Outlook 2016 synced contacts only in address book

Question

Level 1

12 points

Outlook 2016 synced contacts only in address book

Summary of problem: If I enter a new iCloud contact (either directly on icloud.com or on an iPad), the new contact does NOT appear in Outlook 2016 contacts BUT on the same system, I can go to the address book and the contact shows up there.

Details: I am helping someone set this up so I don't know the entire history of this situation. They used to have an older version (Maybe Outlook 2007) and at that time, used iTunes to sync calendar and contacts with their iPad. When they upgraded to Outlook 2016, the iTunes sync stopped working and I suggested we move to iCloud for Windows.

Windows 7 Home Premium running Outlook 2016.
Email provider is Cox IMAP
iCloud for Windows is the latest version just downloaded and installed a few days ago.
Calendar items sync back and forth between Outlook and iCloud without problem
Contact syncing is apparently working in some fashion because as mentioned before, the new contacts appear in the address book which I thought was essentially just a different view of the contacts.
In Outlook contacts view on the left side, there are items under My Contacts and iCloud. When I go to iCloud.com and enter a new contact, the new contact does NOT appear in any of the contact lists BUT as mentioned above, the iCloud contact does appear in the Outlook Address book

Note: I have been playing with another test system using Outlook 2016 and Cox IMAP and I don't have any problems with that system. I have had similar but opposite problems before when I put a new contact in iCloud and did not include an email adddress. In that situation, the new iCloud contact appeared in the Outlook contact list but NOT the Outlook address book

Windows 7, Outlook 2016

Posted on May 31, 2016 5:06 AM

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Answer 1

judysings

Community Specialist

Jun 1, 2016 2:30 PM in response to rodqmiller

Hi rodqmiller,

I understand you are having trouble syncing your iCloud contacts with Outlook 2016 on your Windows 7 PC. The resource below will provide some specific troubleshooting steps to try. I've highlighted the key information for you here. Click on the link for more details. If these steps do not resolve your issue, please reply with additional information or any error messages that you see.

Before you can use Outlook 2016 for Windows, make sure you download iCloud for Windows version 5.1 as referenced in this Microsoft support article:
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/iCloud-for-Windows-5-1-supports-Outlook -2016-956a164f-ed63-4496-9ae4-f4b32b9bf3d9

Get help using Outlook with iCloud for Windows

Before you start:

Make sure that your PC meets the iCloud system requirements.

Download iCloud for Windows.

Check the System Status page to see if there are any known issues affecting iCloud Mail, Contacts, or Calendars.

Make sure the date and time settings on your device are correct.

Make copies of your iCloud data.

Check your Internet connection

Try to open apple.com. If you can’t connect, then your iCloud Calendars, Contacts or Reminders won’t update in Outlook. You'll need to get help with your Internet connection.

Try to open a secure website from your PC. If you see an error message such as "connection timed out," you'll need to contact your Internet service provider for help.

Check your log-in settings

If you have multiple iCloud accounts, you might be logged in to iCloud for Windows with a different account than you are on your other devices. To check, open iCloud for Windows and compare it with your other devices.

Refresh Outlook

If you recently made changes in Outlook that aren't updating on your other devices, or changes on your other devices that aren't updating in Outlook, click Refresh in Outlook.

Calendar, Contacts and Reminders

If you need help with your Calendar, Contacts and Reminders with iCloud for Windows, try these steps.

When you open iCloud Reminders on your Windows PC, they're labeled Tasks and appear within the Tasks section.

Turn iCloud Calendar, Contacts and Reminders off and back on

Close Outlook.

Open iCloud for Windows.

Deselect the Mail, Contacts, Calendars & Tasks checkbox and click Apply.

Wait a few seconds. Select Mail, Contacts, Calendars & Tasks, and click Apply.

Open Outlook.

Make sure that the iCloud Outlook Add-in is on

The iCloud Outlook Add-in transfers your content between iCloud and Outlook. Follow these steps to turn on the Add-in:

In Outlook 2010 and later:

Select the File menu.

Click Options in the left panel.

Click Add-ins in the left panel of the Outlook Options window.

Look at the list of add-ins in the Active Application Add-ins section.

Select the iCloud Outlook Add-in.

Make sure that iCloud isn’t your default account in Data Files

When iCloud is set as your default account in Data Files, your data won't sync between your devices.

Outlook 2010 and later:

Select File > Info > Account Settings > Data Files.

If iCloud is listed as the default account in the Comments column, select a different account.

Click Set as Default.

Restart your computer

Turn your computer off and back on.

iCloud features that work differently in Outlook

Some iCloud features in Outlook work differently than they do on your Apple device. Here are a few tips to help you use Outlook with iCloud for Windows.

Contacts

Outlook will only import the first contact in a vCard set.

If you need to add a vCard set to Outlook, import the set directly into iCloud.com or OS X Contacts. We will bundle the entire set for you and add them as individuals to the your Contacts.

Cheers!

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Answer 2

rodqmiller Author

Level 1

12 points

Jun 5, 2016 5:16 PM in response to judysings

Thanks for your reply.

It is working now but I didn't do anything. The problem appears to have resolved itself after an unexpected Windows 10 upgrade. The system started as Windows 7 and was not properly syncing the contacts as per my original post. I hadn't been able to connect to this system for a few days and today I logged on and checked it. The only issues that were a potential problem was the following:

System was not at the recommended Windows 10
Outlook 2016 was a click-to-run version which according to the footnotes in https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204230 shows it to be a non-supported version of Office.

But after I connected to the system, I noticed that since the last time I connected, it had upgraded itself to Windows 10. Then I decided to check to see if it was still NOT syncing contacts properly and found that everything was working.

So, I am going to chalk this up as a problem with the compatibility of Office click-to-run and that although it appears to be working right now, I'm not going to hold my breath that it will continue working in the future.

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Answer 3

judysings

Community Specialist

Jun 6, 2016 8:37 AM in response to rodqmiller

Hi rodqmiller,

Thanks for letting me know that your issue seems to have resolved itself with an update to Windows 10. Appreciate your taking the time to document what you have done as this will be helpful to others who may come across this thread.

Have a great day!

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