Data & Backup

How to Back Up Contacts on Android

Sync contacts to Google, export a VCF file, and move contacts between accounts.

Ad

Contacts backed up to a Google account survive phone loss, resets and brand switches. Two minutes of setup makes contacts effectively indestructible.

  1. 1Turn on sync: Settings → Accounts → Google → Account sync → enable Contacts.
  2. 2Move phone-only contacts: Contacts app → Fix & manage → Import from phone/SIM into your Google account.
  3. 3Manual export: Contacts → Fix & manage → Export to .vcf file, save it to Drive or email it to yourself.
  4. 4Verify at contacts.google.com, what you see there is what's protected.

Tip: The .vcf export is the universal format: it imports into iPhones, Outlook and any contacts app.