I can't edit or delete some contacts from the People tab.

Contacts missing from an All contacts CSV are likely not ordinary contacts owned by your Outlook.com address book, so remove them from the specific source that displays them rather than repeatedly exporting and importing the CSV.

1. Determine what Outlook.com actually stores

1. In Outlook.com, open People.
2. Select Manage contacts → Export contacts → All contacts → Export.
3. Open the downloaded CSV and confirm the affected names are absent. This export contains the contacts stored in the selected Outlook contact scope.^1^
4. In People, search for one affected person:
   • If there is an editable personal contact under Your contacts, delete it there.
   • If Outlook only displays a profile or suggestion and provides no normal Edit/Delete controls, use the matching section below.

2. If they are suggested people rather than saved contacts

Outlook can display people learned from previous communications even when they are not saved contacts. These entries are managed separately and therefore do not necessarily appear in the normal contacts CSV.

For a personal Outlook.com/Hotmail account:

1. Open the Microsoft account Privacy page.
2. Find Privacy settings in our products → Expanded people suggestions.
3. Turn the feature Off and clear its existing data if that option is presented.

Clearing suggested-person data does not delete genuine saved contacts, but cleared suggestion data cannot be recovered.^2^

3. If they are copies exported by Outlook for iOS

Disconnecting the Outlook account from iOS is not the same as removing contacts previously exported into Apple Contacts. If the account is still listed in Outlook for iOS:

1. Open Outlook for iOS → profile/menu → Settings.
2. Select the affected Outlook account.
3. Turn Save Contacts off.
4. Keep the iPhone powered on and Outlook open for several minutes while the exported copies are removed.

Microsoft specifically states that Save Contacts must be turned off before deleting the account or Outlook app. If the account or app was removed first, those exported copies may remain in iCloud or locally on the device.^3^

If the Outlook account is already gone from the app, check the affected contact in Apple Contacts and inspect which list/account contains it—such as iCloud or “On My iPhone.” Back up that list before removing residual entries because they are no longer being managed by Outlook.

For future entries, set iPhone Settings → Apps → Contacts → Default Account to the account where new contacts should be owned. Also note that edits made directly in Apple’s Contacts app are not written back to Outlook for iOS; Outlook-to-device saving is one-way for those edits.^4^

4. If an affected entry is a hidden duplicate

Outlook.com can hide exact or subset duplicate records. A visible card may therefore represent multiple underlying contacts. Deleting the contact from Outlook.com removes the visible contact and its hidden duplicates; alternatively, all duplicates can be viewed and managed using classic Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, or Outlook Mobile.^5^

If none of these categories matches—particularly if the entry has no Delete control after suggestion data is cleared—use Help in Outlook.com, enter the issue, and select Still need help? → Yes so support can examine the account-side People data.^1^

References

1. Export contacts from Outlook.com or Outlook on the web
2. Manage suggested recipients in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields in Outlook for iOS and Android | Microsoft Support
3. How do I remove the contacts that I've exported from Outlook for iOS without changing my native contacts? | Microsoft Support
4. If I add or edit a new contact to Outlook, will it sync with my Contacts app on my device? | Microsoft Support
5. [Outlook.com](https://support.microsoft.com/outlook/people/manage-duplicate-contacts-in-outlook)