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How to copy contacts from a SIM card to a computer. How to copy contacts from phone to computer. Transfer your phone book using standard Android features

Transferring contacts from the phone book from an Android phone to another Android smartphone is a hot topic. Sooner or later, every owner of an Android smartphone or tablet is forced to change the device for a number of reasons: the appearance of a new device, switching to another model, or buying a second device for work purposes. And then there is a need to transfer contacts from one device to another.

In this article we will look at several simple and common ways to transfer contacts from Android to Android phone. We will also look at the features, advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Synchronization using Google account

The first and easiest way to transfer contacts from Android to Android is to synchronize your Google account. The method will allow you to quickly transfer your telephone database from one device to another without any extra effort. This is also true if the directory contains a large database. Not suitable if you only need to transfer some contacts.

The instructions consist of a couple of simple steps:

  1. On your old Android device, add or create a Google account. If the account is present, skip the action and move on to the next step.
  2. Synchronize your phone book using your Google account. To do this, you need to go to the device settings menu, open your Google account, and then select “contacts” and synchronize phone numbers.
  3. On a new Android smartphone or tablet, add the same google account as on the old device, and then synchronize the data. All your contacts and phone numbers will appear in the directory automatically.

Note!

When performing the operation, access to mobile or wireless Internet is required, otherwise you will not be able to transfer contacts. Internet speed also affects the data synchronization time, on average 5-15 seconds, and sometimes up to one minute.

Main advantages:

  • The method is simple and also requires a minimum of effort and time.
  • Complete transfer of Android contacts to Android phone.
  • Allows you to do without a computer.
  • Convenient if the phone book contains many numbers.

Main disadvantages:

  • You cannot synchronize contacts without the Internet.
  • The method is not suitable if Google services are missing or not working on one of the devices.
  • No selective porting of phone numbers.
  • Number confusion if the account was previously synchronized with the contacts of another device.

Import/export phone book

You can transfer contacts from phone to phone by exporting the phone book from one Android device and then importing this file to another device. Android OS has a phone book archiving feature called import/export. Thanks to this, a complete backup copy of the directory is created, for storage in a safe place, or restoration in other devices. Importing or exporting occurs in three stages: archiving, copying, and restoring.

To create a phone book archive, you need to export contacts:

  1. Open the standard “Directory” application, since third-party utilities often lack this function.
  2. Click on the button in the form of three dots in the upper right corner. Select “Import/Export” from the pop-up menu.
  3. In the window that appears, click on “Export to VCF file”.
  4. Then save the file; you do not need to change the name. To save the file, you need to call up the hidden panel on the left by clicking on the 3 stripes in the upper left corner.
  5. If the internal memory of the device is not displayed, you need to click on the button in the form of three dots - in the upper right corner. Select “Internal Memory” from the pop-up menu.
  6. Next, the file manager will open, where you need to select your preferred folder and click the “Save” button.

Important! On earlier versions of Android or on devices that do not have a file manager, the file with phonebook contacts is saved by default to the root section of the internal memory. The directory archive file stores only phone numbers and names, some additional information and ringtones, often not copied, and the quality of photographs is reduced to save space.

Restoring contacts from an archive is done by importing contacts in one of two ways:

  1. In the directory, select “Import/export” from the pop-up menu. Next, “Import from a VCF file.” Specify the location where you saved your contacts during the import stage - phone or Google account. In a new window, select the file, after which the contact transfer will begin.
  2. Open file manager. Find the location where the contacts file is stored. Click on the file and select a save location - phone or Google account.

Below we will consider the intermediate stage and methods of transferring a file with contacts to a mobile device.

Transfer contacts from Android to Android via computer

The method is useful in three cases: when one or two devices do not support memory cards; You need to save a backup copy on your computer at the same time; The display does not work, but the previously created phone book file is stored in memory.

To copy contacts from your phone to your computer, follow the instructions:

  1. Connect one or both devices to your PC via a USB cable.
  2. On the first device, find the phone book file and copy it to the PC. Afterwards, transfer it to the memory of the second device.
  3. If both devices are connected, it is not necessary to copy the file to the PC; it is enough to immediately transfer the phone book archive to the memory of the other device.
  4. Next, set up phone numbers.

Main advantages:

  • Simplicity and accessibility.
  • Quickly transfer contacts to one or more devices.
  • No internet or Google services required.

Main disadvantages:

  • Only mass transfer of contacts.
  • PC and USB cable required.
  • Some smartphones/tablets require driver installation to detect them.

How to copy contacts from Android to computer using FTP connection

This method is based on interaction with a PC, but the W-Fi router acts as an intermediary. Algorithm of actions:

  1. Download and install an application that can automatically create an FTP connection, for example Moto File Manager.
  2. Open the program, select “Remote control” in the hidden panel on the left.
  3. Connect the device to your home Wi-Fi network and click the “Connect” button.
  4. The application will activate the function of sending files via the FTP protocol and will provide the address required to be entered in the address bar of the explorer on the computer.
  5. After pairing, find the folder with the saved file, and then transfer it to a PC or other device connected via a USB cable or FTP.

Main advantages:

  • There is no need to connect the device to the computer via a cable and/or install drivers.

Main disadvantages:

  • You need a Wi-Fi router, an application to create an FTP or the Internet to download the program.

In the absence of the Internet or a PC, a Bluetooth wireless module is suitable for transferring a phone book file.

Instructions:

  1. Activate Bluetooth on the sending and receiving devices. To do this, in the settings section, Bluetooth item, set the regulator to the “on” state. Activate the detection function on the receiving device.
  2. On the sending smartphone or tablet, using the file manager, select the file and click on the “share” button.
  3. In a new window, select using “Bluetooth”. Then accept and save the file on another device.

Main advantages:

  • There is no need for the Internet, PC, etc.

Main disadvantages:

  • Availability of Bluetooth module on both devices.

How to transfer contacts from phone to phone using Gmail

This method is similar to the previous method, only Gmail email is used instead of Bluetooth.

Instructions:

  1. Activate the Internet on your mobile device.
  2. Using the file manager, mark the file with contacts and click on the “share” button. In the new window, select “Gmail”.
  3. An application will launch where you need to specify an email address to send the file and click on the send button. If there is no Internet, sending will occur the first time you connect to the network.
  4. On another device, you need to go to Gmail and download the attached file.

Main advantages:

  • Simplicity and accessibility.
  • There is no need to pair two devices, use a PC or additional equipment.

Main disadvantages:

  • Internet access required.
  • Google services are required.

The algorithm for copying the phone book corresponds to the previous method. The main difference is the use of flash memory instead of a SIM card. This method compensates for some of the shortcomings of the SIM card, and is also suitable for transferring contacts to a tablet or other Android device.

The procedure for transferring contacts from Android to Android phone via flash:

  1. Open the application with phone numbers and click on the “Import/export” item.
  2. In the window that appears, select “Export to storage” or “Export to MicroSD”. The item name may differ due to translation.
  3. Confirm the export of contacts, where the device will inform you of the saving path. This is usually the root folder of the internal SD drive.
  4. Open the file manager, find the telephone database file with the “vcf” extension and send it in any convenient way to another device.
  5. Save the received file on the smartphone or tablet to which you want to transfer phone numbers.
  6. Open the telephone database file in the file manager. In the window that appears, select “Contacts” to save phone numbers automatically.

If the new device does not have a file manager or nothing happens when you click on the phone base, then you need to do the following: open the directory application, then select “Import/export”, in the window that appears, select “Import from media”.

In addition, the database can be downloaded to a memory card, stored in your phone memory or in cloud storage. Thanks to this, you can always restore contacts in the event of an unplanned move to a new smartphone.

Main advantages:

  • To transfer phone numbers, Google services, a computer and the Internet are not required.
  • When exporting, additional information, contact photo, etc. are saved.
  • There is no limit on the number of numbers in the telephone database.

Main disadvantages:

  • There is no option to selectively save phone numbers.

How to transfer numbers from one phone to another via SIM card

If phone numbers are stored on the SIM card, then the database can be easily transferred to a new device. The method is relevant if you need to copy the phone book, but there is no access to the Internet, Google services are missing or not working. However, you will not be able to copy the phone book to a device without a SIM, such as a tablet.

Transferring contacts from an Android phone to an Android phone is done in two steps. The first requires saving contacts to the SIM card, and the second requires restoring. If the numbers are stored on a plastic card, then skip the first step and move on to the second.

Stage 1: transfer contacts from phone to SIM card.

  1. Open the “directory” on your mobile device and select “Import/export”. As a rule, the item appears in the drop-down list after clicking the ellipses button.
  2. In the window that appears, select export to a SIM card and wait for the operation to complete.

Stage 2: transfer data from SIM card to smartphone or tablet.

  1. Install the card into a new smartphone or tablet.
  2. Open the “directory” and select “Import/export”.
  3. In the window that appears, select import from a SIM card and wait for the operation to complete.

Note!

The SIM card memory can hold up to 250 numbers. If there are more contacts, some of the records will not be saved.

Main advantages:

  • No internet, computer or Google services required.

Main disadvantages:

  • Limit SIM card memory to 250 numbers.
  • There is no option to selectively transfer contacts.
  • When copying numbers, additional information and photographs are not saved.

Copying contacts from Android manually

This method is suitable for users who use an Android smartphone for work purposes and need to transfer only some phone numbers. This is also a convenient way to share a contact from the directory with friends or loved ones.

To manually copy contacts from Android you need:

  1. Go to the directory and select the required phone number.
  2. Click on the button in the form of three dots to call up additional actions. In the list that appears, select “send”. Select contact numbers if there are several phone numbers and click “ok” or “next”.
  3. In the list that appears, select the appropriate transfer method: Bluetooth, Email, Gmail, text message, Google or Yandex drive.

After confirming the action, the allocated phone numbers will be sent via the selected method. All you have to do on another device is save the contact.

Main advantages:

  • Easily send phone numbers to your smartphone or tablet.
  • There is no need to synchronize your account, save a database, Google services or use a computer.
  • Selective contact transfer.

Main disadvantages:

  • Send only one contact at a time.

Video on how to transfer contacts from android to android

Conclusion

Use Google synchronization to easily and quickly copy numbers and other data. If you don’t have a Google account, then it’s best to transfer contacts from phone to phone using “Import/Export”. And manual copying is suitable for selectively sending some numbers.

Address book or Contacts is an integral part of the software of any modern smartphone running Android. In addition to the telephone number, it may contain the person’s first and last name, residence and email address, place of work and position, as well as many other information. Data can be stored both in the memory of the gadget itself and on the SIM card, but none of these methods ensures its 100% safety.

Failure of a SIM card, phone or flash memory can lead to the loss of valuable information for the user. Therefore, as you add new data to your address book, it is advisable to create backup copies of its contents. Typically, in such cases, the owner of the mobile phone transfers contacts to a computer, laptop, and from it to a flash drive or other storage device.

This is where very often novice users have a question: how to transfer contacts from a phone to a computer? Do I need any programs for this or can I use built-in tools? Is it possible to transfer data over the Internet? There are many ways to transfer contacts from your phone to your computer and vice versa, and today we will consider them if possible. Which one is more convenient is up to you to decide, the main thing is that they all work.

Where are contacts stored in Android?

On most phones, contacts are in a SQLite database file contacts.db or contacts2.db located at data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases at the root of the file system. To access the data folder on the phone, you need root rights, so you won’t be able to open it through either the built-in or third-party file managers.

The system root will not be displayed even with . But if the phone is rooted, then you can copy the database file using Root Explorer or another manager to the location you need.

Rooting Android comes with risks! Firstly, you lose the manufacturer’s warranty, secondly, this reduces the level of system security, and thirdly, during the rooting process, the phone’s firmware may fail, turning the gadget into a “brick.”

Transfer data using the Contacts app

As you can see, the first method is not suitable for beginners. So how can you save contacts from Android to your computer without unnecessary hassle? The answer is through the built-in Contacts application itself. If you call up the application menu, you will see, among others, the options “Import/Export” and “Send contacts” (in version 5.0 and higher). The only difference between them is that the second option only exports data, while the first also allows you to transfer contacts from another device to your phone.

Let's consider transferring contacts using the “Send Contacts” method.

After you click on the desired item, a list of applications and devices that can transmit contact information will open. It can be MicroSD, SIM card, SD card, Skype, Total Commander, Storage, Gmail, Google Drive, Yandex.Disk, Bluetooth, Email and so on, it all depends on how many applications that support transfer are installed on your gadget.

For example, if you select Storage or MicroSD (assuming the phone does not have an SD card), the contacts will be saved in an editable section. Typically this is the Contact folder in the Internal Memory section. This directory is not protected by root rights.

The contacts file saved in VCF format can then be transferred to the computer in any convenient way, at least via the same USB cable. If the file was saved to an SD card, it can be removed and connected to a PC via a card reader.

The contacts file will be transferred in the same format when using email or the Google Drive cloud service, it is only advisable that synchronization in the phone settings with your Gmail account is enabled.

In essence, that’s all, now you know how to download contacts from your phone to your computer via the Internet.

Problems reading VCF files

Unfortunately, neither Microsoft Outlook nor the standard Windows Contacts application is able to display the content correctly if the mobile application used Cyrillic when creating it.

Alternatively, you can try opening the VCF file in Notepad++ and changing the encoding by selecting the "Encoding to UTF-8 without BOM" option and then clicking "Convert to ANSI".

If this does not help, we use the Gmail mail service to read or convert the VCF file. After transferring contacts from your phone to your Gmail email, hover your mouse cursor over the VCF file and click on the “Add to Contacts” icon that appears.

The message “These contacts have been imported but not yet merged” appears. Next, in the main menu of Gmail, click “Contacts” or go to the address contacts.google.com.

You will see that the transferred contact has become readable. From the Gmail web app, you can export your contacts to your PC in a readable format. To do this, switch to the old version in the menu on the left.

Click the “More” button at the top, and then “Export...”

From the menu, select the “Google CSV (to import into Google account)” method and export the contacts to your PC’s hard drive.

The file will be saved in CSV format, accessible for more or less correct viewing in Microsoft Excel, Notepad++ or another text editor.

If contacts from your phone to your computer were transferred solely for the purpose of creating a backup copy, do not edit them (make a separate copy for reading on a PC), otherwise restoration on a mobile gadget may be unsuccessful.

Bluetooth transmission

If your computer supports Bluetooth technology, you can try transferring contacts over a local wireless connection. Everything here is also very simple, only in the list when transferring a contact you need to select the Bluetooth option and pair between devices.

This method, however, is not reliable and in some cases ends in error. It is mainly used to transfer contacts from one Android mobile device to another.

Using Third Party Applications

In addition to the standard smartphone tools, there are special programs that make it easy to transfer contacts from an Android phone to a computer. One of the most popular programs is MOBILedit. After installing it and the necessary drivers (the program will download and install them itself), you need to connect the phone to the PC using a USB cable, having previously enabled USB debugging in the mobile device settings. MOBILedit differs from other programs in its versatility and support for phones from different manufacturers.

The application allows you to copy contacts from your phone in CSV format, edit them directly on the device, view and save calls and SMS messages, any text and multimedia content, perform various types of backups and many other useful actions. Pairing a PC with a phone when using MOBILedit is possible via a USB cable, Wi-Fi, infrared and Bluetooth. MOBILedit is a commercial program, but you can use it for free for a week.

If you are looking for a free file manager to transfer contacts from Android to computer, try MyPhoneExplorer. It can connect to Android smartphones and tablets and select Sony phones via Wi-Fi, IR, Data cable and Bluetooth. The program supports creating backup copies of contacts, messages, calendar entries, transferring files from the device to a PC, synchronizing data with Microsoft Outlook and Thunderbird.

Other popular applications for saving contacts from your phone to your computer include Nokia Suite, Nokia PC Suite, Smart Switch and Samsung Kies.

Bottom line

Of course, there are other, so to speak, exotic transfer methods, but there is no point in citing them, since they are not convenient and sometimes require specific skills and third-party tools. If you are looking for how to copy contacts from Android to a computer, you don’t need to worry too much, because all you really need is the phone book itself on your mobile device, a suitable USB cable or a Google account.

Hello dear readers. How to transfer contacts from an old phone to a new one? How can I save my contacts from my phone so that I can later transfer them to a new one?
Similar questions come to mind for many phone users. Today I will try to give you a comprehensive answer to them.

The article contains many illustrations, so I warn those who do not have unlimited traffic

In the modern world, the mobile phone has greatly accelerated and simplified the lives of not only business people, but also ordinary residents of the earth. The telephone, contact directory stores the numbers of our loved ones, relatives, friends and business partners. Sometimes, the loss of the mobile phone itself is not as expensive as irrevocable Losing a list of contacts with phone numbers in his directory.
Contacts can be lost, for example, when resetting the phone to factory settings, when flashing the phone, when the phone itself is lost, in case of a failure, children can accidentally delete it, etc. Therefore, sooner or later everyone begins to think about how to secure contacts on your phone from these misfortunes.

There are several ways transfer phone contacts for their preservation and subsequent restoration at the right time. But, after saving contacts, we also need to restore them at the right time. This is due to the fact that there are several different operating systems ( Android, WindowsPhone, iOS) poses a bit of a problem. The problem can be easily solved. We will save contacts in a format that is supported by all of the listed mobile operating systems, namely in the .vcf format - vCard.

Transfer contacts (export) from your phone in vCard format

vCard- This is a special format for exchanging business cards. Has the extension .vcf. This format is supported by major mobile operating systems. This Android, iOS, WindowsPhone, as well as other modern mobile phones on other platforms. This format allows you to transfer contacts without losing information . If we export contacts to a SIM card, and then import them to a mobile phone in a new phone, then often the full name of the contact is shortened to a certain number of characters. In addition, information about e-mail is lost, addresses are lost, etc.

Export (transfer) contacts from android.

To export contacts in .vcf format from the Android platform, go to the application " Contacts". Next, go to the context menu. This is done differently in different devices. But as a rule, the transition to the context menu is carried out by clicking on a button in the form of three dots or three stripes. In the context menu (again, it is different for different devices - options, additionally) follow the link "". The following window will open, where we select the location where you want to transfer the contacts, and in some devices you will be offered a choice of formats in which the contacts will be exported. After export you will receive a file with the extension .vcf

Export (transfer) contacts from Google.

IN Android if synchronization of contacts with profile is enabled Google, then they are stored on their servers in the user profile. To manage your contacts on Google go to service" Google Contacts" at contacts.google.com
Here on the left there will be a menu in which we press the button " More".The menu will open and then press the button " Export".If you are in the new service interface, you will be prompted to switch to the old version (at least at the time of writing this was the case).
You can also immediately go to the old version by clicking the link " Return to old version".
In the old version, check the boxes in front of those contacts that we want to transfer to another medium and then press the button " More" --> "Export". You can also select all contacts at once by checking the box in the top line. All this can be seen in the screenshot below.

Next, a window will open in which we just need to select the format of the exported contacts and click the button " Export".
Contacts will be downloaded by the browser in the format vCard to your computer.

Export (transfer) contacts from WindowsPhone.

U WindowsPhone contacts are synced to their cloud service live.com. To use this service you must have a registered profile on microsoft.com. To transfer contacts, we need to go to their service in our profile profile.live.com and by clicking on the menu button (see the picture below) select the service " People".

Next, click on the menu button " Control" --> "Export contacts". A window will open on the right where we select " All contacts" and format (unfortunately, there is only one option for the export format - "Microsoft Outlook CSV") and click on the button at the top " Export".

As for the upload format, contacts exported in this way can be imported into Google contacts and download from there in the format vCard, so that there are no problems with their further restoration directly on the phone.

Export (transfer) contacts from iOS.

For iPhone To transfer contacts from your phone, you first need to enable synchronization of contacts with the service iCloud. After synchronization, go to the page www.icloud.com and select the section " Contacts".
A page with a list of contacts will open. To upload contacts, click on the gear icon in the lower left corner. From the menu that opens, select " Export vCard". Next, click save and all contacts from iCloud in one file of .vcf format.

Restoring (importing) contacts on your phone

Above in the article, we learned how to transfer contacts from your phone to another medium to save them. Now we need to find out how to restore them if necessary. Restoring contacts I will also show using the example of the above listed OS and services. In principle, a more or less prepared user will be able to do this without any hints, but we may have completely unprepared people on our site, so let’s start.

Import (restore) contacts to android from vCard.

To restore contacts to Android we need to import them from vcard file with the extension .vcf To do this, go to " Contacts", click the context menu button and select the item " from the drop-down list Importing contacts".Next, select the location where you store your backup contacts. In my case it is an SD card. The system itself will find the file, if there is one (usually it is stored in the path SD card\System\PIM). Select it and click OK. (in the example Android version 5.1.1 on a Sony phone).

Import (restore) contacts to Android from Google.

There is nothing complicated here. You can simply enable synchronization with services Google and enable contact synchronization. To do this, go to " Settings" --> "Accounts"and there we choose Google(it is assumed that you have an account and have already added it to your accounts). Click on your account and select what should be synchronized on the phone. In our case it is " Contacts".We activate them, click the context menu button in the upper right corner and select the item " Sync now".

Import (restore) contacts into iOS.

On iOS Device contacts can be imported in several ways. Let's list them, and let's dwell on one of the easiest ones in more detail:

  • Import via iTunes
  • Import via iCloud
  • Import via CopyTrans Contacts(service for exporting/importing contacts to an iOS device)
  • Import using applications from AppStore(ExcelContacts, Contacts Backup - IS Contacts Kit, etc.)
  • Import from file vcard- .vcf

The easiest way is to email yourself the file vcard with contacts and open it in mail at iOS device. And be it iPhone or iPad They will offer you to add contacts to the directory.

P.S. About WindowsPhone restoration, I hope dear readers will add in the comments. There, to import contacts from other services, they need to be in .csv format, i.e. tables excel. Otherwise they will not be imported correctly. And there is no point in describing this whole matter. The article turned out to be very long. Perhaps I will write about importing contacts into WindowsPhone in a separate article.

Transferring contacts from a phone is the first question that arises when changing an Android device or updating the firmware. We will tell you how to quickly and safely save all your contacts and easily transfer them to another device, be it a PC or directly to Android.


There are many ways to transfer contacts and a phone book, we have created instructions for the simplest and most universal methods, choose the one that suits you: but keep in mind that to transfer to a PC you will need at least a USB cable or a Bluetooth receiver.

Transfer contacts from Android to Android using Google synchronization

This is the easiest way to transfer the phone book when changing the firmware or updating the device, and no third-party applications or complex manipulations are required at all. Google services installed on the device by default have a built-in synchronization function; it allows you to save data for transfer to the cloud:

How to transfer contacts to Android using PC

We need: a previous phone that supports connection via a USB cable and the USB cable itself, or a PC and a phone with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
Our task: save the phone book in 1 file in CSV or VCF format and transfer it to a new phone. Most old phones do not have such a built-in function, which is why we use a computer and a program that supports a large number of phones from different manufacturers MOBILedit! (You can also use your manufacturer's program to synchronize data - they are usually located on official websites).

This method is focused on transferring contacts from an old phone to a modern Android device, but in general it is universal.

Instructions


We will talk in more detail about transferring the .csv contact file to Google, because this is the most convenient of all methods and it has many advantages:

  • automatic synchronization with new contacts on your Android if the Internet is available, if this function is enabled on the phone
  • you can edit contacts even without a phone
  • transfer contacts to any other android simply by specifying your account
  • restore deleted contacts within 30 days
  • automatically or manually merge duplicate contacts from different services (phone book, social networks, email services, etc.)

To do this, you must have mail from gmail.com. How to create an email account in Gmail, why else you need an account in the Google Play Market, and what opportunities you will get after registration are described in detail in the article: Registration and setting up the Play Market.

Instructions for importing .csv copies of contacts into Google



By the way, in a completely similar way you can export all numbers from your Google account, in case of transfer to a device with an operating system other than Android.

How to transfer contacts to Android without a PC

The choice of method for transferring contacts to Android without a PC depends on capabilities of your previous phone. Let's look at the main ones:

Via Bluetooth

Connect your 2 devices: to do this, turn on Bluetooth on both phones, on your Android device go to: Settings - Bluetooth - checkmark (slider) on "Visibility to other devices". In your previous phone, go to the Bluetooth settings and turn on the search for a new device, select your Android in the list and confirm the connection - to do this you will need to enter any identical numbers (password) on both devices.


Select the contacts needed for transfer: in the options (functions) of the phone book of your previous phone, look for "Select multiple" or "Select all"(if you don't find such an option, try clicking first "Transmit (Send) via Bluetooth", and perhaps here your phone will prompt you to select several contacts). Not all phones have this feature, so you may have to transfer each contact individually or choose a different method. And the lucky ones need to select send via Bluetooth in the functions and wait a little.

Save contacts to SD card (not all regular phones support it)

In the phone book options, find “Save contacts to SD memory card”, then install it in your Android device and go to: Contacts – Options – Import/Export – SD card.

Via SIM card

This method is used in the most hopeless situation (the previous phone was just a “dialer” without additional features), since the number of contacts that you can transfer at one time is about 200 (depending on the capacity of the SIM card) and the length of the name is limited.


You need to transfer contacts to the SIM card memory on your old phone and install it in a new Android device (if you have a large phone book, you will have to do this action several times, remembering the name you settled on).


So, in this article we looked at how to transfer contacts to Android in the most convenient, simple and fastest ways.


Choose the method that suits you to transfer contacts to Android and be sure to sync them with your Google account or at least save your phone book on your PC or any cloud storage, for example Google Drive, and you will always have access to them, regardless of the location or state of your Android device.

If you have a Samsung, HTC or other Android phone, then you will be interested in information on how to save contacts from this device to your computer. No one is immune from data loss or accidental deletion. For this reason, it is advisable to make backup copies of your phone book from time to time. This will protect your data from unforeseen situations.

Synchronizing contacts on an Android phone is collecting data from the phone book into a single database. The resulting file can be transferred to a computer, to a memory card, to another phone, to the cloud, etc. During synchronization, information from the device is backed up, and then a single database is formed in an Excel table.

Why sync your phone book? Let's consider several reasons:

  • purchasing a new smartphone. Let's imagine the situation that you bought a new Android phone and you need to transfer the entire address database to it. Recovering data manually is quite difficult, especially if the number of numbers exceeds a hundred. Thanks to phone book synchronization, numbers can be transferred to a new phone in literally 10 minutes, and they can be easily “pulled” out of your account and transferred to a new device;
  • loss or breakdown of a gadget. If your smartphone is broken or you don't have access to it, you can easily copy your phone book to a new device. To do this, you only need the backup copy that you decided to make earlier;
  • return to factory settings. With this procedure, most of the data is permanently erased.

You can create backups and synchronize data on all devices based on the Android operating system: Samsung, Lenovo, Sony and many others.

To summarize, we can say that synchronization is a useful and necessary procedure. So that information can be stored and, if necessary, used, it is recommended to record it on a computer hard drive or USB drive.

Via the Contacts application

Let's move directly to the question of how to copy contacts from your phone to your computer. If necessary, this procedure can be done in reverse, that is, data can be transferred from the computer to the phone. This question is not a difficult one. By following the instructions below, in a few minutes you will be able to transfer contacts to your PC and edit them if necessary.

The easiest and fastest way to set up synchronization is to export from the Contacts application.

  1. Go to the “Settings” menu on the desktop of your Android device.

  1. Scroll through the menu and find the “Device” section. Select the “System applications” option.

  1. In the section that opens, find the “Contacts” section and click on it.

  1. Next, in the “Contacts” section, click on “Import and Export”.

  1. Click "Export to storage". This step involves saving the database of numbers to the phone’s memory. It is also possible to reset all the necessary information to the SIM card.

  1. An information window will appear in front of you. It indicates the path where the data will be moved. They are renamed by serial number. Confirm by pressing the “OK” key.

This completes the basic steps for exporting data to a computer. To be more sure, you can check whether the file was saved correctly. For this:

  1. Go to the “Explorer” application on the device’s desktop.

  1. Make sure that the “Device” column is selected in the top tab. Next, select the “Internal Memory” section. We scroll through the folders and see that the contact information database is saved in VCF format.

Ready! Now we connect the device to the computer via a USB cable and move the information saved on the internal media to the PC’s hard drive. This file can also be sent by email or placed in the cloud. To do this, you do not need to connect the gadget to your PC. You can import information back to your phone in the same way.

If you are thinking about how to open the VCF format, then we will answer this question. To read it, you can use the following programs and services: MS Outlook, Gmail (there is a corresponding “Contacts” section), Notepad+++.

Via Google

Let's consider another method that will help move all numbers from your phone to your computer's memory. It is worth noting that for this method the presence of the phone itself is not at all necessary. This is an excellent option if the smartphone screen does not work and the user does not have the opportunity to upload data through “Contacts” on the device. The guide is relevant for Xiaomi, Samsung, HTC, Lenovo and other gadgets running Android OS.

Let's look at the step-by-step instructions.

  1. Log into your Gmail account and select the “Contacts” section in the left panel.

  1. A menu opens in front of you, which describes all your numbers that were in the phone book of your smartphone. Click on the “More” column in the left menu panel.

  1. Click on the “Export” button.

  1. A dialog box will appear in front of you, as shown in the screenshot below. The new version of Gmail does not yet support the function of exporting contacts and you need to switch to the old version. Click the corresponding button.

  1. Click on the “More” button in the top panel, then click “Export...”.

  1. In the window that appears, you can select which phone numbers you want to copy, as well as in what format (CSV USB
    or vCard).

  1. We check that the settings are correct and click “Export”.

Ready. The file with the address database will be downloaded and placed on your computer. The downloaded CSV format will open through MS Excel. This is convenient for further viewing and editing.

Using third party applications

The above describes two main methods by following which you can make a backup of your Samsung phone or any other. If for some reason it is not possible to use these methods, then you should switch to third-party applications.

Export to CSV

This application is called "Export Contacts and CSV Data". It can be found and downloaded for free on the Google Play Store. Using this utility, you can easily save contacts or SMS in CSV format.

The program has an extremely simple interface. If you need to export a book of addresses, then click on “Export contacts”. If you need to transfer SMS, then click on “Export SMS”. The application does not require any separate settings. The files will be saved in CSV format and written to a Micro CD card.

Bottom line

The above describes several ways by which you can extract the contact database and later open it on your computer or transfer it to another smartphone. All methods are quite simple and will not take you more than 10 minutes of time.

Video

In this video you can visually familiarize yourself with the methods of copying and saving contacts to your computer.