outlook.com contacts will only sync one way with android and outlook app

Anonymous

I have added my hotmail.com account as exchange in outlook app on android (nexus 6).

Contacts sync one way only.

Problem:

Any new contact added via the android native contacts app to the "hotmail.com" account is deleted without warning on next sync.
Edits made to hotmail.com contacts in native android contacts app are overwritten and lost on next sync.

I have had this problem for more than 1 year. I have now spent about 50 man hours trying to find a solution. Because the phone is unusable without the ability to add or edit contacts, I have been using my partners old iphone 5c, which syncs contacts both ways flawlessly but means I cant use my smart watch.

My hotmail account was "upgraded" to exchange some months back, but the result before and after is the same (after removing and re-adding of course)

I have spent probably 5 hours with MS support teams.

First I tried the outlook android app "in-app" support. They got me to reinstall outlook and my account, and checked various things were ok, then said there was nothing wrong with my setup, and it must be an issue with the account itself. They sent me to the MS account support eam.
The MS account support team said my account was fine, and it was nothing to do with them, and sent me to the desktop outlook support team.
The desktop account team sent me back to the account support team.
The account support team told me to go back to the android outlook in-app support team. they told me to get an apple phone instead.

So it looks like the 100 or so people who have the same problem have no support, and no solution, other than to switch to iPhone.

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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41 answers

Anonymous

2017-04-04T16:00:46+00:00

NU,

I checked with my peers on the mobile Outlook and they confirmed this is a known issue and is documented here, https://acompli.helpshift.com/a/outlook/?s=people&f=how-do-i-sync-my-outlook-contacts-to-my-address-book. They have scheduled work that will address this issue but I don't have a good date yet to share. I would keep watch on that link above and on the Uservoice as well. Normally we update these with status once we know for sure a good date to share.
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Anonymous

2017-04-02T20:26:19+00:00

Hi,

Thanks to Santiago73 the issue is now resolved.

On configuring Outlook I'm prompted to provide my email address\password which appears to create an Outlook account in Android. Email\Calendar sync works fine with this account but contacts created in the Android Contacts app are not created in Outlook.com.

If I add an Exchange ActiveSync account in the Android accounts area and amend the Android Contacts app to automatically save new contacts using the Exchange ActiveSync account the contacts appear in Outlook.com as expected.

So, it appears that the Android Contacts app must use an Exchange ActiveSync account to create new contacts in Outlook.com rather than an Outlook account.

Many thanks,

Sean

Hi,

Can you outline the settings I'd need to set this up as an ActiveSync account, please? I'm not overly savvy on these things, and have so far failed in my attempts to do this. I need to know Domain/Username, Server, and Port?

As a Windows mobile user jumping ship, this has been one frustration I've encountered with Android, so far. Although, I guess it's not Google's fault?

Thanks!
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Anonymous

2017-04-01T19:42:34+00:00

At this point I would suggest going back to the Outlook for Android in-app support and send them the Uservoice link I posted above and ask them to confirm this is an issue. I'll ask around to my peers if they have any other inputs and post back if I get anything useful.
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Anonymous

2017-04-01T07:28:33+00:00

It looks like there is a Uservoice posting with this same issue, https://outlook.uservoice.com/forums/293346-outlook-for-android/suggestions/10015503-contact-sync-back-to-exchange-outlook-account. Please vote it up so that it gets more attention from the Outlook Team.

Just to make sure please also submit this issue in the in app Help settings. Support should be able to confirm if this is as noted on Uservoice.

Thanks Gabriel. Which app help settings? I have tried the outlook for android in-app support, and they say that my phone is configured correctly, so they cant find the issue.

FYI: I have not been able find a way to sign in with my MS account into user voice. At no point does the user voice allow me to type in my password: it lets you enter the email, but there is no box to type in the password, it only says "create password". If I hit create password, it says I already have an account, but doesn't allow me to enter my password. I have been trying to get into this system for about 6 months without luck. Why do MS use a 3rd party with no MS account integration (or broken integration). I also tried the "sign up" option, but this creates a company trial account - there seems to be no way to create a non-trial non-company account to use with uservoice. I also tried the "login with facebook" option, but it always just says "an error occurred".
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Anonymous

2017-03-31T22:04:04+00:00

It looks like there is a Uservoice posting with this same issue, https://outlook.uservoice.com/forums/293346-outlook-for-android/suggestions/10015503-contact-sync-back-to-exchange-outlook-account. Please vote it up so that it gets more attention from the Outlook Team.

Just to make sure please also submit this issue in the in app Help settings. Support should be able to confirm if this is as noted on Uservoice.
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