Is Your Outlook Cannot Open Address Book? Fix it in Easy Ways

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  • Updated on June 12th, 2023

Summary: Outlook Address Book is one of the features that MS Outlook provides its users to store their personal and professional contacts. But sometimes, due to technical reasons, Outlook cannot open address book. So in this blog, we will describe various ways to fix address books not working in Outlook. We will also include a professional PST Repair Tool, a direct and secure method to repair your address book. Download Now   Purchase Now

Outlook is a popular email application and personal information manager that gives users a simple way to manage their emails, contacts, calendars, and other information. But having problems with Outlook’s address book can be annoying, especially if it prevents you from sending emails or accessing your contacts. There are simple solutions to the Outlook address book opening issue, so don’t worry if you’re having trouble.

Best Solutions to Fix Outlook Cannot Open Address Book Error

Whether you use Outlook on a daily basis for personal or work-related purposes, being unable to access the address book can be a major nuisance. You may take on the issue head-on and quickly fix your Outlook address book by using the techniques described in this guide. Therefore, let’s explore the fixes to get your Outlook back on course.

Method 1: Use the Online Mode of Outlook

To resolve the issue of Outlook not being able to open the address book, follow the below-mentioned steps.

  1. Launch MS Outlook and go to the File tab.
  2. In the right pane, locate and click on Account Settings. In the dropdown menu, click on Account Settings again.
  3. In the Email tab, select your account and click on the Change button.
  4. A new window will open. Click on More Settings.
  5. In the next window, select the Advanced tab.
  6. Look for the option Use Cached Exchange Mode and uncheck it.
  7. Apply the changes by clicking on the Apply button, and then click Ok.
  8. Restart Outlook to ensure that the changes take effect.
  9. Once Outlook restarts, check if the issue persists and if the address book is now accessible.

Method 2: Activate Encryption of Data Between Exchange Server & Outlook

If the data traffic between Exchange Server and Outlook is not encrypted, it can result in Outlook not granting access to the address book module and not displaying the information correctly. In such cases, enabling encryption between the Exchange Server and Outlook can potentially solve the problem.

  1. Open Outlook and click on the File tab.
  2. In the right pane, click on Account Settings. From the dropdown menu, click on Account Settings again.
  3. In the Email tab, select your user account and click on Change.
  4. Click on More Settings, and then navigate to the Security tab.
  5. Make sure that the option Encrypt Data Between Microsoft Outlook And Microsoft Exchange is checked.
  6. Apply the changes and click Ok.
  7. Restart Outlook to ensure that the modifications take effect.
  8. Once Outlook restarts, check if the Outlook Address Book is now functioning properly.

Method 3: Remove Outlook Address Book and Add it Again

To fix issues with the Outlook Address Book, you can try reconfiguring it by following these steps:

  1. Launch Outlook and tap on the File tab.
  2. Click on Account Settings after that choose Account Settings from the dropdown menu.
  3. Switch to the Address Books tab.
  4. Choose your current Address Book and click on Change.
  5. In the Address Book window, click on Remove the Address Book.
  6. Confirm the removal by clicking Yes.
  7. Go back to the Address Book tab and click on New.
  8. Select Outlook Address Book (or another appropriate type, if applicable) and click Next.
  9. If prompted to restart, click OK.
  10. Click Finish to complete the process.
  11. Restart Outlook.
  12. In the Folder list, right-click on the folder that will be used with the address book (e.g., Contacts folder) and select Properties.
  13. Click on the Outlook Address Book tab.
  14. Ensure the checkbox next to Show this folder as an e-mail Address Book is selected (if not already).
  15. Click OK to save the changes.
  16. Restart Outlook once again.
  17. Check if the Outlook Address Book is now functioning properly.

Note: It’s important to note that reconfiguring the address book may result in the loss of some email addresses, especially if you were using a large address list. Take this into consideration before proceeding.

Method 4: Create a New Profile and Delete the Current One

Resolve the issue of Outlook cannot open address books by creating a new profile. But before that, you need to completely delete your old profile.

  1. Press the Windows key and type “Control Panel.” From the search results, click on “Control Panel.”
  2. In the Control Panel, find and click on “Mail” option.
  3. In the Mail Setup window, select on the “Show Profiles.”
  4. Select the Outlook profile that is causing the problem and click on “Remove” to delete it.
  5. Next, add a new profile by clicking on the “Add” button.
  6. Follow the prompts to configure the new profile with the necessary email account settings.
  7. Once the new profile is added and properly configured, launch Outlook.

By following these steps, you can delete the problematic Outlook profile and create a new one. This can help resolve any issues related to the profile and ensure the smooth functioning of Outlook. Configuring the new profile with the correct email account settings is important to ensure proper connectivity with your email service.

Remember to set up the new profile with the necessary account details, such as email address, username, password, and server information, to ensure seamless access to your emails and other Outlook features.

Method 5: Fix Outlook Cannot Open Address Book Using Professional Software

PST Repair Tool is one of the most proficient utilities that allows users to repair PST files and help to resolve Outlook address book not working errors. It has three different modes to recover your PST file, i.e., Standard, Advanced, and Deep, to restore deleted emails. Moreover, it has an easy-to-use GUI that helps users to fix their PST files in a smooth and straightforward manner.

Step-by-Step Guide to Fix Outlook Address Book Error

  1. Download and Run the PST Repair Tool on your system.
  2. Click the Open button and select the PST file you need to recover.
  3. Choose the recovery mode and view the PST file details
  4. Click Ok to start the scanning process.
  5. After that, you can preview the content, select the folder containing your address book and click the Save button.
  6. Select a saving format in which you want to save your files, such as ML/DBX/MSG/PST/MBOX or others.
  7. Check out the other features provided by the software.
  8. Click on the OK button to initiate the recovery process.

Conclusion

Through the above write-up, we have explained numerous methods to fix Outlook cannot open address books. There are four manual procedures that are finely capable of solving your problem. However, they are quite complex and require technical expertise to successfully perform. Therefore, we have included an automated approach that can resolve Outlook Address Book not working issues with 100% reliability and accuracy. Well, it’s up to you, you can choose any of the above solutions to meet your requirements.

About The Author:

Adom Smith is a DataRecoveryHelp Technology Writer. He is a technology enthusiast with over 3 years of experience in Data Recovery, IoT, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotics. He enjoys researching and sharing DIY solutions as well as tips and tricks for resolving Windows technical issues.

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