Transfer Contacts From iPhone to Android; How-To

So maybe that new Samsung Galaxy Phone catches your eye.  Or you just inherited an Android phone.  Or maybe you just want to be a little different.  For whatever reason, you or someone in your family is going ‘Droid and now you need to move all that important data from your iPhone to your new or New-to-You Android phone.  I admit that my nephew is an Android user–he is an avid gamer and for his Birthday got the Galaxy S7 Edge with Gear VR powered by Oculus–and yes, it is a really cool and addictive experience!

So, if you or someone you love is moving from iPhone to Android, one of the most important things is to transfer your contacts from iPhone to Android. The good news is that there are a bundle of ways we can create a bridge between them. Whether you are transferring some contacts or all of them, moving those contacts is easy with these 5 methods.

If you are transferring from an Android to an iPhone (which we of course recommend as Apple products are our deal), the steps listed below work for you as well, in reverse.  Or check out Apple’s extensive guide on transferring from Android to iPhone.

Before we start transferring, let’s introduce VFC, the file format for electronic business cards, commonly known as vCards. We all send contact information via text to others, colleagues at work or friends/family.  Well, that contact information is actually a vCard that your phone attaches to the text and sends. A vCard is just like any business card, it has a name, phone number, address, email, and any other relevant information.  To move our iPhone contacts to your Android phone, we harness this automatic process to export some or all of your contact information.

So without further ado, here are 5 methods to help you transfer your contacts.

Option 1: Let’s start SIMPLE with the Manual Method

Some of you might need only few contacts from your iPhone. Then the Share Contact option is for you!

1. Go to the contact you want to transfer or share
2. Swipe down and find the Share Contact option
3. Share it through text or email  
4. On Android Phone, open text or email  
   1. Save contact
5. Open Contacts and verify that all your selected contact is present and accounted for

We recommend this option if you only want to transfer a handful of contacts. If you want to transfer anything more than a dozen or so, this method is a drag. So let’s try another option.

Option 2: Let’s Get that iCloud Working

At Apple ToolBox, we consistently praise the benefits of having an iCloud account.  Remember that you get 5GB for no cost and the larger plans start at USD $.99/month for 50GB.  So we think this is well worth the investment if you have a lot of data on your phone.

One of the great benefits of iCloud is that it backs up your contacts consistently (if you have it turned on, of course).  So using the iCloud makes the transfer of contacts quite easy.  Here’s how you do it:

1. To access your contacts, you will need to access to login to your iCloud account (from your computer)  
2. Once logged in, click on Contacts  
3. Select some or all of your contacts
   1. You select all by clicking the gear then clicking Select All
4. Click on the gear
5. Click Export vCard  
   1. This will download your selected contacts in the form of a VCF file on your computer
   2. The name of the file is the number of contacts you transferred
   3. Take note of where the file is saved
6. Now connect your Android phone to your computer
7. Move the VCF file from step 5 to your Android phone’s storage
8. On your Android phone, open Contacts
   1. Press the settings button in lower right corner of device
   2. Select Settings  
   3. Select Contacts  
   4. Select Import/Export contacts>Import from device storage  
   5. Once imported, verify that all your selected contacts are present and accounted for

To learn more about logging into your iCloud account, check out our article and video.

Option 3: Let’s Use Gmail

Gmail makes transferring contacts between all types of devices pretty easy.  You again harness the power of iCloud in combination with the massive capabilities of Google.  Of course, you need a gmail account (Google Account) to do this so if you don’t have gmail, set-up a new account before moving to the next steps.  In order for this method to work, you must use the same Gmail account on your computer as you use on your Android phone.

1. Login to your iCloud account (from your computer)
2. Once logged in, click on Contacts
3. Select some or all of your contacts
   1. You select all by clicking the gear then clicking Select All  
4. Click on the gear
5. Click Export vCard
   1. This will download your selected contacts in the form of a VCF file on your computer
   2. The name of the file is the number of contacts you transferred
   3. Take note of where the file is saved
6. Login to your Gmail account (Google Account)
   1. Click on the Gmail logo on top left corner
   2. Click on Contacts 
   3. Click on More dropdown
   4. Now select import  
   5. Click import
   6. All your iPhone contacts will be synched to your Android phone
   7. Once imported, verify that all your selected contacts are present and accounted for

Option 4: iTunes to the Rescue

We all know that iTunes is a great method to back up your iPhone’s data.  At Apple ToolBox, we recommend backing up your data remotely via iCloud and locally on your computer via iTunes–in fact, we really recommend backing up remotely in two places and locally in 2 places–we call this the 2X2 rule.  And of course, we have an article on why it is so important to backup your iDevices (phones included) and why we strongly recommend following the 2X2 rule.

If you are still running old school and happen to run iOS 4.x or earlier, iTunes is the only way you can backup your phone–these iOS versions are way before the era of iCloud and consequently not compatible.  So for you old school iFolks, this is the best way to transfer your contacts from your “Senior” iPhone to your new (or newer) Android phone.

And of course, you will need iTunes on your computer.  It’s best practice to have the latest version of iTunes but earlier versions should also work.  Make sure you enter into iTunes the email that is synched with your Android phone.

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer
2. Open Device Summary page
3. Click on Info  
4. Check on Sync Contacts With
5. Select Google Contacts
6. Sign in with your email and password
7. Click Apply
8. All your iPhone contacts will be synched to your Android phone
9. Once imported, verify that all your selected contacts are present and accounted for

 Option 5: Let’s Have a Third Party

It’s true, there really is an app for almost everything, so why not one for transferring contacts from an iPhone to Android?  At the app store, find apps like My Contacts Backup to help you transfer everything with little effort or fuss. A lot of other apps out there basically do the same thing as My Contacts Backup.  For this section, we will follow the process according to My Contacts Backup.

The biggest advantage of this method is you do NOT need access to your computer.  Everything is done via the two phones.

1. Open the My Contacts Backup app on your iPhone
2. Allow the app permission to access contacts  
3. Tap on Backup  
4. Tap email
   1. Attach the VCF file
   2. Email it to yourself  
5. Access that email from your Android phone
   1. Download the attachment  
6. Open Contacts
   1. Press the settings button in lower right corner of device
   2. Select Settings  
   3. Select Contacts
   4. Select Import/Export contacts>Import from device storage  
   5. Once imported, verify that all your selected contacts are present and accounted for

Summary

There are so many ways to transfer your contacts from an iPhone to an Android phone and vise-versa.  And the process, no matter the method chosen, is fairly simple.   Manually transfer your contacts by sharing via text or email if you only want to transfer a few.

Gmail helps you transfer contacts too and it makes a lot of sense to use Gmail with Android Phones–they are both Google Products.

iCloud is your best bet if you are transferring more than just contacts such as images and videos.

Finally, for folks on the run with little or no access to a computer,  use an app like My Contacts Backup for transferring your contacts on the go.

And in the Apple development pipeline is a new building tool that will help consumers seamlessly and very simply shift to Android platforms.  It’s not for public viewing yet but stay tuned.  Check out our article about this tool here.

Happy transferring!