How to Automatically Sync Microsoft 365 Outlook Contacts to Managed iOS devices with Exchange Active Sync.
If you want to automatically sync Microsoft Outlook contacts of Microsoft 365 users with their managed iPhone devices using Exchange Active Sync, then this guide is for you.
Scenario: You want the Microsoft Outlook contacts of any account in your Microsoft 365 tenant to sync with the native Contacts app on their iOS device. Simply put, you want all the Outlook contacts to be automatically saved and always available in the iPhone's phones contact list.
Syncing business contacts across employees’ devices is essential for seamless communication and productivity. For organizations using Microsoft 365 and managing iOS devices through Intune Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution, enabling automatic Outlook contact sync ensures that users always have up-to-date corporate contacts on their iPhones and iPads.
This guide explains how to configure Microsoft 365 to sync users Outlook contacts automatically to their managed iOS devices using Exchange ActiveSync (EAS)
How to Automatically Synchronize Personal Outlook 365 Contacts to Managed iOS (iPhone) Devices using Exchange Active Sync (Microsoft 365).
* Note: If you want to sync the Microsoft 365 Global Address List (GAL) contacts to the native iPhone Contacts app, read tis tutorial: How to Sync Microsoft 365 Global Address List (GAL) with the iOS native Contacts app (iPhone)
To automatically sync personal Outlook 365 contacts to iOS:
Step 1. Create & Configure an Exchange ActiveSync policy for Syncing Microsoft Outlook Contacts to iOS.
Create a new policy that automatically adds an Exchange account to the users' iPhone Contacts app, which contains all of each user's personal contacts in Outlook.
1. Navigate to InTune Admin Center > Devices > iOS/iPadOS > Configuration.
2. Click Create and select below New Policy.
3. Select Platform: iOS/IpadOS, Profile type: Templates highlight Email and click Create.
4. Type a name for the new policy (e.g. "Sync Personal Outlook Contacts to iPhone") and click Next.
5a. In Exchange ActiveSync account settings, do the following:
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In Email Server field type: outlook.office365.com
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In Account Name, Enter an email address that will appear as the EAS profile on the user's iPhone device (e.g. "outlookcontacts@yourdomain.com").
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In Username attribute from Microsoft Entra ID, select: User principal name.
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In Email address attribute from Microsoft Entra ID, select: User principal name.
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As Authentication method, select: Username and password.
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Enable SSL
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Enable OAuth
5b. In Exchange ActiveSync profile configuration, select:
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Select data to sync: Contacts only.
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Allow users to change sync settings: Yes.
5c. In Exchange ActiveSync Email settings, select:
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S/MIME: Disable S/MIME
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Amount to email to synchronize: Not configured
- Allow messages to be moved to other email accounts: Disable
- Allow email to be sent from third party applications: Disable
- Synchronize recently used email addresses: Disable
- VPN profile for per account VPN: None
5d. When done, click Next.
6. On the Assignments page, click Add all devices if you want to assign the new policy to all managed iOS devices, or click Add groups and select the group with the iOS devices you want to assign the policy to. When done, click Next.
7. Finally click Create to create and assign the new policy to the selected devices.
Step 2. Enter the M365 Password to Add ActiveSync Exchange Account to iOS device:
After you do the above and after a few minutes, on each managed iPhone device that has the new policy assigned to it, users will be prompted to enter the password for their account to add their Exchange Account with their Outlook 365 contacts to the native 'Contacts' app. So:
1. Tap Edit settings
2. Tap Continue and enter the user's Microsoft 365 account credentials
3. After authentication, users will see the following screen on their iPhone. If so, you're ready!
4. Tap Back to return to the previous screen and you should see that the new Exchange account has been added as a Contacts account on the iPhone.
5. Now, if you open the Contacts app you'll see two additional contact lists:
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The "All outlookcontacts@yourdomain.com" list which contains all the Microsoft Outlook personal contacts of the user.
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The Global Address List where users can search and find contacts from the Microsoft 365 Global Address List.
That's it! Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I sync Microsoft Outlook contacts with an iPhone using Microsoft 365?
To sync Microsoft Outlook contacts with an iPhone using Microsoft 365, you need to create and configure an Exchange ActiveSync policy via the Intune Admin Center. This involves setting up a new policy to sync contacts from Outlook to the native Contacts app on iOS devices.
What prerequisites are necessary to sync Outlook contacts to iOS devices using Exchange ActiveSync?
You need access to the Intune Admin Center, and you should be managing iOS devices through Intune Mobile Device Management (MDM) within your Microsoft 365 environment. You'll also need to configure specific Exchange ActiveSync policy settings.
Is it possible to sync the Microsoft 365 Global Address List (GAL) to an iOS device's Contacts app?
Yes, it is possible to sync the Microsoft 365 Global Address List (GAL) to an iOS device's native Contacts app. However, this requires a different process which is covered in another tutorial specifically focused on syncing the GAL to iPhones.
What should users do once the synchronization policy is assigned to their iOS devices?
Once the synchronization policy is assigned, users will be prompted on their iPhones to enter their Microsoft 365 account credentials to add their Exchange Account. This step ensures that their Outlook 365 contacts sync correctly with their device's Contacts app.
