Miscellaneous topics that do not fit into specific categories.
If the entire address book was deleted, recovery depends on which Outlook version is being used and whether the contacts are still in Deleted, Deleted Items, or Recoverable Items.
For new Outlook or Outlook on the web / Outlook.com:
- Open People from the navigation pane.
- Select Deleted.
- If the contacts are there, select the contact or contact list and choose Restore.
- If they are not there, stay in People > Deleted and select Recover deleted at the top.
- Select the contacts to recover, then choose 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 the contacts do not appear in People > Deleted, refresh the page. If still missing, check Mail > Deleted Items and restore the item from there if it appears.
For classic Outlook:
- Open Deleted Items in the mailbox folder list.
- Search for the deleted contacts, or sort by the Icon column to group contacts.
- Right-click the contact and select Move > Other Folder.
- Choose Contacts and select OK.
If the contacts are no longer in Deleted Items:
- Select Deleted Items.
- On the Home tab, select Recover Deleted Items From Server.
- Find the contacts, select them, then choose Restore Selected Items.
- After recovery, they are moved back to Deleted Items, and then can be moved to Contacts.
Important limits:
- In classic Outlook, permanently deleted contacts can only be recovered this way if the account is an Exchange account.
- If Recover Deleted Items From Server is grayed out, Outlook may be in offline mode.
- A permanently deleted contacts subfolder cannot be recovered in classic Outlook. A deleted subfolder can be recovered only if it is still in Deleted Items.
- Retention policies may remove items after a set number of days. If the contacts are no longer in Recoverable Items, an admin may still be able to recover them in some work or school environments.