Cannot mention/tag and search people in Outlook & I tried downloading the Outlook desktop app but it will keep saying "Retry"

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Cannot mention/tag and search people in Outlook & I tried downloading the Outlook desktop app but it will keep saying "Retry"

Rica Seville 0

Cannot mention/tag and search people in Outlook & I tried downloading the Outlook desktop app but it will keep saying "Retry". I've already tried troubleshooting, like changing my password, trying to login my Outlook account in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Incognito but still it won't work. I am already super frustrated as I cannot work properly.

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Answer 1

Lin V 1,630 Independent Advisor

Hi Rica,

To help narrow down the issue, please confirm the following:

Are you unable to @mention any users, or only specific users?
When searching for people in Outlook, do no results appear at all, or are only certain users missing?
Are other users in your organization experiencing the same behavior, or does the issue affect only your account?

In the meantime, I came across a Microsoft article that describes a similar issue where users cannot be found or resolved when using @mentions. According to the article, this can occur when the affected mailbox is hidden from the Global Address List (GAL), preventing Microsoft 365 applications from resolving the user.

Therefore, if the issue only affects specific users, you may want to share the following article with your Microsoft 365/Exchange administrator for further investigation: User isn't found when using @mentions - Microsoft 365 Apps | Microsoft Learn.

If you are unsure who your IT administrator is, you can refer to this official Microsoft guide for assistance: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support.

Once the information above is confirmed, it should be easier to determine whether the issue is related to hidden GAL entries for specific users or a broader Outlook directory/search issue affecting the account.

Feel free to reply on this thread if you have further details to share and I'll be happy to assist further.

Rica Seville 0 Reputation points

2026-08-11T20:53:35.78+00:00
Are you unable to @mention any users, or only specific users? Yes, I'm unable to @mention ALL users

When searching for people in Outlook, do no results appear at all, or are only certain users missing? No results will appear at all

Are other users in your organization experiencing the same behavior, or does the issue affect only your account? No, it's only my account that has this issue recently
Lin V 1,630 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-11T22:22:37.1666667+00:00

Hi Rica,

Thank you for the clarification.

Since you're unable to @mention any users, People Search returns no results at all, and other users in your organization are not experiencing the same behavior, the issue appears to be isolated to your account rather than a general Outlook issue.

As a next step, please verify all accounts currently signed in to Outlook and ensure you're using the correct work or school account associated with your organization. If multiple accounts are signed in, it's possible that Outlook is using an account that does not have access to your organization's directory, which could affect People Search and @mention functionality.

If the correct account is already being used and the issue still persists, please contact your IT administrator and ask them to open a support case with Microsoft. Since the issue appears to affect only a single account and occurs across Outlook experiences, further investigation from the Microsoft side may be required.

I hope this in formation helps guide you in the right direction. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.