Transfer contacts
How to transfer contacts
to a new phone
The transfer itself is rarely the hard part. What catches people out is discovering that their contacts were never in one place to begin with. Some are in a Google account, some in iCloud, some saved to the handset, a few on a SIM. Here is how to move all of them on the phones you actually have, and how to stop the next phone being a problem at all.
At a glance
Contacts stored in an account transfer by signing in. Contacts stored on the handset or a SIM don’t — those are the ones people lose.
- Check where each contact is stored before you switch
- Move handset-only contacts into an account first
- Sign in on the new phone and turn on contacts syncing
- Merge the duplicates a transfer leaves behind
- Your phones: iPhone to iPhone, Android to Android, Samsung, Android to iPhone or iPhone to Android
iPhone to iPhone
Transfer contacts from one iPhone to a new iPhone
Two routes work here, and they overlap. Quick Start copies the old phone to the new one during setup, while iCloud keeps your contacts online so that they come down on any iPhone you sign in to.
Check that Contacts is on in iCloud
On the old iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, then tap See All next to Saved to iCloud and make sure Contacts is switched on. Leave the phone on Wi-Fi for a while, then sign in at icloud.com/contacts on a computer and compare the people you find there with the ones on the phone, since anyone missing from that list won’t come down on the new iPhone either.
Back up the old iPhone
In the same iCloud screen, tap iCloud Backup, then Back Up Now. Apple’s setup restores the rest of your data from that backup, so you want a fresh one.
Start the new iPhone next to the old one
Turn the new phone on and hold the old one close to start Quick Start. Follow the prompts and Apple copies your settings across, then restores the rest from your iCloud backup. If both phones run iOS 12.4 or later you can have Apple move everything wirelessly instead. Either way, keep them close and plugged in until it finishes.
Without the old phone, restore from the backup
On the new iPhone’s Hello screen, tap Set Up Manually, then Restore from iCloud Backup, and follow the prompts. If you’d already finished setting up, you have to erase the phone first.
Add the accounts iCloud doesn’t cover
Google and Outlook contacts need their own sign-in. Go to Settings, Apps, Contacts, Contacts Accounts, then Add Account, pick the account, sign in and turn Contacts on. Back in Settings, Apps, Contacts, Default Account decides where new contacts get saved. Pick one, so new contacts stop splitting across accounts.
Sources: Apple’s Turn on and set up iPhone, Restore all content to iPhone from a backup, Sync contacts across devices and Back up iPhone.
Android to Android
Transfer contacts from Android to a new Android phone
Contacts saved to your Google Account come down by themselves when you sign in on the new phone, and you won’t need to restore them at all. Everything that isn’t in a Google Account takes extra steps.
Save device-only contacts to your Google Account
On the old phone, open Settings and tap your profile photo, then All services. Under Backup & restore, tap Google Contacts sync, pick the account, tap View settings and turn on Backup device-only & SIM contacts automatically. It depends on the phone’s make and model, and it can’t save to a Google Workspace account. If the option isn’t there, the section on SIM and device-only contacts has the manual route.
Set up the new phone and tap Copy
Turn it on, tap Start, connect to Wi-Fi and, when it asks about copying apps and data, tap Copy. Google recommends a cable if yours fits both phones. Without one, tap No cable and follow the prompts, which send you to the Google app on the old phone to search for “set up my device.” Do it during setup, because the option may not be there afterwards.
Add the accounts Copy skips
Google says Copy brings over contacts stored on the phone or SIM. It leaves out contacts synced to services other than Google, and accounts that aren’t Google Accounts. Add those on the new phone yourself.
Restore contacts if the old phone is gone or some are missing
Open Settings, tap Google, then Set up & restore, then Restore contacts. If you have several Google Accounts, tap From account to choose one, tap the phone with the contacts you want, and tap Restore. It only restores contacts the new phone doesn’t already have, which avoids duplicates. The new phone needs the same Android version as the old one or a later one, because restoring onto an older version can leave the transfer incomplete.
Sources: Google’s Copy apps & data from an Android to a new Android device, Back up & sync device & SIM contacts and Export, back up, or restore contacts.
Samsung
Transfer contacts to a new Samsung Galaxy
Samsung has its own tool, Smart Switch, and Google’s setup page points Galaxy owners to it. It only moves things onto a Galaxy phone or tablet, so it won’t help if the new phone is anything else.
Open Smart Switch on the new Galaxy
Samsung’s product page has you tap Receive data, then Galaxy. Its help article words the same step as Receive on this phone. The old phone needs the Smart Switch app as well.
Connect the two phones
Scan the QR code on the new phone with the old one, or join them with a USB cable. A cable carries the most types of data, so Samsung recommends it. With a lot of content, though, wireless lets both phones stay on their chargers while it runs, which matters when the estimate comes back at more than an hour.
Choose what to move
After Smart Switch scans the old phone you can pick Everything, Custom, or the option that moves only accounts, calls, contacts and messages. Select what you want and tap Transfer. When it finishes, tap Done on both phones.
Check what Smart Switch leaves out
Smart Switch’s backup skips contacts saved on the SIM card, in social networks, in Google accounts and in work email accounts. Google-account contacts show up once you sign in to that account on the new phone. SIM contacts need importing, covered further down.
Sources: Samsung’s Smart Switch page, Transfer content with Samsung Smart Switch and Content that can be transferred with Smart Switch.
Android to iPhone
Transfer contacts from Android to iPhone
Apple’s Move to iOS does this, but only while the iPhone is being set up, so the decision has to be made when the new phone comes out of the box.
Set up the iPhone as far as Transfer Your Apps & Data
Turn it on and follow the setup assistant until that screen appears. Tap From Android. Apple’s current page has you choose Transfer with App at this point.
Open Move to iOS on the Android phone
Turn Wi-Fi on, get Move to iOS from Google Play if the phone doesn’t have it, open it and enter the code the iPhone shows. Apple says a supported phone on a compatible version of Android 17 can skip the app.
Choose Contacts, then leave both phones alone
Pick Contacts, plus anything else you’re bringing, and tap Continue. The Android may say it’s finished long before the iPhone does. Wait for the loading bar on the iPhone anyway, because a phone call or another app on the Android before then stops the transfer.
Already past setup? Add your Google account instead
Apple says you’d have to erase the iPhone to use Move to iOS now. Instead, on the iPhone go to Settings, Apps, Contacts, Contacts Accounts, then Add Account, choose Google, sign in and turn Contacts on. Our Android to iPhone guide covers what gets left behind and how to set the default account.
Sources: Apple’s Move from Android to iPhone or iPad and Add or remove accounts in Contacts on iPhone.
iPhone to Android
Transfer contacts from iPhone to Android
Google runs this from the new phone’s setup screens. Contacts are on the list of data it copies, whichever method you use.
Get the iPhone ready
Connect it to Wi-Fi, make sure you can unlock it with its passcode, and turn iMessage off, which Google requires. The two phones stay connected for the whole transfer, so keep them side by side.
Choose iPhone on the new Android
Turn the new phone on and, when it asks to copy data from another device, pick iPhone or iPad. Some newer phones then show a QR code. Scan it with the iPhone’s camera. If there’s no code, join the phones with the iPhone’s charging cable and tap Trust when it asks. For a wireless transfer, Google’s Android Switch app comes from the App Store and needs iOS 15 or later.
Select Contacts and wait
Choose the data types to copy and tap Copy. You can carry on setting up the new phone while it runs, but keep the two connected until setup is done.
On a Samsung, Smart Switch does the same job
Samsung’s tool can pull from an iPhone over a cable or by signing in to iCloud. Menu labels vary. Follow the version on the phone.
Or move only the contacts as a file
On a computer, go to icloud.com/contacts, choose Select All Contacts, then Export vCard. On the Android, open the Contacts app and look for Import from file under Organize (Google’s help also calls that menu Fix & manage), pick your Google Account and select the file. The import contacts guide has the details, and the Android and iPhone guide covers the same route with the fields that tend to get dropped.
Sources: Google’s Copy apps & data from an iPhone or iPad to a new Android device, Apple’s Import, export, or print contacts on iCloud.com and Samsung’s Smart Switch guide.
SIM and handset
Contacts on a SIM card or only on the old phone
These are the ones that go missing, because a SIM typically keeps a name and a number and a contact saved to the handset has no copy anywhere else. Both are easy to rescue while the old phone still works.
On an iPhone, import the SIM
With the SIM in the iPhone, open Settings, then Apps, then Contacts, and tap Import SIM Contacts. It works for GSM SIMs. Afterwards, check on icloud.com/contacts or in Google Contacts that a few of those people appear in an account that syncs.
On Android, import the SIM into your Google Account
Insert the SIM, open the Contacts app, tap Organize, then Manage SIM. Choose the list of contacts and the account they should go to, then tap Import. A single setting can do the same thing automatically for every SIM contact on the phone, and step 1 of the Android section shows where it is, which makes it worth switching on before the SIM comes out.
Move handset-only contacts into an account
On Android, open the contact, tap Contact settings, then Move to another account, and choose your Google Account. Moving a contact deletes it from the account it came from. On an iPhone, Quick Start or a backup restore brings the phone’s own contacts along. With Contacts turned on in iCloud they also stay on every device you sign in to.
Keep a file copy before you wipe the old phone
iCloud.com can export every contact as one vCard, and Apple itself suggests keeping that file as a backup, while Google’s Contacts app does the same job under Fix & manage, then Export to file. The export contacts guide and the guide to backing up your contacts explain which format to pick and how to check the count.
Sources: Apple’s Import contacts on iPhone, and Google’s Import your contacts into Google Contacts, Add or move contacts and Export, back up, or restore contacts.
Not sure?
If you’re not sure which route applies
If some contacts arrived and others didn’t, nothing broke. You’ve just found out how your contacts were really stored, and the same four steps fix that on any pair of phones, whether or not it’s one of the combinations covered above.
They were never in one place
A typical phone holds contacts in several accounts at once. Each one transfers on its own terms, so moving “your contacts” actually means moving three or four separate lists.
Device-only contacts don’t travel
Anything saved to the handset rather than an account has nothing to sync from. If it was never in an account, signing in on the new phone won’t bring it back.
You end up with two of everyone
People who existed in more than one account get pulled in twice. The transfer worked — it just worked more than once for the same person.
Find out where your contacts actually live
On the old phone, look at the contacts app’s account settings. You will usually find contacts split between a Google account, an iCloud account, the device itself, and possibly a SIM. This is the step almost everyone skips, and it is the one that determines whether the transfer works.
Get everything into an account
Move device-only and SIM contacts into a real account before you switch. Once a contact lives in an account, it is no longer tied to the handset, and that is what makes it survive.
Sign in on the new phone
Add the same account or accounts on the new phone and make sure contacts syncing is switched on for each. The contacts download rather than being copied across, so nothing depends on the old phone still working.
Merge the duplicates
Now deal with the copies. Merging once across every connected account is far quicker than deleting them one at a time on the new phone, and it fixes the cause rather than the symptom. See removing duplicate contacts.
So it never happens again
The best transfer is the one you don’t have to do
Every one of these problems comes from the same root cause: contacts tied to a handset, or scattered across accounts that don’t talk to each other. Fix that once and a new phone stops being an event.
Your accounts, kept unified
Connect Google, iCloud and Outlook accounts and ContactsPlus keeps them in step, so your contacts aren’t stranded in whichever ecosystem you happened to start in. Free syncs one account and Premium syncs five. See how contact sync works.
Duplicates merged, not multiplied
Find the people who exist twice across accounts and merge them field by field, so the transfer that created them doesn’t leave a permanent mess. Duplicate detection and merge is on Premium. See duplicate cleanup.
A copy you control
Export your contacts as CSV or vCard whenever you want, so you always have a copy that isn’t dependent on one phone or one provider. The export guide shows how.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Why did only some of my contacts transfer?
Almost always because they were stored in different places. Contacts saved to a Google or iCloud account move when you sign in, while contacts saved only to the handset or a SIM card don’t. A partial transfer is usually a sign that your contacts were split across several storage locations rather than one account.
Do I need a cable or a transfer app?
Usually not. If your contacts are in an account, signing in on the new phone brings them down. Cables and transfer apps mainly matter when contacts were only ever stored on the device itself.
Why do I now have two of everyone?
Because the same person existed in more than one account, and the new phone pulled in both. This is the most common side effect of a transfer. Merging duplicates once across every connected account fixes it properly, rather than deleting copies device by device. Duplicate merge is a Premium feature.
What about contacts on my SIM card?
SIM storage is very limited and typically holds only a name and one number, losing emails, photos and any other detail. If some of your contacts are on a SIM, move them into an account before you switch so the rest of their details survive.
How do I make sure this never happens again?
Stop tying contacts to a handset. If your contacts live in accounts that stay unified, the next phone is just a sign-in, and there is nothing to transfer at all.
Can I move contacts between different providers?
Yes. ContactsPlus connects Google, iCloud and Outlook accounts together, so contacts aren’t stranded in whichever ecosystem you started in, and switching between platforms doesn’t mean starting over. Connecting more than one account takes Premium.
Can I transfer contacts without a SIM card?
Yes. A SIM isn’t what carries contacts between phones. Contacts in an account arrive when you sign in over Wi-Fi, and both Apple’s and Google’s setup screens accept Wi-Fi in place of a mobile connection. The exception is contacts stored on a SIM, which have to be imported from it first.
Will a new phone number affect my contacts?
No. Your contacts follow your account, whether that’s Google, iCloud or Outlook, and not your phone number. Moving the number is a separate job. Apple’s and Google’s setup pages both send you to your carrier for SIM or eSIM activation.
How do I move contacts from an iPhone to a Samsung or other Android phone?
Choose iPhone or iPad when the new phone offers to copy data from another device. Contacts are included, and a Samsung can use Smart Switch instead. The iPhone to Android section above has the steps.
Can I use Move to iOS after I’ve set up my iPhone?
Not without erasing the iPhone. The Android to iPhone section above has the account route for contacts.
More on moving your contacts
Make the next phone a non-event.
Keep every account unified, so there is nothing left to transfer.
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