Missing contacts in Outlook is a common and worrisome issue that millions of Outlook users encounter worldwide. Contacts are vital for effective communication, whether for personal or professional use.
They store necessary information such as email addresses, phone numbers, and other details that facilitate seamless communication or interaction between different Outlook users.
Losing these contacts will disrupt your workflow and operations. Thereby reducing productivity and causing great inconvenience.
Missing Contacts in Outlook? How to Bring Them Back?
This Outlook issue can stem from misconfigured Outlook folder settings, accidental deletion, sync issues, problematic add-ins, or corrupted files.
This section discusses preliminary solutions and more advanced troubleshooting steps to help you restore Outlook contacts.
Preliminary Checks
Solution 1: Search for Missing Outlook Contacts
Use Outlook’s search functionality to quickly locate contacts that might have been misplaced or moved to another folder from their default location.
- Launch the Outlook application.
- Click on the search bar at the top of your Outlook screen.
- Type in relevant keywords such as the name, email address, or any other information related to the missing contact.
- Review the search results to see if the missing contacts appear. The missing contacts might be saved or moved to a different folder or subfolder.
If you find the contacts, try moving them to their default location, i.e., the Contacts folder.
Still haven’t found the disappeared Outlook contacts? Try the next solution, which involves verifying the configured settings for the Contacts folder.
Solution 2: Verify the Contacts Folder Settings
Ensure the settings and configurations of Outlook’s Contacts folder. Outlook’s Contact folder might sometimes be hidden or filtered out in the Contacts folder settings.
- Go to the View tab.
- Click on Change View.
- Ensure that Contacts are selected. If it’s not, missing contacts might not be visible.
- You can also click View Settings and check the Filters to ensure no specific filter is hiding some of your contacts.
If you have not found Outlook contacts, they disappeared. Then, they might have been permanently deleted or missing for other reasons. In such cases, you can recover deleted or lost contacts in Outlook from backups.
Solution 3: Check for any Prior Backups and Restore Missing Outlook Contacts from Backups
Look for previous backups of your Outlook data that might contain the missing contacts. If you have backups, use them to restore your lost contacts. This includes backups through Outlook, third-party software, or manual exports.
Suppose you have saved contacts in backup files. I suggest you restore and use them instead of trying to recover them.
But, if you don’t have contacts, you don’t have any option but to recover your Outlook contacts.
Advanced Solutions
Solution 4: Restore Deleted Contacts from the Deleted Items Folder
Outlook contacts might be accidentally deleted or moved to the Deleted Items folder. Therefore, check the Deleted Items folder and try to recover them from there.
1: Launch the Outlook application.
2: Search for the Deleted Items folder in the left navigation pane of your screen.
3: The Deleted Items folder contains all of the items that were deleted, including contacts.
4: Use the search bar to find specific contacts and hit Enter. You can also manually scroll through the folder to find missing contacts.
5: Once you find your deleted or missing Outlook contacts, right-click on them, and from the options menu, click on the Move option, followed by the Other Folder option. Now, choose the Contacts folder and click on the OK button.
Note: If you have multiple email accounts configured in Outlook, check the Deleted Items folders for each account.
Solution 5: Disable Problematic Add-ins To Resolve Outlook Contacts Missing Issue
Outlook Add-ins enhance the program’s functionality by integrating more features, options, and tools.
However, problematic, incompatible, or corrupt add-ins can cause various issues, including disappearing Outlook contacts and interfering with synchronization, conflicting with other Outlook features, altering the contacts folder, draining system resources, etc.
In such cases, the best solution is to disable the problematic add-ins.
First, open Outlook in Safe Mode (Hit the Windows + R buttons to open the dialog box. Type “outlook.exe/safe” and press Enter). Once that is done, try finding contacts in the Contacts folder or any other location where they might have been moved.
If you could find your contacts in Safe Mode, problematic add-ins triggered the problems. You can restart Outlook in normal mode again and try disabling the add-ins.
1: Go to File > Options > Add-ins.
2: In the Manage box, select COM Add-ins and click Go.
3: Uncheck all add-ins and click OK.
4: Restart Outlook and check if the contacts are visible.
5: Re-enable each add-in one at a time and restart Outlook after enabling each one.
6: Check for the disappearance of contacts after each add-in is enabled to identify the problematic one.
7: Once identified, check for updates to the problematic add-in. If no update is available, consider removing the add-in permanently if it continues to cause issues
Solution 6: Resolve Sync Issues
Synchronization issues can cause contacts to disappear from Outlook if they are not properly syncing with the email server or other devices. To troubleshoot and fix synchronization problems, check your internet connection first. Later, verify your and Outlook send/receive configurations.
- In Outlook, go to File > Options > Advanced settings.
- Under Send and Receive, click on the Send/Receive… option.
- Ensure your email account has checked the Include this group in the send/receive (F9) option.
- Click the Edit button and select Contacts for synchronization.
Solution 7: Check and Verify the Outlook Configuration
Incorrect Outlook configuration settings can also cause disappearing Outlook contacts. Ensuring you configure your Outlook with the correct settings can resolve the issue.
1: Launch the Outlook application and navigate to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
2: Select your email account and click on Change.
3: Ensure your server settings are correct (incoming and outgoing mail server, user name, and password). If necessary, consult your email service provider for the correct settings.
Suppose all the solutions mentioned above failed to resolve the Outlook contact list missing issue. Then, your Outlook data file might be corrupt.
Solution 8: Repair PST Files Using Rikvr Repair for Outlook Software
You can use in-built tools like ScanPST or reliable Outlook repair tools like Rikvr Repair for Outlook.
Rikvr can help you fix any minor corruption or major damages and recover any missing or lost Outlook data files, including contacts, emails, drafts, tasks, appointments, etc.
Steps To Recover Contacts using Rikvr Repair for Outlook
1: Download, Install, and set up Rikvr Repair for Outlook Software on your Windows system.
2: Launch the tool, and from the main screen, select any of the three options, depending on your requirements. Click on the Next button.
3: Select the appropriate scanning method. If your PST file is minorly corrupt, choose the Normal Scan option. But if it has become severely corrupt, try the Smart Scan option and click the Repair button. You are also required to select a location to select the location to save the repaired Outlook PST file.
4: Once the repair process is complete, the tool will display a list of all recovered items, including emails, contacts, tasks, calendars, journals, and notes.
Conclusion
Missing contacts in Outlook can be frustrating. Fortunately, you can recover them with the right approach. This guide explains 8 proven methods like adjusting view settings, restoring deleted contacts from backups, and using specialized tools like Rikvr Repair for Outlook; you can effectively restore your lost contacts.
Regularly backing up your Outlook data and ensuring proper settings can prevent future issues.
With all of these solutions and tips, you can recover Outlook contacts and prevent issues like this in the future.
