outlook contacts

Jack Sheppard Jr 0 Reputation points
2026-08-07T19:06:26.1233333+00:00

I recently moved to the new classic outlook. My contacts didn't pull over. How can I restore them to my new outlook?

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For home
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  1. Victor1-V 11,680 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-08-08T07:13:33.4666667+00:00

    Hi Jack Sheppard Jr,

    I understand that your contacts did not appear after moving from classic Outlook to new Outlook.

    Please note that this is a user-to-user forum, so contributors cannot access your account or contacts directly.

    The Q&A Assist answer provides the correct method if your contacts are stored locally under Contacts (This computer only). Have you had a chance to try the export and import steps it provided?

    I would also like to add that, before proceeding, please open People in classic Outlook and confirm whether the missing contacts appear under Contacts (This computer only) or under your email account. Also, please let me know whether you use an Outlook.com personal account or another provider, such as Gmail or Yahoo. This will help confirm whether the contacts are locally stored and require the CSV method.

    You can also refer to Import or export contacts in Outlook using a CSV file.

    I hope this helps clarify the appropriate next step.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.    

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  2. AI answer

    2026-08-07T19:06:40.45+00:00

    If the contacts were stored locally in classic Outlook, they do not automatically appear in new Outlook. The supported way to restore them is to export the local contacts from classic Outlook to a .csv file, then import that file into new Outlook.

    1. Open Outlook (classic).
    2. Go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export.
    3. Choose Export to a file > Next.
    4. Select Comma Separated Values > Next.
    5. In Select folder to export from, select Contacts (This computer only) under the account, then select Next.
    6. Select Browse, choose where to save the .csv, name it, and select OK.
    7. Confirm the save location, select Next, then select Finish.
    8. Find the new .csv file and open it in Excel to verify the contacts are there. Empty cells are normal.
    9. Close the file without saving changes to avoid corrupting it.
    10. Import that .csv into new Outlook using the new Outlook contact import option.

    If the contacts were deleted in new Outlook instead of missing from a local folder:

    1. In new Outlook, select People.
    2. Open Deleted.
    3. If the contact is there, right-click it and select Restore.
    4. If it is not there, at the top of the list select Recover deleted, choose the contact, and select Restore.

    Recovered contacts are restored to their original folder when possible, or to the default Contacts folder.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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