Outlook Contacts Missing

When your Outlook contacts disappear from the People view, the address book shows empty, or autocomplete suggestions stop working, it can disrupt your daily email workflow. These issues are commonly caused by address book misconfiguration, a corrupted autocomplete cache, or contact sync problems. This guide helps you restore your missing contacts.

Step 1: Check the Correct Contacts Folder and Address Book

Outlook can have multiple contact sources, and you may be viewing the wrong one.

1. Switch to the People view by clicking the People icon at the bottom of the navigation pane.
2. In the left sidebar, check which contact folder is selected:
   • Contacts — your default personal contacts
   • Suggested Contacts — auto-saved contacts from recent emails
   • Global Address List (GAL) — your organization’s directory (Exchange/Microsoft 365)
3. If you see the wrong folder, click on Contacts under your account name.
4. Check the Address Book settings:
   • Go to Home > Address Book or press Ctrl+Shift+B
   • In the Address Book dropdown at the top, switch between available address lists
   • Ensure Contacts or Global Address List is selected
5. If a contacts folder is missing from the Address Book:
   • Right-click the Contacts folder in the navigation pane
   • Select Properties > Outlook Address Book tab
   • Check Show this folder as an e-mail Address Book
   • Click OK and restart Outlook

Step 2: Rebuild the Autocomplete Cache

If contacts exist but do not appear in the To field autocomplete, the nickname cache may be corrupted.

1. The autocomplete list is stored in a file called the Nickname Cache (.nk2) or the Autocomplete Stream.
2. To clear and rebuild it:
   • Close Outlook
   • Press Win+R and enter:

outlook.exe /cleanautocompletecache

• This deletes all autocomplete entries — Outlook will rebuild the cache as you send new emails

3. Alternatively, remove individual entries:
   • Start composing a new email
   • Begin typing a name in the To field
   • When the incorrect suggestion appears, use the arrow keys to highlight it
   • Press Delete to remove that single entry
4. On macOS, the autocomplete cache is stored in the Outlook database. Rebuilding the Outlook profile (see Step 5) will also reset autocomplete.

Step 3: Verify Contact Sync Settings

If contacts are visible on the web but not in the desktop client, sync may be broken.

1. Log into https://outlook.office.com and navigate to People.
2. Check if your contacts appear in the web interface.
3. If contacts exist online but not locally, force a resync:
   • Go to Send/Receive > Send/Receive Groups > Define Send/Receive Groups
   • Click Edit and ensure the Contacts folder is checked for sync
4. If using Cached Exchange Mode, verify it is enabled:
   • Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings
   • Double-click your account and confirm Use Cached Exchange Mode is checked
5. For contacts synced from iCloud or Google:
   • Verify the iCloud or Google connector is still installed and signed in
   • Go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Address Books tab
   • Ensure the third-party address book is listed and active
6. Press Ctrl+Shift+F9 to trigger a full sync cycle and wait for it to complete.

Step 4: Restore Deleted Contacts

If contacts were accidentally deleted, you may be able to recover them.

1. Check the Deleted Items folder:
   • Switch to the Mail view
   • Open Deleted Items and look for contact entries
   • Right-click any found contacts and select Move > Contacts
2. Recover from the server-side recoverable items:
   • Go to Folder > Recover Deleted Items (in Mail view with Deleted Items selected)
   • Select the contacts you want to restore and click Recover Selected Items
   • Items are recoverable for up to 14 days (default) after deletion
3. If using Microsoft 365, check the Recycle Bin in Outlook on the web:
   • Go to https://outlook.office.com
   • Navigate to Deleted Items > Recover items deleted from this folder
4. For contacts lost due to a sync conflict:
   • Check the Sync Issues folder in Outlook (under your account in the folder list)
   • Look for contact-related conflict items

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/Main Profile/Data/