This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this. Know more.

How to Get Microsoft 365 Contacts Report

Managing Microsoft 365 external contacts is crucial for facilitating partnerships and enhancing collaboration. Yet, without regular updates of contact information, the Global Address List can become cluttered, hindering communication efficiency. This guide will show you how to streamline Microsoft 365 contacts, ensuring your contact list remains a powerful asset for seamless collaboration.

Native Solution

Microsoft 365 Permission Required

High

Global Admin or an Exchange Admin.

Option 1 Using Microsoft 365 Admin Center

  • Login to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
  • Navigate to Users»Contacts. Here, you can view all Microsoft 365 contacts within your organization.
Using Microsoft 365 Admin Center
  • You can click on the "Choose columns" icon highlighted above to view only the necessary Microsoft 365 contact information.

Option 2 Using Exchange Online Admin Center

Using Exchange Online Admin Center
  • This page displays both mail contacts and mail users within your Microsoft 365 organization.

Option 3 Using Windows PowerShell

  • Connect to the MS Graph PowerShell using the below cmdlet.
  • Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell 
     Connect-MgGraph
  • Run the below cmdlet to get all Microsoft 365 contacts using PowerShell.
  • Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell 
     Get-MgContact
Using Windows PowerShell
  • With this cmdlet, you can obtain the email addresses and contact IDs of Microsoft 365 contacts.
AdminDroid Solution
This report and other 150 reports are under free editionFREE

AdminDroid Permission Required

Delegated

Any user with report access delegated by the Super Admin.

StepsUsing AdminDroid

Free
ad
  • Login to the AdminDroid Office 365 reporter.
  • Navigate to the All Contacts report under Reports»Azure AD»User Reports.
Using AdminDroid

You can access comprehensive details of Microsoft 365 contacts, including display name, email ID, company name, department, mobile, and more.

contacts-graph
  • Take advantage of the built-in graphical representation to visually display Microsoft 365 contacts across different departments.
geo-map
birds-eye-chart
donut
exported-excel
pie-chart
alert
Explore a full range of reporting options

Efficient Microsoft 365 Contacts management!

Keep your organization's global address list updated by efficiently managing Microsoft 365 contacts with AdminDroid. Enable your users to effortlessly connect with the right partners at the right time!

Witness the report in action using the

Live Demo

Azure ADManage External Contacts for Efficient Communication in Microsoft 365

Showing 1 of 6
How to create an external contact in Microsoft 365? How to bulk import external contacts in Microsoft 365 using PowerShell? How to export contacts from the Microsoft 365 admin portal? How to add external contacts to a distribution group in Microsoft 365? How to manage contacts in Microsoft 365? How to manage mail users in Exchange Online?

How to create an external contact in Microsoft 365?

Microsoft 365 contacts refer to individuals both within and outside your organization, including external colleagues, clients, and partners. They are added as contacts within your organization to communicate efficiently for your business needs.

Follow the steps below to create a new contact in Microsoft 365.

Using Microsoft 365 Admin Center

  • Login to the Microsoft 365 admin center. Navigate to Users»Contacts.
  • Select the "Add a contact" option. Enter the required information for a contact and click on Add.
  • You can use the MailTip section to include a notification that alerts users before they send a message to this contact. It is displayed when this contact is added to the To, Cc, or Bcc fields of a new email.

Using Exchange Online Admin Center

  • Login to the Exchange Online admin center. Navigate to Recipients»Contacts.
  • Select the "Add a mail contact" option. Enter the basic and contact information and click on Add.

After a contact has been created, it will be automatically added to your organization’s default global address list.

How to bulk import external contacts in Microsoft 365 using PowerShell?

Creating bulk Microsoft 365 contacts can be a time-consuming process. To streamline this task, you can create a CSV file containing all the necessary contact information and then import it using PowerShell.

Follow the steps below to bulk import external contacts to Exchange Online.

  • Create a CSV file with contact Name and ExternalEmailAddress info. You can also add other properties like FirstName, LastName, StreetAddress, City, Phone, Company, Title, etc.

    Note: Mention the column names exactly as mentioned above.
  • Run the below cmdlet to create bulk mail contacts in Office 365 using PowerShell.
    Import-Csv .\ExternalContacts.csv|%{New-MailContact -Name $_.Name -DisplayName $_.Name -ExternalEmailAddress $_.ExternalEmailAddress -FirstName $_.FirstName -LastName $_.LastName}

How to export contacts from the Microsoft 365 admin portal?

Monitor your Microsoft 365 contacts to ensure seamless collaboration with external colleagues, clients, and partners. You can update the necessary contact properties and eliminate unwanted clients who may not be needed for your organization.

You can export contacts from Office 365 using the methods below.

Using Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Navigate to Users»Contacts. You can export Microsoft 365 contacts to CSV by clicking on the "Export contacts" icon.

Microsoft PowerShell

The following cmdlets are used to export Microsoft 365 contacts in the Exchange Online PowerShell.

Get-Contact | Select-Object DisplayName, EmailAddresses, Phone, MobilePhone, Company | Export-Csv -Path 'C:\contacts.csv' -NoTypeInformation
Get-MailContact | Export-Csv -Path 'C:\contacts1.csv' -NoTypeInformation

The Get-Contact cmdlet retrieves non-mail properties for contacts, whereas the Get-MailContact cmdlet fetches all mail-related properties.

If you’re an organization with bulk contacts, managing them through the Microsoft 365 admin center can be challenging. Additionally, specifying required attributes in the PowerShell cmdlet to obtain comprehensive details is a time-consuming process.

With AdminDroid, you can easily export Microsoft 365 contacts in various formats such as HTML, PDF, CSV, XLS, and XLSX.

  • You can access in-depth information on Microsoft 365 contacts, such as display name, company name, email ID, department, job title, mobile number, and more.
  • Click on the Download/Export icon to download the report in your desired format.
contacts-export

Pro Tip: Make use of the "Company Name" easy filter to view mail contacts from specified companies.

How to add external contacts to a distribution group in Microsoft 365?

You can add external contacts to distribution lists to facilitate effective communication on shared projects.

Follow the steps below to add a user or contact to a Microsoft 365 distribution group.

  • Login to the Microsoft 365 admin center. Navigate to Teams & groups»Active teams & groups.
  • Select the desired group under the Distribution list section. Under the Members tab, click on the "View all and manage members" link.
  • Tap on the +Add members option to add the required contact.

However, inappropriate group memberships for these external contacts can lead to loss of sensitive information. Thus, it is crucial to monitor their group memberships to avoid potential issues.

Run the PowerShell script below to get the group membership of Microsoft 365 contacts.

$contacts= Get-MgContact

$output = foreach ($contact in $contacts) { 

foreach ($group in (Get-MgContactTransitiveMemberOf -OrgContactId $contact.Id)) { 

$groupName = (Get-MgGroup -Filter "id eq '$($group.Id)'").DisplayName 

[pscustomobject]@{ 

'Contact Display Name' = $contact.DisplayName 

'Distribution Group Name'= $groupName 

'Contact ID'= $contact.Id 

} 

} 

 } 

$output | Export-Csv -Path "D:\GroupMembershipofContacts.csv" -NoTypeInformation

Using AdminDroid, you can find the external contacts in distribution groups and remove any unwanted group membership in your organization.

  • Explore complete details including group name, contact name, email ID, company, job title, sign-in status, and other relevant information.
  • Pro Tip: Leverage the graphical representation functionality to visually get all groups a mail contact belongs to.
contact-group-memberships

How to manage contacts in Microsoft 365?

Effective management of Microsoft 365 contacts is essential for enhancing interactions with external partners. By maintaining up-to-date contact information, your users can easily reach out to the right individuals for specific tasks or updates.

Follow the ways below to manage mail contacts in Exchange Online.

Change Microsoft 365 contact information

Run the below PowerShell cmdlet to update contact information in Exchange Online.

Set-Contact "<ContactName>" -Title "<JobTitle>" -Department "<DepartmentName>" -Company "<CompanyName>" -Manager "<ManagerName>"

You can use the below cmdlet to modify mail-related properties of Microsoft 365 contacts.

Set-MailContact -Identity "<ContactName>" -ExternalEmailAddress "<EmailID>"

Remove contacts from Microsoft 365

Run the below cmdlet in Exchange Online PowerShell to remove a Microsoft 365 contact from your organization.

Remove-MailContact -Identity "<MailContactIdentity>"

With AdminDroid, you can easily monitor activities related to updating Microsoft 365 contact information that helps you to verify the accuracy of the modified property.

  • Acquire detailed records like event time, performed operation, performed user, contact name, and modified parameters.
  • Pro Tip: Apply the "Performed Operation" easy filter to retrieve events related to specific operations such as removing contacts, creating new contacts, and updating contact information.
mail-contact-changes

How to manage mail users in Exchange Online?

Exchange Online mail users are similar to mail contacts. They are people outside your organization and have an external email address. However, mail users can have a user account in your organization with login credentials similar to an unlicensed user.

Follow the steps below to create a mail user in Microsoft 365.

  • Login to the Exchange Online admin center. Navigate to Recipients»Contacts.
  • Select the "Add a mail user" option. Enter the basic information of the user. You must also give a User ID and a Password. Click on Add.

Once created, they will be displayed on the Contacts page of your Exchange Online admin center as well as the Active users page of your Microsoft 365 admin center.

Convert mail user to a mailbox user in Microsoft 365

If the mail user doesn't have a mailbox in their organization, you can convert them to a mailbox user. To convert a mail user to a mailbox user, simply assign an Exchange Online license to the mail user by navigating to the Active users page of your Microsoft 365 admin portal.

Emails sent to mail users are directed to their specified external email address. However, if you've allocated an Exchange Online license to the mail user, the emails will be routed to the Exchange Online mailbox given by your organization.


Note: After assigning licenses to mail users, they will no longer be displayed in the Contacts page of your Exchange Online admin center. You can manage them from the Active users page of your Microsoft 365 admin center.

With AdminDroid, you can audit the Exchange mail user changes and remove unnecessary modifications in your Microsoft 365 organization.

  • Here, you get entire details on event time, performed operation, who performed, mail username, and updated information.
  • Pro Tip: Utilize the "Modified Rule" column to obtain comprehensive information about all the properties of an Exchange Online mail user.
mail-user-changes

AdminDroid Entra ID ReportingMitigate communication gaps by updating Microsoft 365 contact properties!

The AdminDroid Azure AD reporting tool provides extensive reports on Microsoft 365 contacts. With these reports, you can easily maintain an organized and accessible directory of contacts with whom users frequently communicate. Moreover, you can monitor the emails sent to these external contacts to prevent the loss of sensitive information.

Leverage AdminDroid’s unmatchable features to manage Microsoft 365 contacts

By reviewing All Contacts report, you can update contact information in Exchange Online that allows your users to easily communicate with the right individuals. Additionally, it aids in identifying unwanted contacts and removing them to prevent potential data leakage.

An Overview

Track Exchange Online External Emails

Microsoft 365 outbound external email report from AdminDroid helps you monitor emails sent to external domains, thereby safeguarding against sensitive data leaks.

Monitor DLP in your Exchange Online

Check the events of Exchange Online DLP rule matches to prevent unauthorized sharing of sensitive information to mail contacts.

Visualize Email Analytics Reporting

Access the Microsoft 365 email analytics dashboard for detailed insights into emails sent to external contacts in your Exchange Online organization.

Manage Mail Users’ Licenses

Track Microsoft 365 users' license changes to stay informed about assigned licenses for Exchange mail users and revoke any unnecessary licenses.

Audit External Spoof Emails in EXO

Examine Microsoft 365 external spoof emails and delete their mail contacts if they appear suspicious in your organization.

Review Microsoft 365 Distribution Lists

Retrieve all Microsoft 365 distribution groups within your organization and include mail contacts in relevant groups for effective communication.

In summary, AdminDroid helps your organization to optimize interactions with Microsoft 365 contacts. It ensures that individuals within your organization can communicate with appropriate external contacts from their Global Address List.

Kickstart Your Journey with AdminDroid

Your Microsoft 365 Companion with Enormous Reporting Capabilities!

Download

Common Errors and Resolution Steps in managing Microsoft 365 contacts

The following are the possible errors and troubleshooting hints while dealing with Microsoft 365 Contacts.

Error: Write-ErrorMessage : Cannot process argument transformation on parameter 'Alias'. Cannot convert value "<Alias>" to type "System.String". Error: "Alias: Property expression "<Alias>" isn't valid.

This error occurs when you add a space while specifying an alias for a mail contact.

Troubleshooting hint :Use alphabets, numbers, and other characters without a space.

Error: Get-MgContact : One or more errors occured.

This error occurs when you use older versions of Microsoft Graph module.

Troubleshooting hint :Uninstall all the older versions and install the required version of Microsoft Graph module. 

// Run the below cmdlet to uninstall all the older versions of Microsoft Graph module.
Uninstall-Module Microsoft.Graph -AllVersions
// Run the below cmdlet to install the required latest version of the Microsoft Graph module.
Install-Module -Name "Microsoft.Graph" -RequiredVersion <LatestVersion> -Force

Error: Exception of type Microsoft.Online.Box.Util.Exceptions.InternalException.

This error occurs when you don’t have the necessary permission to create contacts in Microsoft 365.

Troubleshooting hint :Ask your global admin to grant the Mail Recipient Creation permission under the Organization Management role group.

Error: The term 'Get-MailContact' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.

This error occurs when you run the Get-MailContact cmdlet without connecting to the Exchange Online PowerShell.

Troubleshooting hint :Run the below cmdlet to connect to the Exchange Online PowerShell. 

Connect-ExchangeOnline

Error: Write-ErrorMessage : Ex94914C|Microsoft.Exchange.Configuration.Tasks.ManagementObjectNotFoundException|Couldn't find object "<EmailID>".

This error occurs when you specify a wrong email ID of the mail contact while adding them to a distribution group.

Troubleshooting hint :Run the below cmdlet to get the email address of the mail contact. 

Get-MailContact -Identity "<ContactName>" | Select-Object ExternalEmailAddress