Is there finally a way to switch off the automatic linking of contacts in new Outlook?

Question

Automatic linking of contacts in Outlook (new) has become by now a pesky element since Outlook new came to users. Only in the Web frontend I can unlink contacts and in none of the apps on Windows, Mac or iOS.

It is a well meant feature but in certain setups of customers it is rendered useless and creates a lot of additional workload for me as a user.
Microsoft please get it out of Outlook with a switch, as it gets now even more room within Outlook classic, I have been using instead of new again to omit this feature. THANK YOU!

Answer 1

Hi @Andreas Pilz,

Thank you for taking the time to investigate and share your findings.

Based on the behavior you've described, it appears that Outlook's contact-linking algorithm is using the Company field as one of its primary matching criteria, and may only evaluate the first portion of the value rather than the entire company name. Your examples suggest that contacts with identical prefixes in the Company field can be automatically linked even when the remaining text differentiates separate entities.

I reviewed Microsoft's public documentation and could only find article describing how to manage or unlink linked contacts. Microsoft document that Outlook can automatically link contacts when it detects matching information, and provides options to view or unlink linked sources, but I was unable to find any documented setting in New Outlook, Outlook on the web, Mac, or mobile that disables automatic contact linking entirely.

For your reference: Manage Outlook contacts in your organization | Microsoft Support

Before concluding that this is solely related to Outlook's contact-linking logic, I would recommend a few troubleshooting steps to determine whether the behavior is being influenced by the Outlook client or profile configuration:

1. Repair New Outlook and then test whether the contacts continue to be relinked automatically.

• Press Windows + I to open the Settings app.      
• Click on Apps > Installed apps (or Apps & features, depending on your Windows version).      
• Scroll down or search for Outlook for Windows > Click on the three dots > Advanced options       

• Scroll down to the Reset section > Choose Repair      

• If the issue persists, back up all the important data > return and select Reset   
• Restart your PC   
• Open New Outlook again and test the behavior  

2. If the issue persists, create a new Classic Outlook profile and verify whether the same behavior occurs with the new profile.

• You can follow this official instruction from Microsoft to create a new Outlook profile: Create an Outlook profile | Microsoft Support
• After creating new profile, test the same contacts in Classic Outlook and compare the results.

This can help determine whether the behavior is specific to New Outlook or affects multiple Outlook clients.

If the contacts continue to relink after performing the above tests, the issue may require further investigation by Microsoft's support team. In that case, I recommend opening a support request and providing the details of your testing, including the observations regarding the Company field and the conditions under which the contacts become linked again.

For business support:   

• Find your Microsoft 365 admin: If you don't know who the global admin is in your organization, you can find guidance here: How can I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support    
• Submit a service request: The Global Administrator should create a support request with Microsoft to receive advanced technical assistance. For detailed instructions, see: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn    
• If your subscription is from a partner or reseller, contact the reseller's support provider to help open a service request on behalf of you instead.    

If you discover any solutions or have additional insights, please consider replying to this thread to help others in the community.   

I sincerely apologize for redirecting you to the Microsoft Technical Support Team. While I strive to assist as much as possible here in the forum, my resources are limited when it comes to backend-level diagnostics and advanced troubleshooting. Some issues require deeper technical analysis and access to internal tools that only the official support team can provide.    

If you need further assistance, feel free to reply. I'm here and happy to help!

Answer 2

Dear @Roebe Ta ,

it seems that only the first part of the Company filed triggers the "identical" and linking the contacts.
When using Company Names like "Microsoft Corp. - Customer Success" and "Microsoft Corp. - Outlook Dev Team" they are seen as identical in the linking algorhythms.

Couldn't find much more...
Best regards

Andreas

P.S.: Sorry for the duplication, but somehow the 1. post only showed up later.

Answer 3

Dear @Roebe Ta ,
thank you for asking. It took me a while to really figure out what is happening.

It seems that only a first 15-20 chars in the "Company" field make a differnce. As I use a longer name and then different "extensions" in a form like "microsoft corp. - customer success ltd." the later part to differentiate the company is ignored.
This is what I can describe... ;-)

Best regards

Andreas

Answer 4

Hi @Andreas Pilz,

To better understand the scenario, could you clarify a few points?

• Are you referring to the People app (Contacts) in New Outlook, where multiple contact records are automatically linked and displayed as a single contact?
• Can you provide an example of the contacts being linked? For instance, do they share the same name, email address, phone number, or other details?
• Does this occur in the People app only, or are you also seeing linked contacts when composing emails, searching for contacts, or viewing contact cards?
• When you say the contacts are linked automatically, are they displayed as a single combined contact card, or are you seeing contact suggestions that pull information from multiple sources?
• If you manually unlink the contacts in Outlook on the web, do they remain unlinked in other Outlook versions, or are they automatically linked again later?

Understanding whether you're referring to contact linking within the People app and how the contacts are related will help us determine if this is expected behavior of the Contact Linking feature or a different issue.

Looking forward to your response so we can get this sorted out for you together. 

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