Synchronizing iPhone with selected Outlook Contacts

Long asked and unresolved, here is How to Synchronize iPhone with only certain Outlook Contacts

  • In Outlook, click File -> New -> Outlook Data File and call the new Data File "Personal Folders"
  • Right-click on the "Personal Folder" you just created, select New and call the new sub-folder "Other Contacts", Folder contains: Contact Items
  • Right-click on this "Other Contacts" folder, select Properties -> Outlook Address Book and set properties to "Show as an email address book"
  • Move the contacts you don't want to sync to your iPhone to the "Other Contacts" folder and remove them from the "Contacts" folder of your Exchange Mailbox

  • Once your Exchange "Mailbox-Contacts" folder contains only the contacts you want to sync to iPhone, proceed as follows on your iPhone:
    • Go to Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendars and select your Exchange account
    • Turn Exchange ActiveSync - Contacts off
    • Press "Stop Syncing", which will delete all Exchange contacts from your iPhone
    • Check that all your contacts have been deleted from your iPhone
    • Go back to Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendars and select your Exchange account
    • Turn Exchange ActiveSync - Contacts back on, which will sync your selected Exchange contacts list to your iPhone

You now have only selected Contacts on your iPhone but still all Contacts in Outlook

Cool !

iPhone Expert

Mike Johnson

Founder and Editor of sync-iphone.com has a sincere desire to provide readers with honest and useful solutions for their iPhone
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6 Responses to Sync iPhone with Selected Outlook Contacts

  1. Paula says:

    I’ve tried numerous times to sync my iphone 4 to my office email, which I access via Outlook 2010. I can sync my personal gmail account but cannot get my office account to do so. My Outlook calendar and contacts are synced but not the email. Any help is much appreciated!

  2. MC says:

    I had this problem as well. What we learned is that Outlook messages do no actually sync with the IPhone, only the e-mail settings. So, to make it work, change your e-mail setting with outlook to an IMAP account vs POP3 (most e-mail clients offer this). Then you’re good for cloud sync.

    In our case, our e-mail client does not offer IMAP, so we were stuck with POP3 account. To make this work; in outlook, tools, account settings, change the e-mail account (s) you wish to have work on your phone, click the more setting button, then the advanced tab will have a button that say “Leave messages on server”. Click that. Close that section.
    Then, under tools, options, Mail Settings, turn auto check e-mail button off. When you use your computer, press f9 to check your mail. Down side is that if you download the mail to your computer, it won’t delete from your phone when you delete if from the PC unless you permenantly delete the e-mail ( press Shift+del or delete it from the deleted folder). However, if you delete it from the phone after it’s on the PC, you’ll have to also delete it from the PC. It’s the negative to sync when you use POP3 accounts.

    The calendar and contacts should sync easily. If you want the calendar to cloud sync, use google’s free desktop calendar sync.

    Hope that helps.

  3. MC says:

    Correction: 1st sentence says I had this problem as well. What we learned is that Outlook messages do no actually sync with the IPhone, only the messages.

    It should say: I had this problem as well. What we learned is that Outlook messages do no actually sync with the IPhone, only the e-mail settings.

  4. Michelle says:

    OK, I got my appointments into Outlook from the phone. but the emails I send from the phone don’t go into Outlook. Do I have to send myself a blind copy so it will be in Outlook or is there another way?
    If I send the blind copy will it be deleted in Outlook when I sync after deleting it on the phone?
    I am using Windows XP, iphone 3gs with 4.1
    Thank you!

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