4 Methods to Sync iPhone Contacts with Outlook Online

Facing problems in syncing iPhone contacts with Outlook? This article clearly explained how to sync iPhone contacts with Outlook Online.

Microsoft Outlook still holds a firm position in the top 3 clients. The service is great for managing emails, calendars, and contacts across a number of devices.

We have important contacts stored in Outlook, you may find that you need to access them on other devices which may or may not have access to your Outlook account.

I write this article to guide you through the easiest and most efficient methods to access your Outlook contacts exactly where you need them.

Here are the four methods to sync Outlook:

  • Sync contacts using the Outlook app from iPhone
  • Sync contacts on iPhone using the exchange account
  • Using iTunes, sync Outlook contacts with your iPhone
  • Using iCloud, sync Outlook contacts with your iPhone.

Sync Contacts Using the Outlook App on iPhone

The Outlook app on iOS is essential if you use it frequently. Signing up with Outlook allows us to manage our email, calendar, and contacts in the Microsoft Outlook 365 app.  We can also sync our Outlook contacts from our Outlook account to our iPhone using the app alone.

Here’s how to sync Outlook contacts to your iPhone.

Step-1

Open Outlook on your iPhone if not install from the App store to sync the contacts with Outlook.

Outlook install in iPhone

Step-2

Sign in to the Outlook application with the proper credentials. Once opened on the Home page scroll down to Settings options at the bottom down. Click Settings to proceed further.

Sync contacts with iPhone Outlook

Step-3

Choose the appropriate Outlook account to Sync with the iPhone account.

Account in iPhone to sync with contacts

Step-4

In this step, click or enable the option Save Contacts. So that Outlook will sync with the iPhone contacts.

Save contacts to sync with Outlook

Step-5

We will receive a message asking if would you save your Outlook contacts to your iPhone. Tap “Save to my iPhone” to synchronize the contacts with Outlook.

Contacts save to iPhone to Sync with Outlook

Now you will be able to see your Outlook contacts in the Contacts app on your iPhone.

Sync Contacts on iPhone Using the Exchange Account

If we don’t use the Outlook app on our iPhone, our Outlook account may be configured on the iPhone itself. This is especially if our Outlook emails are delivered to the Mail app on our iPhone. Let’s see how to sync contacts using the exchange of accounts.

Step-1

Open the Settings app on the iPhone and scroll down to see the Contacts option to exchange the account.

Contacts in sync with Outlook contact

Step-2

Select the Accounts to option then click Outlook/office 365 account to sync with the Outlook contact.

Sync Outlook with contact

Step-3

Tap contacts to turn ON if it is off already, syncing server from the exchange server to iPhone.

Contact sync with Outlook

Make sure to maintain a Wi-Fi connection, and after some time your Outlook contacts will reflect in your default iPhone Contacts app.

If you like to keep the contacts from your different accounts separate, in the Contacts app, tap “Groups” in the top-left corner of your screen. Here you can select the account or accounts that you wish to view the contacts from. Ensure that only your Outlook account is ticked, then tap “Done” to show only your Outlook contacts.

Using iTunes, Sync Outlook Contacts with Your iPhone

Once upon a time, iTunes was the place to go to sync Contacts from our computers to our iPhones. However, recent changes in Apple’s system have resulted in a shift away from iTunes and toward iCloud.

We can still use this method to sync our contacts as of now, but we will see a message stating that the feature has been removed from future versions of iTunes.

To sync contacts with iTunes we have to make sure our contacts are not already synced with iCloud.

Step-1

Open the Settings app on the iPhone and scroll down to see the Contacts option to exchange the account.

Contacts in sync with Outlook contact

Step-2

Go to the Accounts option to sync with the Outlook application.

Account in sync with outlook

Step-3

Now move to the iCloud option and check contact is turned on under iCloud. If yes turn off the iCloud contacts.

Sync contact with Outlook

By the above simple method, we can sync Outlook with the iPhone contact.

Using iCloud, Sync Outlook Contacts with Your iPhone

The ability to sync contacts with iTunes will be removed from the program soon, as mentioned in the method above. Apple recommends using iCloud to sync Contacts and Calendars with our iOS devices in advance of this occurrence.

To begin syncing Contacts via iCloud, you must first enable iCloud Contacts on your iPhone. To do so, navigate to Settings > Contacts > Accounts > iCloud > iCloud > iCloud > Tap to enable Contacts.

Step-1

Download iCloud for Windows and install it on a PC or laptop. Sign in with the apple id and password.

contact sync with iCloud

Step-2

Next, check the box beside to “Contacts, and Calendars,” then click Apply to start synchronizing those items with your iCloud account.

Contact syncing with iCloud

Your Outlook contacts should now be available in the Contacts app on any iOS device that is signed in with your Apple ID (as well as Email and Calendars being synced as well).

Final Word

I believe this article will help you sync iPhone contacts with Outlook. I have covered all the steps related to syncing contacts with Outlook.

We can also manually export iPhone contacts and then import them to Outlook on our computer. It will be a bit complex. So, follow the above methods and get things done.

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