Problem with contacts in Outlook for Android

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Hi Chris P,

I understand how frustrating this is - especially when your contacts look correct in one place (Outlook on the web / desktop), but Outlook for Android keeps showing the wrong set or “reverting” after you reinstall.

I reviewed the Q&A Assist answer, and the steps around checking contact permissions, confirming the correct account is syncing, and resetting or re‑adding the account in Outlook for Android are all valid troubleshooting actions for this type of issue. If possible, could you confirm whether you had a chance to complete those steps already and whether any part of them changed the behavior, even temporarily?

Since this is a user‑to‑user forum, contributors here cannot see or repair sync data on Microsoft’s servers directly, but I would like to add a bit more context without repeating what was already mentioned. Based on your description, it is important to determine where the “good” version of the contacts currently lives. Because Outlook.com and Outlook desktop show the correct contacts, that usually indicates the server copy is healthy. When Android keeps reverting after a reinstall, it often points to the mobile app repeatedly pulling cached or mismatched contact data tied to device‑level sync rather than the Outlook account itself.

If you have already gone through the Q&A Assist steps and the issue keeps returning, the next appropriate option would be to work directly with Microsoft Support via live chat so they can review account‑level sync behavior in more detail.

1. Visit the Microsoft Support contact page: Contact - Microsoft Support  
2. In the search bar provided on the page, type "Outlook issue" and press Enter.  
3. Click on the "Get Help" button that appears.  
4. Scroll down the page until you see and click on the "Contact Support" option.  
5. When prompted to select your product or service, choose "Other Products".  
6. For the category, choose "Outlook".  
7. Look for and click on "Chat with a support agent in your web browser".  
8. Confirm your personal email when prompted - this is the email Microsoft will use to communicate with you during and after the support session.  
9. Explain your situation clearly: Be concise but provide all the relevant details.    

I hope this helps you move forward and get contacts behaving consistently on Android.

This behavior is caused by how Outlook for Android is syncing and exposing contacts to the device, not by corruption of the contacts themselves on the server (as confirmed by them looking correct in Outlook desktop and on the Outlook website).

Use the following steps to stabilize contact sync on Android and avoid the “split” contacts:

1. Verify Outlook’s contact permissions on Android
   • Open Android Settings > Applications > Outlook.
   • Ensure Contacts is enabled so Outlook can manage contacts correctly.
2. Re‑toggle contact sync in Outlook
   • Open the Outlook app.
   • Go to Settings > tap the affected account.
   • Turn Sync Contacts off, wait 30–60 seconds, then turn Sync Contacts back on.
   • This forces Outlook to rebuild the device contact view from the correct server data.
3. Confirm the correct contact source is in use
   • Open the Outlook app.
   • Go to Calendar and tap the three lines in the upper left corner.
   • Under the email accounts, ensure the account’s Calendar is selected. If the email address is not listed there, the account is not set up with Exchange ActiveSync and may not sync contacts properly; in that case, remove and re‑add the account and avoid IMAP.
4. If the issue persists, reset the Outlook account
   • In the Outlook app, go to Settings > tap the account that is not syncing correctly > Reset Account.
   • Check whether contacts now appear correctly.
5. If still broken, remove and re‑add the account using Exchange/modern auth
   • In Outlook, go to Settings > tap the account > Delete Account > Delete From This Device.
   • Add the account again using the standard Outlook setup flow (do not choose IMAP). If prompted for server settings, obtain the correct server settings from the provider.
6. If contacts on the device remain split after these steps
   • Because contacts are correct in Outlook desktop and on the web, treat the desktop/web copy as the “good” source of truth.
   • Remove Outlook’s contact sync again (turn Sync Contacts off), confirm the broken contacts disappear from the Android Contacts app, then re‑enable Sync Contacts to repopulate from the server.

If the problem continues after all of the above, contact Microsoft support for Outlook for Android so logs from the device can be reviewed, since the server data is already confirmed correct.

References:

• Can't sync calendar and contacts with my phone or tablet