Contact Problems

How to Recover Missing Outlook Contacts After Changing Email Settings

Algirdas Jasaitis Oct 12, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to understand why their contacts disappeared after removing and reconfiguring an email account in Outlook, and how to successfully restore them.

How to Recover Missing Outlook Contacts After Changing Email Settings

Product: Microsoft Outlook
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Removing, re-adding, or changing the settings of an email account (particularly IMAP) within Microsoft Outlook.
Observed behavior: Contacts previously stored locally in Outlook, especially those marked as 'This Computer Only', have disappeared after the account reconfiguration.

Before you start

Check your computer or external drives to see if you have previously exported your Outlook data to a .pst file or backed up your .csv contacts file.

Solution 1Recommended

Verify IMAP Settings and Restore Contacts from a PST Backup

Determine if your previous account was set up as IMAP and use the Outlook Import tool to restore contacts from a saved PST data file.

If your email account was configured as IMAP, Outlook often stores contacts and calendars in a local 'This Computer Only' folder inside an .ost file. When the IMAP account is removed, this local file is deleted. Recovering these contacts requires importing them from a previously created .pst backup file.

Check Current Account Settings

Open Outlook, navigate to File > Account Settings > Account Settings, and click on the Email tab to review your current account configurations and types (e.g., IMAP or Exchange).

Open the Import/Export Wizard

Click on File in the top-left corner, select Open & Export from the left sidebar, and then click on Import/Export.

Select the Import Action

In the Import and Export Wizard, choose 'Import from another program or file' and click Next.

Choose the File Type

Select 'Outlook Data File (.pst)' from the list of file types and proceed by clicking Next.

Browse and Complete Import

Click Browse to locate the .pst backup file on your computer, choose how you want to handle duplicate items, click Next, and finish the import to restore your contacts.

Verify IMAP Settings and Restore Contacts from a PST Backup

Data Recovery Limitation: If the IMAP account was removed without manually exporting the 'This Computer Only' folders to a .pst file beforehand, those local contacts cannot be recovered from the email server.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does 'This Computer Only' mean in Outlook contacts?

The 'This Computer Only' label appears next to folders (like Contacts or Calendar) in an IMAP account. It indicates that these items are stored only on your local hard drive in an .ost file and are not synchronized with your email server.

Can I recover 'This Computer Only' contacts if I didn't make a backup?

Generally, no. When an IMAP account is deleted from Outlook, the associated .ost file is also deleted. Without a prior manual backup to a .pst or .csv file, data stored exclusively in 'This Computer Only' folders is permanently lost.

How can I prevent losing my Outlook contacts in the future?

To secure your contacts, regularly export your contact list to a .pst or .csv file using the Import/Export tool. Alternatively, consider syncing your contacts using an Exchange account (like Outlook.com) rather than relying on local IMAP folders.

Outlook & Email Problems