In the days of online syncing, all your contacts are synced automatically between all your devices as long as you’re logged into the same account. Which is why it’s important to keep all your contacts updated. If you’re moving to a new Gmail or Google account, here’s how you can import contacts to Gmail from various sources (including Outlook, Android, and iCloud) in the CSV and VCF (vCard) formats.
How To Export Contacts From Outlook
If you’re in the Microsoft suite, and you use your Outlook account to sync your contacts, you’ll find all your contacts stored in the People section in the Outlook website. In a second or two, Outlook will save a CSV file to your download folder.
How To Export Contacts From iCloud (and iPhone)
iPhone users who use iCloud to sync contacts can export all their contacts using the iCloud website from a desktop or laptop. Unlike Outlook and Gmail, iCloud exports contacts in the vCard (.vcf) format. But don’t worry, Gmail can read and import the VCF format just fine. First, you should make sure that iCloud contact sync is enabled. To do this, open the Settings app and tap on your Profile from the top. Here, choose the iCloud option and from the next screen, make sure that the Contacts toggle is enabled. iCloud will instantly download the VCF file to your computer.
How To Export Contacts From Gmail
Moving contacts from one Gmail account to another is quite easy. You’ll need to export your contacts from the first Gmail account to import contacts to your new Gmail account. First, make sure you’re logged into the Gmail account you want to export contacts from, and open the Google Contacts website in a new tab. Google will now download the CSV file.
How To Export Contacts From Android Smartphone
If you’re using an Android smartphone and you have all your contacts saved locally, or on the SIM card, you can still export them quite easily. Different Android manufacturers use their own contacts app. This is why we would recommend you use a third-party app to export the local contacts. The Super Backup & Restore app is a reliable solution to back up and restore contacts and call logs. This way, the VCF file will always be available in your Gmail account, and you can download or import it on any platform (this can be useful if you’re moving from Android to iPhone).
How To Export Contacts From iPhone (Without iCloud)
If you don’t want to use iCloud sync, you can use a third-party app to manually export all local iPhone contacts (it’s just as easy to move Google contacts to iPhone). There are many contact backup apps on the App Store but the one app that has stood the test of time is My Contacts Backup. The free version of the app lets you export up to 500 VCF contacts. You can buy the My Contacts Backup Pro app for $1.99 to remove all limits. It’s a very simple app that lets you export and email contacts from your iPhone. By default, the app exports contacts in the VCF (vCard) format but you can change it to CSV from the app’s settings menu. Open the app and tap the Gear icon from the bottom-right corner. Here, go to the Type section, and choose the CSV (Excel) format. Check your inbox to see if you have received the email with the contact file.
How To Import Contacts To Gmail
Now that you have exported contacts and you’re ready with the CSV or VCF file, it’s time to import contacts to your Gmail or Google account. In a couple of seconds, you’ll see all the contacts show up in the Google Contacts website. These contacts will now be available across all the devices where you have enabled Google sync. Now that you have moved to your new Gmail account, make sure to delete the data on your old Google account. What’s your favorite contact management tool for Google Contacts? Are you a fan of the new Google Contacts website? Share your workflows with us in the comments below.
