Can't edit contact details in Outlook Live

Anonymous
2016-08-09T23:09:11+00:00

Since Microsoft "upgraded" Outlook Live a month or so ago, I've had problems editing details, such as email addresses and phone numbers, for people in my Contacts list. For instance, one contact's first name, last name, personal email, cell phone and two home phone numbers are editable: if I wanted to, I could put my cursor in the box and delete or type over them. But for some reason, the business number, which is no longer valid since the person is no longer employed, can't be deleted. The box is grayed out, and when I try to highlight the number with my mouse in order to delete it, the mouse doesn't work. This is true for other contacts in my list as well. Has anyone else had this baffling and frustrating problem?

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Contacts

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.

0 comments

77 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2016-08-10T18:00:28+00:00

    I can't speak for the original poster, but I suspect the situation is the same.  Accessing People through https://outlook.live.com/owa/?path=/people , through FireFox or IE (no, Edge is not an option as the machines I've tried this on are not capable of Win 10).  Happens with all my Contacts, and NONE of them are linked to any social account.  There is no error message at any stage.

    When I access the contact the email address is listed down in the "Personal" section in a *gray* box and is uneditable.  There is a blank box above it, also labeled Personal which is editable (and clearable, later), but if I type the new address in this box, when I Save, both addresses are listed.  Going back in to Edit again, both show, but only the new address can be edited.  The original address is still in the untouchable gray box.  If I try to send a message to this Contact, both addresses are displayed and the original one is checked and seems to be the 'default' that will be used (which is why I need to change it!).

    There seems to be no way to get rid of the original address without deleting the Contact completely, which is an unacceptable situation.

    Was this answer helpful?

    80+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2017-05-02T03:54:12+00:00

    I experienced this same issue and had success with the following work around:

    Go to the Mail tile and start a new email.

    In the To field, start typing the offending address (the one that shows up in the untouchable gray box).

    When the offending address shows up as a suggestion, hit the X next to it to remove it from the suggestion list.

    Go back to the People tile and the gray box should be gone.

    Hope this works for you.

    Was this answer helpful?

    10 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2016-10-13T12:38:55+00:00

    I have the same problem and this is unusable and unacceptable. I can't change or edit any contact  information. I use for business with 2,800 contacts. It is pretty much useless now for what I need to do.

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2016-10-13T00:56:04+00:00

    Same issue here, can't edit certain contact fields. I can't believe Microsoft would release a product with such a deficiency. This along with so many other products being thrown out the door full of bugs is starting to make me want to go back to the Google line of products.

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2016-08-10T14:07:01+00:00

    Hi,

    To get better clarity on the issue please answer the questions below:

    • Do you get any error message when you try to edit the contact details?
    • How exactly are you trying to access your contacts? Is it through People app (Desktop) or through a web based interface (https://people.live.com)?
    • Are the contact that you are trying to edit linked to any social account?
    • Is the issue specific to a particular contact?

    Please get back to us with the above information so that we can assist you further.

    Thank you.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments