Removing Old Email Address from Suggested

For Classic Outlook, there is not currently a supported way to permanently remove just one old suggested recipient in all cases if the mailbox is Exchange Online.

What is happening:

• In classic Outlook for Windows, suggested recipients can come from two sources:
  • Exchange Online mailbox: suggestions are provided by Microsoft Search.
  • Exchange on-premises or POP/IMAP: suggestions come from the local AutoComplete list.
• For Exchange Online, the X may appear to remove the entry, but the suggestion can return later. Microsoft states that turning AutoComplete off and on or clearing the AutoComplete cache does not fix that behavior.

What can be done:

1. If the account is Exchange on-premises or POP/IMAP
   • In a new message, start typing the address.
   • When the old address appears, highlight it and select X, or press Delete.
   • This removes that entry from the AutoComplete list.
2. If the account is Exchange Online
   • A permanent single-entry removal is not currently supported based on the documented behavior.
   • The available workaround is to reset suggested contacts from the account privacy settings instead of removing only one entry.
   • For work or school accounts: go to Settings & Privacy for the account, open Privacy > Data options > Manage Contact Search, then use Reset Index or turn off Capture implicit contacts and contact ranking from my communications.
   • For personal Microsoft accounts: go to the Privacy page, open Expanded people suggestions, and turn the setting Off.
3. Check whether the old address is saved as a contact
   • Saved personal contacts can still be suggested until that contact is deleted.
   • Organizational directory entries can still be suggested unless removed by IT admin.
4. To make the new address reappear as a suggestion
   • Send mail to the new full address manually. Outlook can learn it again and add it back to suggestions.

• In AutoComplete, the "X" to remove individual suggested recipients might not work as expected | Microsoft Support
• Manage suggested recipients in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields in Outlook for iOS and Android | Microsoft Support
• [Classic Outlook](https://support.microsoft.com/outlook/mail/manage-suggested-recipients-in-the-to-cc-and-bcc-fields-in-outlook)
• Outlook replies or forwards cause non-delivery error “Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients” | Microsoft Support
• when trying to send an email to a specific person, their email address is not populating. why? - Microsoft Q&A