Global address list

Peter Pilgrim 0 Reputation points
2026-05-28T13:06:06.55+00:00

Hi Team,

I have the latest version of the Windows MS Outlook app running on my PC. My global address list is not loading. It says "could not load contact list. I open MS Outlook from the web and get the same error. Can you help me pls.

Regards

Peter

Outlook | Web | Outlook on the web for business | Contacts
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  1. AI answer

    2026-05-28T13:06:28.74+00:00

    Follow these steps to troubleshoot the Global Address List (GAL) not loading in Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web:

    1. Verify Autodiscover registry setting (Windows Outlook)
      1. Close Outlook.
      2. Open Registry Editor (regedit).
      3. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\AutoDiscover\
      4. Look for the value ExcludeHttpsAutoDiscoverDomain.
      5. If it exists and is set to 1, change it to 0.
      6. Close Registry Editor and restart Outlook.
    2. Check Autodiscover connectivity If the issue persists, test Autodiscover to ensure Outlook can find the mailbox configuration:
      • For on-premises users, use the Microsoft remote connectivity analyzer.
      • For Microsoft 365 users, use the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant. If Autodiscover is blocked or failing, work with the admin/network team to unblock or correct the Autodiscover endpoints.
    3. Download the correct Offline Address Book (if using Cached Mode) In Outlook for Windows (if configured in Cached Exchange Mode):
      1. Go to Send/Receive tab.
      2. Select Send/Receive Groups > Download Address Book.
      3. In Choose address book, select \Global Address List.
      4. Select OK and let the download complete.
    4. Set the default address list (optional) If another list is opening instead of the GAL:
      1. Open the Address Book.
      2. On the Tools menu, select Options.
      3. Under When opening the address book, show this address list first, choose the Global Address List.

    If the GAL still does not load both in Outlook and Outlook on the web after these steps, an Exchange-side or mailbox configuration issue is likely. In that case, contact the Microsoft 365/Exchange administrator to check for Autodiscover issues, OAB configuration, or mailbox problems.

    References:

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  2. Jess-Q 12,705 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-05-28T14:21:28.97+00:00

    Hi @Peter Pilgrim

    Regarding your issue, may I kindly ask a few questions to help understand it better. 

    • I saw that you posted your question under the Business category so to better support you, would you mind letting me know is this account a personal Microsoft account (e.g., account.microsoft.com) or a work/school account (e.g., myaccount.microsoft.com) provided by an organization?  
    • Have you tried signing out of your account and signing back in on both the new Outlook app and Outlook on the web? 
    • Are other users in your organization experiencing the same issue, or is it only happening to you?  
    • Did you clear the browser cache and cookies for Outlook on the web? 
    • Also, on the https://outlook.office.com/ link click F12 to open DevTools, select Application and find the local storage cache right click and select Clear 
    • User's image
    • Still in the left pane, locate the https://outlook.office.com/ link under Cookies, right-click on it, and select Clear. 
    • User's image
    • Has repairing the Outlook app been attempted yet? For more details, please refer to: Repair an Office application

    Hope to hear back from you soon.   

    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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  3. Mike Meinz 6 Reputation points
    2026-06-05T12:48:35.2333333+00:00

    Your issue could very well be caused by the BITS "hanging" problem. I that the problem was caused by the April Security Update (KB5083769) that was installed on my PC on May 21. This post explains the issue. A May 13 9:07PM comment in that post by the OP indicates that KB5089549 (May 2026 Update) resolves the issue.

    More Info: The Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) uses a single FIFO queue. It appears that Outlook OAB download, Chrome Update, Visual Studio Update, Edge Update and probably other uses of BITS were blocking the queue. Repeatedly monitoring the queue (using PowerShell Get-Bitstransfer) , I saw the first queued item in Connecting state and then some time later, Get-Bitstransfer would not complete.

    I reset BITS queue using these PowerShell commands:
    TaskKill /f /fi “services eq bits”
    Remove-Item “C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Network\Downloader*” -Force
    Start-Service bits

    and then monitored the BITS queue and repeatedly, see the same result. The first item in the queue would be in Connecting state and then some time later BITS would “hang.”

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