Why are Outlook Address Book Contacts Not Showing Up

  

Mark Regan
Published: January 14th, 2026 • 5 Min Read

Are you one of those who are facing the problem of Outlook address book contacts not showing up? Don’t worry, this problem is too common; this happens with every single user. Whether you imported contacts manually or your Outlook account is synced with the server. It’s become frustrating when you need to send an email to your important contact, and the Outlook contacts not showing in address book.

In this blog post, we are going to answer your query, “Why has my Outlook address book disappeared?” by using step-by-step manual solutions and a professional method. Additionally, we also share the common reasons why this happens, and guide you on how to make the Outlook address book contacts visible. Read this blog till the end to find the answer.

Before moving ahead, let’s understand why this happens.

Why Has My Outlook Address Book Disappeared

The Outlook address book contacts not showing up due to many reasons few of the main reasons are listed below.

• Contacts are saved on wrong folder in Outlook.
• When your Outlook profile gets corrupted.
• If you accidentally selected the wrong address book in Outlook.
• When the contact folder is not enabled for the address book.
• Groups were created but not saved on contact folder.
• If the exchange or Microsoft 365 account could not sync.
• When your OST file or PST file gets corrupted.

These were the main reasons why Outlook address book contacts not showing up.

Now, let’s move towards the solution that is described in the next section below.

Fixing the Outlook Address Book Contacts Not Showing Up Issue Manually

We know the reasons why this happens; let’s start fixing this issue on a freeway. Follow the step-by-step methods listed below carefully to fix this issue.

Solution 1. Enable Settings in Contacts Folder

1. Open your Outlook application on your Windows PC.
2. Look at the bottom left corner.
3. Here, you will see three “dots” and click on the “Folder” option.
4. Now, go to the “Contacts” section.
5. Then, right-click and select the “Properties” option.
6. After that, go to the “Outlook Address Book” tab.
7. Now, enable the option “Show this folder as an e-mail Address Book.”
8. Then, click on the OK button, and restart your Outlook Application.

Done! Your contact starts showing you.

If this solution does not work, you can use solution 2.

Solution 2. Select Correct Address Book

1. Open the Microsoft Outlook application on your computer system.
2. Click on the New Email button, go to the “To” option, and click on that.
3. Now, you see the highlighted “Address Book” option.
4. Click the dropdown menu, select the Contacts or Contact with <your name>.
5. Then click the “Ok” button.

Done! Your contact will start appearing when you make your email.

Solution 3. Check Contacts Folder Location

1. Open Outlook on your desktop PC.
2. Go to the People/Contacts section
3. Check your contacts in the “Contacts folder.”
4. If the contacts are in different folders.
5. Then, select contacts and move to the contacts folder.

Done! Your contact will be visible in your contact list.

By using all the suggested manual methods, you can easily view your Outlook Address Book contacts.

Note: This is the common fixes that will only help you get your address book contacts if the contact is present in your Outlook.

However, if the common fixes do not work in such a case, using the professional solution is the only option.

Fix The Outlook Contacts Not Showing in Address Book Problem Professionally

If the common described methods fail to resolve the issue, and you can’t find contact in address book, that means the OST file damaged. In such case, using a professional solution is right option. Try the BitRecover OST Repair Wizard to repair corrupted OST files. This program restores all mailbox items, including contacts, emails, calendars, and other data. It fixes common and non-common OST file issue easily with data integrity.

Steps to Fix Outlook Contacts Not Showing Up Address Book

1. Run the suggested tool on your desktop PC.
2. Click “NEXT” to start the process.
3. Then, click on the select File/Folder button to open OST file.
4. After that, click next to continue.
5. Now, select the folder that you wanted to repair and click NEXT.
   
6. Here, choose new saving format and file destination.
   
7. Finally, click on the “Repair” button to start repair.
   

Done your Repair files are ready to use.

Advantages of Using Professional Solution

• This software technical support is available 24*7.
• Can repair bulk corrupted or damage OST files at one time and saves your time.
•  It’s completely repair OST file without losing data integrity with email attachments.
• You can convert OST files in others formats such as, PST, EML, MSG, MBOX, PDF, and HTML, etc.
• Supports on all versions of Outlook OST files such as, 2021, 2019, 2013, 2010, 2007 and 2003, work on both Windows and macOS.
• This tool repairs all your emails, contacts, calendars, and tasks while preserving your original folder structure.

Final Thoughts

In this blog post, we discussed how to fix Outlook address book contacts not showing up issue and described the main reasons behind it. Additionally, we shared three manual solutions to solve the Outlook contacts not showing in address book problem, when the need of common fixes. On the other hand, if the suggested common fixes do not work properly, then using the suggeste