Autocomplete not working correctly in Outlook – Explanation Guide

If you find that autocomplete is not working in Outlook, there are some solutions that you can try. Autocomplete is a feature in Outlook that suggests email addresses as you type the initials. However, many users have encountered a problem where autocomplete doesn’t work properly. This may be due to a corrupted Autocomplete cache or an add-in. If you’re facing the same issue, try one of the following methods to fix it.

Outlook Autocomplete Contacts List not working

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Autocomplete is not working in Outlook

These are the methods to try if autocomplete is not working correctly in Outlook:

• Ensure that the Autocomplete setting is enabled.
• Rename the Roam Cache folder.
• Disable Outlook Change Notifier add-in installed by iTunes.
• Run Outlook in Safe Mode.
• Create a new profile.

Let’s discuss these solutions in elaboration!

Ensure that the Autocomplete setting is enabled

The first thing you should try to fix this issue is to ensure the Autocomplete option is turned on. You can follow the below steps to do that:

• Start the Outlook application and go to File > Options.
• In the Outlook Options wizard, navigate to the Mail tab.
• Now, scroll down to the Send Messages section and make sure that the checkbox called Use AutoComplete List to suggest names when typing in the To, Cc, and Bcc lines is enabled. If not, enable it.
• Click on the OK button.

Now, if autocomplete is already enabled and still not working, you should try clearing out the autocomplete list using the below steps: Using the steps above, clear your autocomplete list by selecting the Empty AutoComplete List button and confirming with the Yes button.

After sending some test emails to the same recipient, check to see if autocomplete starts working. If not, consider using another method from this list to troubleshoot the problem.

Rename the Roam Cache folder

If you’re having trouble with autocomplete, one thing you can try is renaming your Roam Cache folder. This will reset autocomplete, which means you’ll lose all of the addresses that were saved in the autocomplete list.

Check if you are using a Microsoft Exchange Server account or some other one before using this method. To do that, open Outlook and go to the File > Info and click on the Accounts Settings option. In the new dialog window, check if the Type is Microsoft Exchange or something else.

If the type is Microsoft Exchange, try the below steps:

To change your Microsoft Exchange Server account settings, go to File > Info > Accounts Settings, select the account, and click Change.

Click the More Settings button, then uncheck the Use Cached Exchange Mode checkbox. Press the OK button and exit Outlook.

Now, press Windows + R hotkey to open the Run dialog box and enter the below address in it:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Outlook

In the directory that you opened; you will see a folder named Roam Cache. Rename this folder to old Roam Cache.

Restart the Outlook application.

Now you have to enable the checkbox for Cached Exchange Mode that you disabled earlier. Refer to the steps above (1) and (2).

Finally, again restart Outlook and see if the autocomplete starts working again.

In the case of a home email account, you can skip Step (1), Step (2), Step (6), and Step (7) and follow other steps to rename the Roam Cache folder and reset Autocomplete.

Create a new profile

When no other solution works, you should create a new Outlook profile and see if the Autocomplete feature starts working again. This usually also fixes Outlook issues in general.

Just like you, we hope that the steps above helped you fix the problem with Outlook autocomplete feature.