Company contacts on Android: Outlook app or Exchange?

GALYNSKI writes the company contacts into a separate contact folder in the mailbox, say “Colleagues”. On an Android phone there are two routes to bring the mailbox’s contacts into the contacts app, and from there into caller ID, the phone app and WhatsApp: the Outlook app, or an Exchange account in Gmail or Samsung Email. Only the first brings all folders along. For every statement this post says whether it comes from Microsoft’s documentation or from the community.

Starting point: one folder in the mailbox, two routes onto the phone

After the nightly run the “Colleagues” folder sits in every person’s mailbox, next to their own contacts. The Outlook app shows it right away. Caller ID, the phone app and WhatsApp, however, do not read the mailbox but the phone’s contacts app. The contacts still have to get there, and on Android there are two routes. How GALYNSKI creates the folder is on the page How GALYNSKI works.

Route A: the Outlook app with “Sync Contacts”

1. Open the Outlook app, tap the profile picture, then the gear icon.
2. Under “Accounts”, tap the Microsoft 365 account.
3. Switch on “Sync Contacts”.
4. Allow the app access to the contacts when Android asks.

Microsoft documentation. Microsoft Support describes the steps in “How does Outlook sync with my device's contacts on Android?” (retrieved on 19 October 2026). According to the FAQ for Outlook for iOS and Android on Microsoft Learn, synchronisation for Microsoft 365 accounts runs in both directions (“Bi-directional sync of Outlook contacts with native Contacts app: Android”), and the profile picture comes along (“Sync profile picture between Outlook contacts and the native Contacts app: Android”), retrieved on 16 October 2026.

Community. All contact folders of the account are synced; there is no selection of individual folders. A Microsoft moderator writes this on 28 August 2026 in Microsoft Q&A in reply to a user with four contact folders: “Outlook for Android provides Sync Contacts for the account, but the available documentation does not show an option for selecting or excluding individual contact folders.” For GALYNSKI customers that is the good news: the “Colleagues” folder is a separate contact folder, and it comes along.

Two notes from Microsoft’s documentation. First: if you edit a restricted field in the contacts app, such as notes, the change does not go back to Outlook (Microsoft Learn, “Deploying Outlook for iOS and Android app configuration settings”, retrieved on 16 October 2026). For distributed contacts that does not matter, because the next run overwrites changes made on the phone anyway; maintenance happens in Microsoft 365. Second: if you use Intune, the same page says you can preset the switch via app configuration, setting “Save (or Sync) Contacts”, recommendation “Enable”. It is not required; more in the post GAL on the phone without Intune or MDM.

Route B: an Exchange account in Gmail or Samsung Email

The second route goes through the pre-installed mail app: there the mailbox can be set up as an Exchange account, and the phone fetches the contacts via Exchange ActiveSync, without the Outlook app.

Community. In practice only the default contact folder seems to arrive this way. A user reported on 26 August 2020 in Microsoft Q&A for an Office 365 account on Android: “I can see all the contacts which are in the folder contact”, while the contacts in subfolders were missing on the phone. There is no official statement from Microsoft on this. Since GALYNSKI writes into a separate folder, that folder is exactly what would be affected.

The two routes side by side

Recommendation for GALYNSKI customers on Android

• The Outlook app with “Sync Contacts”. This route reliably brings the “Colleagues” folder along, photos included if GALYNSKI distributes them.
• Once per phone. The switch is set per account and device. If you have Intune, preset it via app configuration; everyone else tells employees once.
• Exchange account only as second choice. If you work without the Outlook app, check on one device whether the “Colleagues” folder appears in the contacts app before recommending the route to everyone.

Which contacts end up in the folder at all is on the page GAL sync; what arrives for photos and fields on iPhone and Android is in the post Colleague photos and company name on the phone.

Data protection

The contacts stay in the mailbox; the phone’s contacts app keeps a copy under the Outlook account. If you switch “Sync Contacts” off, according to Microsoft Support this copy is removed again: “toggle the Sync Contacts setting and they will be removed from your address book” (“How do I sync my Outlook contacts to my address book?”, retrieved on 19 October 2026). What GALYNSKI processes is set out in the documentation Data protection, the agreement in the DPA.

Frequently asked questions

Why do I see the contacts in Outlook but not when someone calls?

The Outlook app shows the contact folder of the mailbox, but caller ID reads only the phone’s contacts app. The contacts get there only with the “Sync Contacts” switch in the Outlook app. According to Microsoft Support, you then see the name when the contact calls or sends a message.

Do the colleagues’ photos come along?

Yes. According to Microsoft’s FAQ for Outlook for iOS and Android, Outlook for Android syncs the profile picture between the Outlook contacts and the contacts app. This requires that GALYNSKI distributes the photos; anyone setting up GALYNSKI finds it switched on, and it can be switched off under “Colleagues’ photos”.

Can I sync just one folder, say only “Colleagues”?

No. A Microsoft moderator writes in Microsoft Q&A (August 2026) that Outlook for Android syncs contacts per account and the documentation shows no option for selecting individual contact folders. All contact folders of the account come along, the GALYNSKI folder and your own.

What happens when I switch it off again?

According to Microsoft Support, the synced contacts are then removed from the phone’s address book. The mailbox stays unchanged; the GALYNSKI folder remains there and appears in the Outlook app.

Does this also work with Gmail or Samsung Email?

An Exchange account can be set up there. A user reported in Microsoft Q&A in 2020, for an Office 365 account on Android, that only the main “Contacts” folder arrived on the phone, subfolders did not. There is no official statement from Microsoft on this. That is why we recommend the Outlook app on Android.