Forum Discussion
New Outlook autocompletes an address that is no longer in use and I can't seem to delete it
Topic says it all, really.
Client of mine has a new company and when I type the start of his name Outlook autocompletes for his old company even though it is no longer in my address book and his contact is updated with new information.
I seem to recall there used to be an "x" that would let me delete incorrect autocompletes, but I can't find anything and Copilot has no useful suggestions.
The autocomplete comes up in both the web version of Outlook--I basically never use this--on my PC which I primarily use, and IOS.
3 Replies
Unfortunately, this feature has been retired at the end of March. The notification about this is archived here;
MC1234566 - Outlook: retiring “Contact Masking” (hide suggested recipients) - March 31, 2026 | Microsoft 365 Message Center ArchiveResetting the entire AutoSuggest cache is the only built-in method to get rid of these addresses now.
An alternative way is to use a 3rd party tool such as;
NK2Edit: Edit AutoComplete files (.NK2) of Microsoft OutlookSome other alternatives and workarounds are discussed here;
Manually removing an email address from the suggested contacts list. - Microsoft Q&AKnow that the Outlook Team is very much aware of the difficulties that the removal of this feature has caused and that the Outlook MVPs are discussing this as well.
Unfortunately, I tried resetting the cache on Friday and this morning (Monday) it doesn't seem to have worked. The popup when I did it said it could take 48 hours to take effect.
File me along with the others who are deeply frustrated by this. I have clients who have changed companies and Outlook insists on autopopulating a company they're no longer at. If I'm not paying attention I'll send an email--possibly confidential--to their old address at a company they now compete with.
I'm confused by this paragraph from the retirement announcement: "The https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365-apps/outlook/contacts/outlook-autocomplete-list for Outlook will not be impacted by this change. Users can still remove entries from their autocomplete history (for example, suggestions based on past emails they typed). Contacts are not being added, deleted, or modified as part of this change. Email delivery and addressing continue to work as before."
I don't see how I can delete the contact. Am I missing something or is that badly phrased?
I've run into this before with the new Outlook. Usually, when the unwanted address appears in the autocomplete list, you can highlight it using the arrow keys and click the X next to the suggestion (or press Delete) to remove it. If that doesn't work, try removing the contact from your saved contacts and clearing any cached recipient suggestions in Outlook settings. Sometimes signing out and back into Outlook also refreshes the autocomplete list. If the issue persists, there are specialized Outlook management and mailbox tools that can help troubleshoot cached data and profile-related problems more thoroughly.
