)

1. Check Deleted Items first:
   • In the folder list, select Deleted Items.
   • Use Search Deleted Items or sort by Icon to locate the contact.
   • If found, right‑click the contact → Move → Other Folder → Contacts → OK.
2. If it’s not in Deleted Items, check the Recoverable Items folder (Exchange accounts only):
   • Go to Deleted Items.
   • On the Home tab, select Recover Deleted Items From Server.
     • If this option is missing or greyed out, the account is likely not Exchange and permanent recovery is not available.
   • In the Recover Deleted Items window:
     • Sort by Subject and look for the contact’s name, or sort by From and look for blank entries (contacts have no From value).
     • Select the contact → Restore Selected Items → OK.
   • The recovered contact will appear in Deleted Items; move it back to Contacts.
   Notes:
   • Items stay recoverable only for as long as the admin‑defined retention period allows. After that, they are permanently deleted.
   • Contacts in IMAP/POP accounts that were permanently deleted cannot be recovered via this method.

For new Outlook or Outlook on the web/Outlook.com

1. Check the Deleted folder in People:
   • From the navigation pane, select People.
   • Select Deleted.
   • Find the contact, right‑click and select Restore.
2. If not there, check the Recoverable folder:
   • In People, open Deleted.
   • Select Recover deleted (or Recover items deleted from this folder in some builds).
   • Select the contact → Restore.
   • The contact is restored to its original folder when possible, or to the default Contacts folder.

If the contact cannot be found in Deleted/Recoverable folders and the retention period has passed, it is likely permanently deleted and cannot be restored.

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References:

• Restore or recover a deleted contact in Outlook
• Recover and restore deleted items in Outlook
• Outlook contacts not showing in "new" outlook - Microsoft Q&A