detach two email accounts from outlook

Question

I have 2 email accounts. My business email is [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed] and my personal email is [Moderator note: Personally Identifiable Information removed]. I subscribe annually to Microsoft 365. My 2 emails used to be separate until I went to the new Outlook. Now they are combined. My business contacts and personal contacts have been combined. How do I get them separated like it used to be? I tried going back to the Classic Outlook but it didn't correct the issue.

Answer 1

Hi Ted, 

Good day, and I appreciate you sharing what happened. 

As this is a user-to-user community forum, I do not have the ability to directly access or modify your account or service. However, I can provide guidance, recommend next steps, share applicable resources, and direct you to the appropriate support channels so the issue can be investigated further. 

Based on your description, it sounds like your two email accounts may not have actually been merged into one account. Instead, New Outlook may be showing contacts from both accounts together in the People/Contacts view, or some contacts may have been synced or imported into the wrong account. 

Switching back to Classic Outlook may not automatically separate the contacts if the contacts are already stored in the same contact folder or cloud account. To determine the best way to separate them, you first need to confirm where the contacts are currently stored. 

Here are some steps you can try: 

1/ Check each account separately on the web 

• Sign in to your business email account at Outlook on the web. 
• Open People or Contacts. 
• Check whether only business contacts appear there. 
• 
• Sign out, then sign in to your personal account. 
• Open People or Contacts and check whether only personal contacts appear there. 

2/ Check whether New Outlook is showing “All contacts” 

• Open New Outlook. 
• Go to People or Contacts. 
• Check whether the contacts are being displayed under All contacts or another available contact view.
• If you see separate contact folders or account-specific contact sections, review each one individually to confirm where the contacts are stored.

3/ If contacts are stored under the wrong account 

• Export the contacts from the account where they are currently stored. 
• Remove the contacts that do not belong in that account. 
• Import the business contacts into the business account. 
• Import the personal contacts into the personal account. 
• After that, restart Outlook and allow it to sync. 

If you need detailed assistance with this process, please let me know and I will be happy to guide you through the steps. 

4/ Check Classic Outlook contact folders

• Open Classic Outlook. 
• Go to People/Contacts. 
• Check whether contacts are listed under the business mailbox, the personal mailbox, or a local folder such as This Computer Only. 
• If contacts are stored locally, they may need to be exported and imported into the correct cloud account so New Outlook can sync them properly. 

For detailed guidance, you may refer to these Microsoft articles:  

• Add, find, edit, or delete a contact in Outlook | Microsoft Support 
• Manage contacts in Outlook | Microsoft Support 

Please understand that my initial reply may not always immediately resolve the issue. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.   

I hope this information is helpful. Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to share them in the comment below. I'm very happy to help.  

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

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