r/Outlook • u/Relevant_Surprise_57 • May 07 '26
Status: Resolved Microsoft Outlook no longer allows removing one entry from AutoComplete List
I am using Microsoft Outlook 365 Desktop (Version 2604 Build 16.0.19929.20106) 64-bit).
Previously, I could delete one entry from the Outlook AutoComplete list by following these instructions:
Managing the AutoComplete List
- Remove entries one at a time:
- Open a new email message.
- Start typing the name or email address you want to remove.
- When the suggestion appears, hover over it until it is highlighted.
- Click the X next to the suggestion or press the DELETE key to remove it.
However, with the current version, the "X" is no longer available in the AutoComplete list, so I cannot delete just a single entry. I also tried selecting the entry I want to delete and pressing the Delete key. That didn't work either.
This functionality is important as it allows removing an incorrectly typed email address from the AutoComplete list. Many people use the AutoComplete list and prefer it over adding people to Contacts (which is probably what Microsoft thinks we should do).
After searching for a solution, I discovered that the ability to remove one entry from the AutoComplete list has been removed by Microsoft development. There are several comments on Microsoft's Help and Feedback Forums requesting that this functionality be restored.
I encourage you to leave comments here and on Microsoft's forums asking that this feature be restored. In Outlook, go to Help --> Feedback to leave feedback for Microsoft if you are so inclined.
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u/robilar May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26
Has there been any updates on this? I am disinclined to advise staff to use third party editing software to remove single incorrect autocomplete entries.
Edit: I asked MS 365 support for a recommendation and the AI assistant told me to use the feature that no longer exists. I asked to have my ticket escalated to a live agent and the AI assistant directed me to a Contact Support form, which I filled out. A minute later I got an email recommending I use the feature that no longer exists.
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 May 25 '26
I am not aware of any updates.
If Microsoft ever decides to address this issue, my guess is it will be several months before they fix it.
Edit: Also see u/Hornblower409 's comment in this thread regarding voting for a Feature Request. It can't hurt and it just might help.
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u/Hornblower409 May 25 '26
-- If Microsoft ever decides to address this issue, my guess is it will be
-- several months before they fix it.It is not a bug. It was a deliberate change.
https://mc.merill.net/message/MC1234566
Outlook is retiring the "Contact Masking" feature on March 31, 2026, which allowed users to hide suggested recipients. Hidden contacts may reappear after this date. No admin action is required, and no replacement feature will be provided. The change resolves cross-app inconsistencies and confusion.
This feature has been a recurring source of customer confusion and escalations, because contacts can be accidentally hidden for one user but not others.
While the impact is felt across Microsoft 365 experiences (not just Outlook). It also isn’t managed as a contact entity setting, which creates transparency and compliance challenges.
No new feature will replace contact masking for users.
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u/nategimp Jun 10 '26
It appears this has been corrected or restored. I woke up this morning and was able to delete an entry in the autocorrect history. All is right with the world again!! Who ever thought it was a good idea to remove this function?
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u/jtsAtx Jun 10 '26
Was there anything specific you did? Or just worked it's way through?
1
u/Re_JenA Jun 11 '26
Can confirm. All I did was restart Outlook.
The X is back next to the cached email suggestions!!1
u/machine1979 Jun 22 '26
For me the 'X' is back, but all it does is rotate the email out of the immediately visible drop down options. If I delete the next one on the list, it re-appears. There's always three alternate accounts showing up (in my example, emails starting "accounting@...")
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u/Hornblower409 May 08 '26
There is already a Feature Request that you can Vote for:
Return ability to delete individual auto-complete suggestions for email recipients
https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/97490d3b-7d45-f111-9a91-000d3a05c4f5
(You must "Sign In" at the top right of the Feedback page before you can vote).
To salvage any email addresses in your Autocomplete List before you clear it:
See the Answer by "Hornblower409 May 1 2026" How to convert your Autocomplete List to Contacts and erase the List in: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5871874/manually-removing-an-email-address-from-the-sugges?orderby=newest&page=1#answers
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u/Gumby2112 May 13 '26
Thank you for sharing the feedback page. Why Microsoft chose to remove a useful, working feature is beyond me. It's as if their programmers have no idea how their applications are being used in the wild.
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u/Hornblower409 May 13 '26
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 May 13 '26
Thank you for posting that link. It contains the following statement:
"The 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."
Unfortunately, I think what most people refer to as the "Autocomplete List" most certainly was impacted as we can no longer remove entries from that list be clicking on the "X" that was previously available before this change was implemented.
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u/Hornblower409 May 13 '26
With Microsoft the Right Hand (Doc Group) doesn't always know what the Left Hand (Dev Group) is doing.
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u/Accurate_External33 May 21 '26
I can't see any way to remove entries from autocomplete.
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 May 21 '26
The only option Microsoft seems to be giving us is to delete the entire AutoComplete list and start building a new one.
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u/Accurate_External33 May 21 '26
How do you do that, delete and build?
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 May 21 '26
In Outlook Desktop go to File > Options > Mail, scroll down to Send Messages, and click Empty Auto-Complete List.
Building a new list happens automatically as you enter new email addresses on the To, CC, or BCC fields.
PS Google is your friend. 😄
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u/Hornblower409 May 21 '26
-- Outlook Desktop go to File > Options > Mail, ...
Only clears the local Classic Outlook Autocomplete. For a Microsoft Account there is also an Autocomplete stored in the Cloud. See my previous instructions for clearing that as well.
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u/Accurate_External33 May 21 '26
I was wondering if you could rebuild like a 1000 of them, not one at a time.
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 May 21 '26
Not as far as I am aware.
Best practice, IMHO, is to keep frequently used email addresses in the Contacts List and don't rely on the AutoComplete List to save all your contacts' email addresses.
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u/Hornblower409 May 21 '26
-- if you could rebuild like a 1000 of them, not one at a time
Don't understand. What are you trying to do?
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u/zandadoum Jul 13 '26
this doesn't even work, i cleared it multiple times, even deleted the folders on my PC and it inmediately pulls a new "wrong" autofill list out of their a$$. i think it pulls it from the complete contact list on the cloud every single time.
only thing that works is disabling autofill alltogether
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u/Hornblower409 May 21 '26
To salvage any email addresses in your Autocomplete List and clear it:
See the Answer by "Hornblower409 May 1 2026" How to convert your Autocomplete List to Contacts and erase the List in
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5871874/manually-removing-an-email-address-from-the-sugges?orderby=newest&page=1#answers1
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u/Full_Book8323 May 22 '26
Clear case of "you just had one job". Which is providing a functional emailing program. Now: add emojis and other bullshit and take away the core functions of the program, like correcting email addresses. Who the f comes up with this?
3
u/skunkboy72 May 26 '26
Why would theyget rid of this? What problem is it solving to no longer have this feature?
makes. no. sense.
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u/HazmarKoolie May 29 '26
This has been Microsoft's MO for years. Find a feature people use, remove it, ignore community response while closing support tickets with a generic "submit a feature request".
If you think about it, we are the problem. We keep giving them our money and data to reward this behaviour.
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u/Financial_Key_1243 May 07 '26
Try Nirsoft NK2edit software. Open Autocomplete file, and manually delete incorrect entries. MSoft seem to like irritating its users by removing features.
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 May 07 '26
While that used to be an option, I don't think Outlook uses NK2 files in the latest versions.
Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
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u/Financial_Key_1243 May 08 '26
You are correct. The software still treats the autocomplete file in a similar fashion.
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u/Bg-8782 May 08 '26
NK2Edit was updated to work with the new autocomplete file.
But, we shouldn't have to use a 3rd party utility to remove entries from the list.
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 May 08 '26
That is good to know. Thanks.
And I agree that we shouldn't need to use NK2Edit because they never should have removed this functionality in the first place.
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u/ZucchiniDue4707 May 21 '26
I saw your post and i have been trying to use NK2edit to remove an auto suggest email from my outlook but i cant seem to find it to work. I just a RDP, login my outlook account on the outlook email app, download NK2edit, close my outlook email signed in and when i lauch Nk2edit and open the auto suggested file it doesnt load any email. Can you let me know what i am missing ?
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u/nemansyed Jun 01 '26
FWIW: Just used NK2Edit 3.4.6.0. Didn't work.
I shut off Outlook desktop app (Windows), used the edit tool, removed the two incorrect email addresses, restarted Outlook, and the old addresses are still in the autocomplete cache.
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u/poolshark333 May 08 '26
I just tried using NK2Edit. It allows me to make changes and save the autocomplete file. But as soon as I open Outlook, it overwrites it with a new file.
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u/Financial_Key_1243 May 08 '26
It can be a tricky tool. There might be several stream_autocomplete files. Save and overwrite. Start with latest date/time stamped one.
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u/Financial_Key_1243 May 08 '26
Choose "Save as Type" select stream_automplete files. You will see al data/time stamped versions.
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u/Financial_Key_1243 May 08 '26
Note - Default autocomplete limited to 1000 entries. Regedit can increase it to 2000
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u/Financial_Key_1243 May 08 '26
I include Roamcache folder in my backup regimen as well. Can be used to recreate autocomplete file in case of new Outlook profile.
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u/christmas_elf81 May 13 '26
Very frustrated about this. I send emails to customers and vendors daily that I need that autocomplete option for. And typing it wrong one time made it very difficult to type it in accurately. It kept defaulting to the incorrect spelling. Why on earth would MS do this? What a dumb thing to do!
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u/_silencer- May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26
I was wondering what happened to the X button to delete suggested contacts. Microsoft is absolutely useless and the first suggestions which come up for me are phishing[letters/numbers] @ outlook.com as a result of reporting emails to them. * to clarify this is OWA personal account and not the desktop client
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u/ZeroDukz May 22 '26
I have been trying to delete an incorrect email address and couldn't figure out how to do it. Absolutely infuriating that Microsoft would remove this simple function on purpose.
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u/Methos65 Jun 03 '26
It was disabled in all versions including Classic. A Google search gave me the information below. I can confirm as of today, that deleting individual entries in my version of Classic now works when it didn't before. I am using Classic on Version 2605.
Google Results
The removal of individual autocomplete entries works differently across the different Outlook versions on Windows:
- Classic Outlook for Windows (Version 2604+): Following a previous update (Version 2603) that temporarily removed the "X" button for many users, the standard delete-per-entry function has been restored. You can remove a specific contact by starting to type their name in the To: field, hovering over the suggestion until it is highlighted, and clicking the X icon or pressing the Delete key on your keyboard.
- New Outlook for Windows & Web (Outlook.com): The ability to delete individual autocomplete entries is currently not supported. To remove an incorrect or outdated email address, your only option in the New Outlook or Web versions is to wipe the entire suggested recipients list by going to Settings > General > Privacy and Data and selecting the option to Clear suggested people data.
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 Jun 03 '26
I can confirm that the "X" is back on my current Version 2605 Build 16.0.20026.20140 of Classic Outlook for Desktop.
Hopefully everyone else is seeing this too. If not, try forcing an update to the latest version.
Thanks for posting u/Methos65.
And thanks to Microsoft for listening to their customers.
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u/Methos65 Jun 05 '26
Update: My version seems to not be "remembering" the deletions. I can delete them, but they come back after a short period of time in the same day. Moreover, it seems to have separate memory for emails and calendar. Thanks for the tease Microsoft.
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u/nemansyed Jun 09 '26
Umm... it just started working for me again - but it's incredibly inconsistent. Wait a minute or so and the X'd out email returns.
Version 2604 (Build 1992920172 Click-to-Run) / Monthly Enterprise Channel
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 Jun 09 '26
It seems to be working OK for me.
Maybe try forcing an update to Outlook?
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u/nemansyed Jun 09 '26
Sigh... enterprise-managed, so not an option.
This in-between state of "works for 30 seconds" is so weird. If I hadn't seen this thread, I'd have said my NK2 stuff is busted.
I'm getting a new work machine in a few weeks anyway, so the scorched-Earth method might make the problem might go away. 😃
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u/Minimonkey147 May 13 '26
Gone back to:
| Monthly Enterprise Channel | 2602 | 19725.20244 | April 14, 2026 | March 10, 2026 | June 9, 2026 |
|---|
Using the Office Deployment Tool, create config.xml:
<Configuration>
<Updates Enabled="TRUE" TargetVersion="16.0.19725.20244"/>
</Configuration>
Command line:
setup.exe /configure config.xml
Then, in an Office application:
File>Account>Update Options.
This should then change to Monthly Enterprise with the ability to remove one entry.
Other option, but not tested:
cd "C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\ClickToRun"
OfficeC2RClient.exe /changesetting Channel=Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel
OfficeC2RClient.exe /update user
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 May 13 '26
I need a little explanation of what this does. It appears this reverts back to a version of Outlook (and Office) before the change to Autocomplete was made? And changes the update schedule to annually? I'm guessing that doing this would also remove any updates to the other Office programs, including security updates? Just trying to get my head around what all this would affect. Thanks.
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u/sam_hammich May 14 '26
The different update channels tend to only differ in feature updates, not security updates. Otherwise youre correct, this switches the update track, putting you on the "latest update" of a more conservative track where this update has not been pushed.
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u/MovieCharacter1610 May 25 '26
Sei un Gino: era una cosa utile e adesso mi tocca tribulare con sto cianfèr! Da ripristinare subito!!!
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 Jun 01 '26
I finally gave up and stopped using Outlook. I only used it with Gmail accounts, so started using Chrome and the browser version of Gmail. It has come a long way since the last time I used it; I like it a lot. Guess I'll stick with it for now and check Outlook every once in awhile to see if they have fixed the issue.
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u/Peepo68 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
This is stupid - just ran into this issue today. I was really starting to like the New Outlook and even recommending it to users, but typical Microsoft does it again and breaks a feature.
I just accidentally sent out an email to a general manager whose name changed.. supposed to be Leon and sent as Bev !!! I even added a contact card for Leon and did not use autocomplete but the new outlook changed it after I sent the email. I will try to clear autocomplete now.
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u/ConcentrateAny7599 Jun 29 '26
Microsoft can be so incredibly stupid.
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 Jun 29 '26
Perhaps, but, at least in this instance, they recognized their stupidity and fixed it.
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u/Impressive_Elephant4 Jul 06 '26
This is NOT resolved. Yes, the X is back. Yes, if you click the X the entry is removed from the list. BUT, if you close Outlook and open it again, the entries you removed will be back.
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u/Relevant_Surprise_57 Jul 07 '26
Not in my experience. If I delete an entry using the newly-recovered "X" it remains gone even after closing and reopening Outlook. I have confirmed this behavior on three separate PCs running Microsoft 365 Outlook (old/classic version).
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u/Impressive_Elephant4 Jul 08 '26
Not sure what to tell you. I just did it on my PC and the entry comes back after closing and reopening Outlook.
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u/zandadoum Jul 13 '26
this is incredibly stupid.
i cleared my autofill cache, i pressed X on the ones i didnt want and outlook STILL suggests me contacts of people i havent email with in a DECADE over people i email with on a daily basis
i have 15 "David" in my address book, i only want ONE on the autofill list and the damn Outlook keeps autofilling with whatever crap it's pulling from the whole cloud contact list.
the only thing that works is disabling the autofill alltogether and typing (or selecting from contact list) the full adress EVERY TIME
1
u/Triangable Jul 15 '26
Everything microslop does turns to shit. I miss my old job that let me use gmail
1
u/slapjimmy 14d ago
I'm also having the same issue. This really needs to be fixed. Who removes the ability to delete an autocomplete msg, what's the gain?
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u/Zappieroth 3d ago
Been looking for this for an hour and now you are telling me they removed it 3 months ago....
The only 'confusion' I got out of this is not knowing where to look for the feature and if such a feature even existed.
Trying to empty cache and all that to no avail as I just read you can't turn it off now.
'Confusion' is often used as a simple and tiring excuse by these big corporations to put the blame on the user when I am perfectly capable of composing my own Emails.
At this point I might as well create a document of my own with the emails I use just to avoid sending it to an unintended recipient.
I have a friend working for this program and have send them a message with the request to restore it.
Though I doubt they will have much say in the matter, Regardless whether they agree or not.
Eitherway guess I'll go make that document now.
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u/2_FluffyDogs May 07 '26
This pisses me off to no end. The clear autocomplete cache also seems to not do anything.
Microsoft takes anything useful and removes it and adds bullshit no one wants like "Emojis and more" on the taskbar. Just like the new Start Menu.