How can you fix your screwup with my computer?

Fran Meckler 0 Reputation points
2026-09-08T16:28:10.1133333+00:00

I am a very furious 75 year old Microsoft user and have been with you since the 70's. Last week I don't know what kind of screwup, update was done but I am hopping mad. You lost my entire contact list. Two days later and the cost of having a computer repair company look into the situation, I came home w/o any contacts and they could not find out why they disappeared. Well, two more days passed and I received 90 contacts back but to my shock, they were from people that were all dead and I had not been in contact with for a very long time. Then I spent and entire day trying to type in my contacts, and this morning I look at my contacts and you have made them disappear again. I am not happy with your updates, you need to leave old people alone and do not touch their info unless you are asked to do so. Now, I want you to find my contact list and restore. You lost it, you find it and put it back.

You owe everyone an apology for your massive screwup. Enough, quit making updates until you are sure that they will work. It is like a new medicine, try it out before you push it on the masses. I hate your updates!!!!

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Contacts
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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-08T16:28:26.3266667+00:00

    For Outlook.com or Outlook on the web, the supported recovery path is:

    1. Open People.
    2. Select Deleted.
    3. If the missing contacts are there, right-click the contact and select Restore.

    If the contacts are not in Deleted:

    1. In People, select Deleted.
    2. At the top of the list, select Recover deleted.
    3. Select the contacts to recover, then select Restore.

    Recovered contacts are restored to their original folder when possible. If the original folder no longer exists, they are restored to the default Contacts folder.

    If contacts do not appear in People > Deleted, try refreshing the page. If they still do not appear, check Mail > Deleted Items and restore the item from there if it is listed.

    If duplicate or unexpected old contacts appeared in Outlook.com, one documented cause is the Teams mobile app syncing device contacts. In that case:

    1. Open Teams on the mobile device.
    2. Go to profile icon > Settings > People.
    3. Turn off Sync my device contacts.
    4. The device contacts in Outlook are deleted within a few hours.
    5. If duplicates still remain, Microsoft provides ContactsCleanup.exe for cleanup on Windows.

    If the contacts are no longer in the recoverable locations, the available support article states they may have been permanently deleted.

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

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  2. Stefan Blom 351K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-09-08T21:29:56.65+00:00

    See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/people/restore-or-recover-a-deleted-contact-in-outlook .

    Please note that contributors in the Q&A forums are your fellow users. You are not speaking to Microsoft support here.

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