How to sync and use Contacts from Desktop Outlook in Outlook app on Android

Maryanne 25 Reputation points
2026-07-14T13:06:46.7966667+00:00

I use Desktop Outlook but wanted my Contacts etc saved on the cloud and accessible on other devices. To do this, I am using a trick advised ages ago by another user of this Community to use an exchange based account (@outlook.com) to store all the contact / calendar / task data and setting the OST data file for the outlook.com account as the <default data file> on my laptop.

I don't use an online Calendar and my To Do items are syncing OK to my Android but I am having trouble accessing my Contacts to initiate email correspondence via the Outlook app (or the Gmail app) on my phone. If I make a change in my Address book in Desktop Outlook, it appears in Contacts on my phone but when I open the Outlook app (or the Gmail app) and want to author a new email or add a recipient to a reply to an incoming email, the person is not available.

The outlook app has Permissions to access Contacts and accounts. In the outlook app, all my accounts are set to Sync Settings.

I have multiple email accounts, some are @gmail, plus a couple of work domain IMAP accounts, as well as the @outlook.com account.

Outlook | Outlook for mobile | Outlook for Android | For home
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Michael Nyarko 80 Reputation points
2026-07-14T13:10:22.72+00:00

It sounds like your contacts are successfully syncing to your phone, but the Outlook and Gmail apps are not using that contact source when you try to add recipients to an email. Since changes made in Desktop Outlook appear on your phone’s Contacts app, the Outlook.com sync itself is probably working.

First, check that the contacts are actually stored in your Outlook.com account and not just appearing through a local phone sync. Open your phone’s Contacts app, select one of the synced contacts, and check which account it belongs to. It should show your Outlook.com/Microsoft account.

Next, check Android’s account sync settings. Go to Settings → Accounts → Outlook.com/Microsoft account and make sure Contacts sync is enabled. Tap Sync now to force an update.

In the Outlook mobile app, open your profile picture, go to Settings, select your Outlook.com account, and confirm that contact syncing is enabled. Also verify that Outlook has permission to access Contacts in your phone’s app permissions.

Because you have several accounts (Gmail, IMAP work accounts, and Outlook.com), Outlook may not be searching the Outlook.com contacts when you compose a message. Try creating a new email, tapping the To field, and searching for a contact by name or email address. If available, choose the People/Directory search option.

Your method of setting the Outlook.com OST file as the default data file can work, but it is an older workaround. The more reliable approach is to let Outlook.com act as the main Exchange account that stores your Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks in the cloud. The OST file is only a local cached copy, so the important thing is that the contacts exist in the Outlook.com mailbox.

A useful test is to sign in to Outlook.com in a browser and open People/Contacts. If your contacts are there, the cloud copy is correct and the issue is with phone contact indexing or app integration. If they are not there, your Desktop Outlook contacts may still be stored locally rather than in Outlook.com.

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  1. Maryanne 25 Reputation points
    2026-07-15T08:30:06.51+00:00

    Cor, complex, but thank you for trying to sort this out for me.

    I logged on to outlook.com and - after a delay while it said it was uploading my Contacts (I can't remember the actual wording) - my Contacts ARE in People so presumably the cloud copy is (now?) correct according to your final suggestion.

    I opened my phone’s Contacts app, selected one of the synced contacts, and checked which accounts it belongs to: it says it is Contact info from 3 linked accounts: Outlook [name]@outlook.com, [name]@gmail.com and Outlook [name]@gmail.com

    On my phone: Settings → Manage accounts → Outlook.com/Microsoft account. Yes, Account sync is on for all items. There is nowhere to tap though to force an update. Account sync is also on for the other email addresses which show ie the @ gmail ones (my work IMAP addresses are not listed).

    I went into the Outlook app on my phone, tapped the icon top left and brought up all my email addresses (including the IMAP ones) and at the bottom there is a gear cog for Settings. By tapping that, I got a list of all my email addresses. When I tap the @outlook.com one I can see that Sync Settings say it is automatically set to sync and download emails and attachments. and under it there is an opportunity to Reset account if having sync issues. I have NOT done that at this stage. The same appears for each of my other email addresses (including the IMAP ones).

    From the phone's main menu: Settings/Apps/Outlook/Permissions - yes "Contacts and accounts" are Allowed.

    I created a new email in the Outlook app, using various email accounts:

    [name]@gmail.com - it brought up the contact without having to search

    fantone of the work IMAP accounts - ditto

    [name]@outlook.com - although I don't use this account - ditto.

    So, it seems you have solved my problem - fantastic! It was the initial logging onto outlook.com that obviously ensured that the Contacts are available for use on the phone. Just showing up in Contacts on the phone was clearly not sufficient! Many thanks.

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