How do I get Outlook app on Android to sync contacts? (Not Outlook.com app)

Anonymous
2015-06-03T04:43:19+00:00

I got a message on my Android phone that Microsoft was no longer going to support the app Outlook.com and that we should use the Outlook app. So I uninstalled outlook.com app and installed the Outlook app.

Now new contacts that I entered on the People page of Outlook on my computer do not show up on my phone. I went to Settings, Accounts, Microsoft Exchange, and clicked on sync for mail,, contacts, calender, and tasks. It said that the sync was done moments later. However, I still do not have the new contacts on my phone. This was not a problem with Outlook.com app.

I am about to uninstall the Outlook app and go back to Outlook.com. However, if you don't support it, I could have problems not getting updates to protect against malmare and hacking.

I don't particularly like the new Outlook app's appearance with all those colored squares with people's initials on the left of the email listing. I prefer to have he boxes on the left so I can look at the list and check off one or more messages and then delete them all at once. What if there is a message with a virus in it. I want to be able to delete suspicious messages without opening them.

Thanks for your help,

Jacki

Outlook | Outlook for mobile | Outlook for Android | For business

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Anonymous
2015-06-04T04:27:02+00:00

Hi,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Office Community.

Please provide us the additional information to help you better.

  1. Are you able to see the new contacts on Outlook.com webmail?
  2. Does the existing contacts show up in Outlook app?
  3. Did you setup the Outlook.com account as Exchange Active Sync in Outlook app?

If not, you may setup as EAS account and verify whether contacts synchronize.

If yes, create new contacts in Outlook phone app and check if it syncs.

Microsoft is collecting feedback from customers regarding Outlook app user interface. They are actively looking into the concerns raised by the customers.

You may provide feedback regarding outlook app interface using the In-App function in Outlook for Android. 

I look forward to your reply to assist you further.

Thank you.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-08-21T15:56:15+00:00

    I think I just found a workaround... I think.

    It seems the number has to be stored in a particular format.

    For example:

    +1 (555) 5551212  - OK

    15555551212 - Bad

    If you go to people.live.com  and modify the contacts phone number with the correct format, it will sync to the contacts on the android phone.

    Not sure if this is Microsoft thing or an android thing, but it seems to work.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-07-07T18:14:05+00:00

    I got tired of waiting for a better answer and abandoned the Outlook app.  I'm using the new Gmail Exchange connector now.  Not perfect, either, but less complicated.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-07-07T14:39:43+00:00

    I discovered the same "workaround", but there are some drawbacks to this.

    What you are doing is letting your native email app synchronize contacts instead of Outlook.  The problem is that it also synchronizes all of your email a second time, polling constantly, and this is rough on the battery to put it mildly.  Also, it completely defeats the purpose for having an Outlook app in the first place.

    The point of using the Outlook App is to replace the native email app.  If it fails to do this for the most basic functions, like contacts, then it has no value at all.

    You can partially mitigate this problem by setting your sync interval to the highest setting.  Mine is 12 hours rather than the default of automatic push.  My contacts don't change all that often, and reducing the frequency reduces the impact on my battery.

    There are additional impacts to this problem.  When the native android app syncs, I can then go to my phone, hit contacts, and look up any person out of our corporate global address list.  When I use the Outlook app I cannot.  It has the same workaround, that being to use someone else's software.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-04-20T20:33:45+00:00

    Leave it to Microsoft to get it almost right, then suggest there is no problem.  The "add an Exchange ActiveSync" account option works, but it's hokey at best.

    I suspect it works fine on a Windows phone...

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