All contact management features described here apply equally to the SMS Page in the SMS Connector App (Legacy) and the Unified Connector App.
This article describes how to manage your Outlook contacts from within the SMS Page. The Contacts pane — the right-side pane that appears when you click the contact card icon on a conversation, as described in Using the SMS Page Within the App — lets you save new contacts, edit existing ones, and delete contacts without leaving Microsoft Teams.
Organizational contacts from Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) appear in conversations automatically but cannot be modified from here — they are managed by your enterprise administrator.
Summary
The following are the functionalities supported with respect to the sources of contacts.
Feature | Outlook Contacts | Microsoft Entra ID Contacts |
|---|---|---|
Contact matching | ||
Adding contacts | - | |
Editing contacts | - | |
Deleting contacts | - |
Note
Contact changes in Microsoft do not appear instantly in the ConnecttoTeams apps — the delay stems from Microsoft's contact propagation mechanism.
Outlook contact changes (add, edit, delete) take up to 15 minutes to fully reflect in the SMS Page. Microsoft Entra ID contact changes made by your admin take up to 4 hours to reflect.
How Contacts appear in the SMS Page
Unknown Phone Number
When a conversation involves an unsaved number, the SMS Page shows a contact card icon next to the phone number
Click the contact card icon to open the Contacts pane. From there, you can choose Add New Contact to save the number as a new Outlook contact, or Update Existing Contact to add the number to a contact you already have. Click X to close the pane.
You may also click X to close the contact pane.
Microsoft Entra ID Contact (Organizational) Display
When a phone number is matched to a Microsoft Entra ID contact, the contact's display name appears at the top of the conversation pane. Clicking the contact card icon opens the Contacts pane showing the contact's details. No Edit or Delete buttons appear because organizational contacts cannot be modified from the SMS Page — they are managed by your enterprise administrator in Microsoft Entra portal.
Outlook Contact (Personal)Display
When a phone number is matched to a known Outlook contact, the contact's display name appears both in the Recent list on the left and at the top of the conversation pane. Clicking the contact card icon opens the Contacts pane with the contact's details along with Edit and Delete buttons.
Adding a New Contact
When viewing an unsaved number, click the contact card icon, then click Add New Contact. A blank contact form appears with the mobile number already pre-filled.
The form has the following elements:
All input boxes are editable. Fill out the fields relevant to this contact. First Name, Last Name, and at least one phone number are required.
Mobile phone number — pre-filled with the number from the conversation.
X — click to remove a phone number.
+Phone — click to add additional phone numbers (each can have its own type, such as Mobile, Business, or Home). Click X (as in #3) to remove.
Save — click to save the contact.
Cancel — click to discard, or use X at the top right of the pane.
When done, a success message confirms the contact was saved.
As noted above, allow up to 15 minutes for the change to propagate. Your saved contact may appear as unknown for that period.
Updating an Existing Contact
When viewing an unsaved number, click the contact icon then the Updating Existing Contact button. A search form appears.
Enter a search string and click Search button. Matching contacts appear below the Search button.
Click the box for the specific contact you want to update. The selected contact's details appear in the Contacts pane along with Edit and Delete buttons.
Click Edit, then add the new number and select its phone type. Update any remaining fields, then click Update. A success message confirms the change.
As noted above, allow up to 15 minutes for the change to propagate.
Deleting a Contact
When viewing an existing contact's details, both an Edit button and a Delete button appear. The Delete button removes the Outlook contact from your contacts entirely.
Click Delete. A confirmation prompt appears asking you to confirm the action.
Click Yes, delete it! to confirm. Once the contact is successfully deleted, a success message appears.
As noted above, allow up to 15 minutes for the change to propagate. The deleted contact may still appear in search results for a short period.
Next Steps
Once you're comfortable managing contacts, here are related topics worth exploring:
Using the SMS Page Within the App — Learn how the SMS Page layout works, including how the Contacts pane fits in as the third pane.
Group Texting — Set up and send industry-standard group texts where every participant can reply.
Using the SMS Composer (SMS Connector App Legacy) — For users of the legacy app, learn how to send SMS messages from the SMS Composer using stored Outlook contacts.
FAQ
What's the difference between Outlook contacts and organizational contacts?
Outlook contacts are your personal contacts, stored in your Outlook account. Organizational contacts come from your enterprise's Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) directory and are managed by your administrator. Only Outlook contacts can be added, edited, or deleted from the Contacts pane.
I just added a contact but the number still shows as unknown. Why?
Outlook contact changes take up to 15 minutes to propagate from Microsoft's servers. The contact will appear in the SMS Page once propagation completes. The same applies to edits and deletions.
Can I add a number to an existing contact instead of creating a new one?
Yes. When viewing an unsaved number, click the contact card icon and choose Update Existing Contact, search for the contact, then click Edit to add the new number and its phone type.
Why can't I edit an organizational contact?
Organizational contacts are read-only in the SMS Page because they are managed centrally by your enterprise administrator via Microsoft Entra ID. Contact your administrator to request changes.
If I delete a contact here, is it also deleted from my Outlook?
Yes. Deleting a contact from the Contacts pane removes it from your Outlook contacts. The change may take up to 15 minutes to fully propagate.
Can I add more than one phone number to a contact?
Yes. While saving a new contact or editing an existing one, click +Phone to add additional numbers. Each number can have its own type (Mobile, Business, Home, etc.).