It seems there are hundreds if not hundreds of thousands of people who cannot sync their iCloud data with Outlook. I just ran across this and spent 5 hours 20 minutes finding the correct solution for my client.
Here is the issue, icloud contacts and calendar and tasks are not syncing with Outlook. There are several error possibilities or in our case there were no errors, just no syncing.
In this case we had Windows 10 Professional x64 and Office Home and Business 2019 x64. The end user uses an iPhone and iCloud photos et al.
Searching the internet it seems the troubled systems are Windows 9 and 10, Office 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365.
The short answer is, the Windows Store iCloud APP does not work. You have to use the Windows Program file.
The short repair is:
In Outlook, disable the iCloud Add-in, and select remove if you can. I could not.
To do this, open Outlook, select “File / Options” in the new window.
On the left side, almost at the bottom, click on “add-ins”
At the bottom click on “Go” if the Manage COM Add-ins is selected
Deselect the checkbox next to iCloud Outlook Add-in and with it highlighted in blue, select remove. If it won’t remove, don’t worry.
Close Outlook, uninstall the iCloud APP (I use REVO uninstaller on “medium” to get rid of all the extras.)
Reboot the PC. Download and install the program, NOT the APP. Here is where I got it: https://secure-appldnld.apple.com/windows/061-91601-20200323-974a39d0-41fc-4761-b571-318b7d9205ed/iCloudSetup.exe
Or you can go here:
Reboot again.
Navigate to the iCloud.exe file “C:\program files (x86)\ Common files \ Apple \ Internet Services”.
Right-click on the file, select the “Compatibility” tab. Run in Compatibility Mode for Windows 8 and select “Run the program as an administrator”.
Open iCloud, select what you want to sync:
Select Apply. Wait until the syncing profile goes away
Close iCloud.
Open Outlook. iCloud should be listed in the toolbar.
To make your contacts from iCloud as the primary address book click on “Address Book”.
If iCloud is not listed, in the new windows, click on “Tools and then Options from the dropdown menu.
Click on “Custom” and then select “iCloud”. If it is not here, click on “Add”.
Then select “iCloud” and click on “add”.
“OK” your way out to just the Outlook home screen.
Now when you click on your Address book it should be there.
I hope this saves someone hours of their life they cannot get back.
Until we meet again, have a virus free week.
I used your method to get my iCloud syncing with my Windows 10 + Outlook 365. The only thing I had to add was to turn on the Outlook Add-in. Now, everything seems to be perfect again. I spent DAYS on this issue – your solution is the only one that worked.
Thank you – Dayton
THANK YOU! good lord. How can the app store app not work properly? This FINALLY fixed a problem i’ve been trying to solve for weeks.
Thank you so much!
Thanks. Worked like a charm and is appreciated!
When I first installed the iCloud app, it wiped out all my contacts in Outlook 2016 and my iPhone 7. I checked the iCloud website and my pictures were there but nothing in the contacts folder. I tried your method and at the point of selecting items in the iCloud settings (pictures, drive, Outlook) and clicking Apply, it stops with an error message saying my username/password is incorrect and to log out/log back in. I do that and it just does the same thing and will not let me proceed. I have never changed my iTunes/iCloud password. I had hundreds of contacts and would really like to see them reappear!
John, I did run into the password issue when doing this after writing this blog. Unfortunately, I can’t remember which customer it was for or even when. I will continue to look for my notes and if I find what I did, I will publish that.
I still have the same problem where it says my password or username is incorrect when I hit apply.
I did have this happen once after I wrote this blog. I can’t find my notes from when and where I fixed this.
Scott, I am sorry this is happening. I have run into that issue too, since writing the blog. I have been looking for my notes on what I did, so far, no luck. I will publish what I did when I find them.
I have to tell you this worked so well and saved me from pulling my hair out. I was about three hours into getting nowhere before I found this post.
I cant believe the darn Microsoft Store bought version was useless. Would somebody there get their heads out of their back ends and fix this.
A big thank you and god bless!!!!
Paul
If I open the “people” icon in the folder pane of Outlook, I can select iCloud and see all my iCloud contacts. But in Outlook, when I open the Address Book, iCloud doesn’t show up as a choice anywhere.
Let me make sure I understand. In Outlook, when you click on “Address book / Tools / Options / Custom” iCloud is not there? What is showing there?
Sorry, but this made it worse. Now I am back to the error message anout default profile.
This is really rediculous.
Brandon, I am sorry this is happening. I know this is frustrating. I wish I had additional steps for you. Some day Microsoft and Apple may decide to work together to help their mutual customers.
worked a treat.
Thank you
Oh. My. God. Better than 18 hours spent trying to resolve this issue, including two 6-hours-plus with ATT’s ConnecTech service, without success. Your fix managed it in 15 minutes. You are my hero!
There was only one minot glitch – the loading got hung up at one point and I had to do that step again. Also, it took Outlook a few moments to show iCloud contacts and calendar had been added as options. But hey, it WORKED!!!
You are a lifesaver
I tried all that and of course it does nothing for Outlook 2016. Nothing seems to. Depressing.
I apologize for taking so long to reply Anneberth. I presume you are not getting an error code / message. Are you literally getting nothing when you do this?
Excellent – worked a treat for my Win365.
Been battling for days to get this synced and your info nailed it for me!!!
Thank you
Well I was very nervous to try this as so many things like this get screwed up – but based on above comments, gave it a try.
My computer didn’t do things quite as above – firt time after deleting iCloud app – it just reinstalled it again. Deleted and use link above – that worked. Phew. But sign in popped up – ignored that and follwoed ettings toiCloud.exe file “C:\program files (x86)\ Common files \ Apple \ Internet Services” then try to find “Run in Compatibility Mode” but I only had Troubleshoot Compatibility so used that – then “Run the program as an administrator”
When I signed in to Outlook 365 nowhere did I see iCloud!! I thought oh no – it was there before bunot now. So I deided to just click on Address Book and lo and behold – there was icloud adress book and all my contacts!!!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!
Thanks so much for the solution to this problem. I’ve been trying for months off and on to resolve it. I found some workarounds using my iPad, and had some IT guys try to fix it on my pc, but they couldn’t. Thanks again
OMG!!!!!!!!
I LITERALLY JUST TRIED THIS & IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve been trying to fix this issue for almost 6 months now! Worked fine until a W10 update. After that, no good. I started a small biz last year & it’s CRITICAL that this function work properly.
Apple support was clueless even after escalating my issue to “engineering” whatever that means. In the end they never called me back, probably cuz they couldn’t figure it out.
Is Apple aware/hv u contacted Apple abt this?
One question–If this happens again, shd i repeat the process?
??? ????????????
No amt/type of emojis can adequately convey how grateful I am to you for this fix!
I’m not big on religion & I don’t mean to sound like a lunatic but — BLESS YOU!!!!
THANK U SO MUCH!!! I definitely owe you one!
WOOO HOOO!!!!!!!
Thank you this is a great time saver…
I had a problem after my comment. I cannot seem to get icloud to be my default address book. I did the steps you shown but I don’t have the option of iCloud when trying to add?
Anyone else have this problem?
Timothy, yes, I did run into this too. I presume you mean that the “add-in” was not there however do you mean the “add-in” is there but when you get to the “tool / options…” it is not there?
THANK YOU!! So much!!
THANK YOU. My computer crashed and my backup software failed me. I had to reinstall everything and Outlook and iCloud hated each other. I tried everything! And, this worked.
Feb 2021
Wowee! I accidentally “closed” my icloud inside outlook and spent all day looking for an answer. Yours worked! Thank you soooo much!
Thank you so much. Your efforts are hugely appreciated and helped me resolved my issue.
You are superstar.
Omg!!! I’ve been struggling with this FOREVER! Microsoft Helpdesk was worthless. Apple FAQs were also worthless. I’ve spent months and months and countless hours researching and troubleshooting and THIS IS IT!
Only difference was I needed to ENABLE the addon.
THANK YOU!!
Hi
I’m in windows 10 and am having trouble . I’ve followed this but I still don’t get the option to sync contacts calendars etc on iCloud for windows – i can only tick iCloud Drive photos and bookmarks . If I create an event in outlook it appears in my phone no problem but not on my computer . There is no iCloud add in option on outlook. If you can help I’d be so thankful !
Hi
I still can’t get this to work!
I have no option on icloud for windows to tick to sync calendars, contacts, reminders.
There is no add in option available on outlook…
I’m hoping I’m missing something simple.
I’ve tried deleting and reinstalling icloud – hopeless! Any help would be fantastic
Emma, When you click on “options” and there is no ‘iCloud’, what happens if you click the ‘Add’ button below it? You should be able to find iCloud, at least for me I was.
Will this work to restore iCloud Reminders being accessible in Outlook Tasks? (Using the subscription version.)
Stu, I do apologize, I really don’t know if it will restore reminders.
Amazing! Thank you for solving my long-standing problem. It is indeed going to save me lots of hours and frustration. Thank you
Do you have a similar solution for syncing the calendar as well. Now that icloud is installed and contacts are synced.
Hi there ! After latest update to outlook had major problems trying to get iCloud to work. Finally did but no contacts! Tried to remove app and use your link but it won’t let me install as it says this app was downloaded from the Microsoft store and all users must uninstall before it can run. What do I do now?! It works fine on our other laptops just this one that got updated it not working properly.
Windows 10 outlook 365
Joanie,
Before I assume, did you uninstall the old one? If not or even if you did, uninstall it again. I would recommend using REVO Uninstaller to uninstall it. https://www.revouninstaller.com/
Came across this site and the discussion looking for the sync problem solution. Followed your steps and ran into the icloud uid/pwd issue. My guess is this has to do with the 2-phase authentication that our icloud.exe version cannot handle. As far as I found out I cannot change/disable the 2 phase auth, ie Apple does not allow this any longer (you may try to contact Apple and ask them to revert, but this does not feel like the road to success). Stuck for now….
Ewald, I am sorry it appears that Apple and 2FA are preventing you from getting YOUR data.
I cannot over emphasize how much I despise 2FA. It is not good in any way. I have fought against it logically in the tech community for over a decade. Just like in politics, those that want it / recommend it are just parroting something they heard. I will stop my rant there.
Update: used my wife’s Apple account to sign into iCloud, got in allright but when updating the profile, iCloud came back with error msg Uid/Pwd not correct. Any ideas?
Back in Feb several people reported this too. I have gone through my notes several times since then and not found how if fixed this. I did run into it on a customers computer, I found where I had the problem but not what I did to fix it.
Anyone else out there solve this issue?
The solution to usr/pwd issue is to remove compatibility and administrator option. Just leave it at stock. This worked in my case.
You deserve a medal
This fixed my issue (outlook syncing ok but did not see icloud in address book:
The iCloud installation should enable the iCloud Contacts as an Address Book automatically, but you can double-check just to be sure.
Right click on the iCloud Contacts folder and choose Properties, look on the Outlook Address Book tab. Verify the folder is enabled as an Address Book.
What a relief!! I can’t thank you enough. I just upgraded to Office 2019 and almost collapsed when I no longer had access to my calendar or contacts.
Office 2019
Windows 10 Pro
I followed the switch from iCloud APP to Program just as directed. The instructions were flawless, and so were the results.
THANK YOU!
Thanks for this. I had forgotten about this but used it a year ago and ran into the issue again.
You would think Apple would fix it by now but no. To get the regular (non store) version you have to use the apple downloads of iCloud for Win 7 or 8. My fear is that Apple stops supporting this version and a future outlook update breaks it. Then you have to use the Store app that does not sync addressbook correctly.
Nice work! Thanks for your diligent effort to help the community. This has been causing me problems for months; I discovered your solution after I installed outlook 365 on a new computer.
Worked like a charm. The key procedure seems to be uninstall iCloud for Windows and then reinstall it. Thanks!
Thank you so much. This worked. I wasn’t able to do one of the steps because of Windows 11, but it still worked. Thank you again.
Tried this but when I select Mail, Contacts, Calendar and Tasks, it thinks about it for quite a while and then I get an error indicating that the setup cannot complete as my login credentials are in error. I recall that Apple went to Application Specific Passwords, which I set up, but it never asks for that. I presume it’s defaulting to my icloud login and password. Any suggestions?
Please disregard. I have no idea why, but I closed it and let it sit a while and opened it back up and tried it again and it worked! Many thanks for these directions!
Many thanks – your solution worked. Previously, I wasted many hours in vain trying various fixes for the absent iCloud address book.
Why does Apple offer the iCloud for Win App if it doesn’t work?
Removed “Run as admin” setting
Left compatibility on Win 8
It’s working now. Got my contacts
Thanks
Great thread
Thanks for this. After many attempts following other advice, I managed to get my icloud data showing in Outlook 365 by creating a POP mail account and making it the default but then the data didn’t sync. Starting to follow your instructions, I found that the iCloud Outlook add-in wasn’t ticked so I ticked it and syncing began. I didn’t need to do anything else.
This works on Microsoft 365 version of Office on Windows 11 (as of 11-8-22)
Good stuff was I frustrated why the sync was not happening. Tried all kinds of fixes and tweaks that ruined profiles and installs.
Started fresh today and found this. Paydirt. Worked great. I may have rebooted more than needed (after removals/installs/setups) but did exactly what was needed.
I tried this and it worked a treat. EXCEPT that I had previously been using the newer version of iCloud with the password manager also syncing to my browser. Now I have the contacts coming up in Outlook which is just great but I don’t dare update the software because it would have to be from the Windows store. Does anyone know the shortcut, similar to above, to get the Windows program file?
This work with my Office 2023 on Windows 11!!!
The latest iCloud for Windows” can sync and even shows the calendar and contact. And I use so many time to found solution. Thanks!!!
Many thanks for sharing this solution. I’ve spent hours++ trying all sort of suggestions to resolve this issue. I was on the verge of dropping outlook completely. I could not get my calendars or contacts in Outlook no matter what I tried. Interestingly the Microsoft App Store app worked fine with Microsoft Mail and Calendar apps but these are light weight compared to Outlook.
So so frustrating!
Thank you for this!
Thank you – after a day of trying, that worked nicely!