After updating to Office version 2209 Build 15629.20156, Outlook users discovered a problem in contacts – a contact card displayed in the upper left of the screen and they could not close the contact.
My original solution was turning off Office updates then rolling back to an earlier version it fix it but turning off the reading pane or changing to a view that does not use a reading pane also works.
After running into the problem on a client's computer, it was clear it the reading pane was the problem, meaning the easiest solution would be turning off the reading pane, assuming the contact was not blocking you from reaching the View tab > Reading pane button > select Off.
If you don't see the View tab, either expand or collapse the ribbon using the V on the lower right edge of the ribbon or click the Maximize / Restore button to change the Outlook window size. Either should bring the ribbon into view (as seen in the screenshot above) so you can choose Business Card or Card view or turn off the reading pane.
If you are affected and want to roll back to a previous build, follow these instructions:
Start typing cmd on the Start screen or in the task bar search field to find the Command Prompt then click Run as Administrator
Copy and paste this line then press enter to drop back to the Sept 13 2022 build. Wait for Office to download and install.
"C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\ClickToRun\officec2rclient.exe" /update user updatetoversion=16.0.15601.20148
If you don't turn off updates, Office will update again on your next reboot. Leave updates off for at least a month - or turn off the reading pane in the Contacts (or change to Business card or Card view) before letting Office update. At this time, Microsoft is working on a fix but have not said when it will be fixed.
I ran into this as well and discovered the same fix - turn off reading pane will resolve it. Hopefully it'll be fixed in the next release.
I'm not that hopeful. :(
We first saw this one customer's pc on 2022.10.03. Shortcut to turn off reading pane as a quick fix measure:
Goto Contacts
Press keystrokes Alt-VPNO
Try it - you will see what i mean.