How do i transfer my iphone contacts to my computer

iPhones and iPads work independently these days, not requiring a PC or iTunes to perform tasks like OS updates (remember those days?) and content management. They can automatically back themselves up to iCloud and you can buy apps, games, music, movies, books and more on the iDevice itself.

However, if you need to copy all your contacts from your iPhone to your PC, there are several options available. We’ll explain the simplest of the bunch, which doesn’t involve installing any software and won’t cost any money: iCloud.

In fact, it’s a similar process to transferring photos from your iPhone to a PC.

Of course, you can use iTunes, or any number of third-party apps which can copy stuff from your iPhone to your PC.

How do I turn on iCloud?

First, you’ll need to enable iCloud on your iPhone, or just double-check that contacts are already being synced with iCloud.

To do this, open the Settings app and tap on your name right at the top. If you’re running an older version of iOS, you’ll have to scroll down or search settings for iCloud.

Assuming you have a recent version of iOS, after tapping your name you’ll see iCloud about halfway down the screen. Tap it, then in the ‘Apps using iCloud’ section, check that the toggle next to Contacts is enabled.

It’s worth pointing out that you do not need iCloud backup to be enabled for contacts to be synced.

Next, open a web browser on your PC. Go to iCloud.com and log in with your Apple ID. You might be prompted to enter a verification code (which you’ll get from your iPhone) if two-factor authentication is enabled on your account.

If so, tap Allow on the prompt on your iPhone, then enter the code displayed and choose to ‘Trust this browser’.

You’ll see all the available iCloud apps, with contacts second from the left. Click on it and you should see all the contacts stored on your iPhone.

This may be all you need, but if you want to copy those contacts to another application or service, you’ll need to export them.

To export iCloud contacts, first click on a contact in the list. Then press Ctrl-A to select all contacts (it will look like the screen above).

Now click on the cog icon at the bottom-left corner and choose Export vCard…

This brings up a window where you can choose an application with which to open the file (such as Outlook) or you can save the file on your hard drive.

If you wanted to import the contacts to Outlook, choose that first option. If it’s another service or an application that isn’t listed the choose to save the file.

Go to the app or webmail (such as Gmail) where you want to copy the contacts and look for an import option.

If Gmail, contacts are somewhat hard to find on the web version. You need to click the nine dots icon in the top-right to show Google Apps, then click on Contacts. The site opens in a new tab, and you’ll then need to expand the ‘More’ section to find the Import option.

Now choose the CSV or Vcard file option, browse to the file you just downloaded from iCloud and your contacts will be added to Gmail.

You might also like our guide on how to get videos off your iPhone to your PC.

Transferring contacts from iPhone to computer is a good way to backup your contacts. When you lose some or all the contacts because of unexpected accidents, you can get the contacts to iPhone again quickly along with all the details including the email, address, birthday, etc.

So how to transfer contacts from iPhone to PC easily? Generally speaking, there are four methods that can help you achieve the goal. If you only need to transfer single or several contacts, the quickest way is to send yourself an email. If you want to transfer hundreds of thousands of contacts, then you can make it with iTunes, iCloud or FoneTool.

The methods described in this article works for all iPhone models including iPhone 14/13/12/SE/11/XR/XS/X/8/7S/7/6S/6.

• Method 1. Transfer Contacts from iPhone to Computer Directly

• Method 2. Transfer Contacts from iPhone to Computer with iTunes

• Method 3. Transfer Contacts from iPhone to Computer Using iCloud

• Method 4. Transfer Contacts from iPhone to Computer via Email

Method 1. Transfer Contacts from iPhone to Computer Directly

The easiest method comes first. FoneTool is one professional iPhone transfer and backup export for Windows PCs. With this tool, you can transfer all contacts in one-click or only transfer the contacts you need. All the contacts info, the name, the phone number, email, address, birthday and other notes will be exported to your computer.

This tool supports most iPhone models from iPhone 4 to the latest iPhone 14 and is fully compatible with the latest iOS 16. Especially for iPhone 14 users. iPhone 14 doesn't have SIM card slot. If you have contacts on SIM card and want to keep contacts on new iPhone, FoneTool enables you to transfer contacts from your old iPhone and import to iPhone 14.

Download the tool on your computer and follow the steps below to transfer contacts from iPhone to PC.

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to computer via USB cable > Tap "Trust" to give your computer access to your iPhone.

Step 2. Click Phone Transfer > Choose the iPhone to PC option and click Start Transfer.

Step 3. Click the "+" icon to select contacts.

Step 4. Check the selected contacts > Select the format you prefer > Click the Start Transfer button to start the operation.

Note:

1. As you can see from the interface, it also can help you transfer messages, photos, music, videos to computer. 

2. If you need, you can also click "iPhone to PC" to "Selective Backup" to transfer/backup contacts from iPhone to computer.

Method 2. Transfer Contacts from iPhone to Computer with iTunes

iTunes is the default iOS mobile device management tool and you may often use it to backup your iPhone data and settings. Besides, it also can help you transfer iPhone contacts to computer. Please make sure you have installed the latest iTunes on your computer to avoid errors like iTunes won’t recognize iPhone problem.

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to computer and launch iTunes.

Step 2. Click the Device tab > Click Info.

Step 3. Check the box “Sync Contacts with” > Select “Windows Contacts”

Step 4. Click Sync at the bottom of the screen.

To locate the transferred contacts, you can click Start and type your username > find and open the username folder and then you should see the Contacts folder. If you want to convert it to CSV format so that you can open it as a spreadsheet, you can follow the steps below to export iPhone contacts to CSV:

1. Double-click to open the Contacts folder > Click Export option > Select CSV (Comma Separated Values) and click Export. > 2. Name the CSV file > Click Browse to choose a path to save it > Click Next. > 3. Select the fields you wish you export > Click Finish to start the export.

When losing some contacts iPhone, since you have synced iPhone contacts with iTunes, you can perform sync again to sync contacts back to iPhone.

Method 3. Transfer Contacts from iPhone to PC Using iCloud

If you have enabled iCloud contacts sync, you can go to iCloud.com to download your iPhone contacts to PC. It allows you to export contacts as vCard format. You can also convert it to CSV formal as per your needs.

Note: Enable Contacts sync: Go to Settings on iPhone > Tap your name > iCloud > Toggle on the Contacts option.

Step 1. On your computer, open a browser and go to iCloud.com > Sign in with your Apple ID and password.

Step 2. Click Contacts among the options.

Step 3. Click the gear icon and choose Select All to check all items at once. Or you can use Shift/Ctrl to only select the contacts you need

Step 4. Click the gear icon > Choose Export vCard... to save the contacts to computer.

If you want to convert the vCard format to SCV file, here are the solution:

Go to the vCard to CSV converting website: https://labs.brotherli.ch/vcfconvert/. Then click the Choose File button to select the vCard file you just downloaded from iCloud and confirm other options:

Format: choose CSV, choose Comma, and enable Add Header Line

Encoding: choose Unicode (UTF-8)

Filter: don’t change anything

Modifications: don’t change anything

Finally, click the convert button to make it. Go to have a check and open it with a spreadsheet app like Microsoft Excel.

To Transfer Contacts from Computer to iPhone via iCloud:

You have contacts saved as VCF format on computer and want to transfer it to your iPhone. It needs two steps to make it: first import the VCF contacts to iCloud on computer and then turn on iCloud sync on iPhone. See the steps below to see how to transfer VCF contacts from PC to iPhone.

On your PC: Go to iCloud.com and log in with your Apple ID and password > Click the Contacts icon > Click the Gear icon and choose Import vCard... to select the VCF files.

On your iPhone: Go to Settings > Tap your name > iCloud > Turn on Contacts to sync iCloud contacts to iPhone. If there are lots of contacts that need to be synced to iPhone, it may take a while to finish. You can go to the Contacts app and pull down from the top of the screen to refresh the contacts.

Method 4. Transfer Contacts from Computer to iPhone via Email

This method is recommended when you need to export only a couple of contacts because you can only send one contact at a time. You should first send yourself an email and check the mail on your computer. If you want to transfer all contacts at once, Method 1 is the way to go.

Step 1. Open Contacts app on your iPhone > Find and click the contact you want to transfer to PC.

Step 2. Click Share Contact option > Choose Mail.

Step 3. Your contacts will be attached as .vcf (vCard) format in email. Enter your email address and send it.

Step 4. Check the email and download the VCF attachment to your computer. If you want to convert it to CSV format, you can make it with the help of one CSV convert website mentioned in Method 3.

Transfer Contacts from Computer to iPhone via Email:

Please be aware that your contacts should be saved as vCard files in VCF format on computer. Besides, set up your email using the stock Mail app or any other third-party mail clients.

How to Add Mail Account on iPhone?
Go to Settings > ChooseAccounts & Passwords > Tap Add Account > Choose Google or other email services > Enter the required information to add your email account.

On your PC: Open a browser and log in your email account > Attach the VCF file to a new email and sent it to yourself.

On your iPhone: OpenMail app to check the email > Tap to open the VCF file > Then you will get the option to add contacts from mail to the Contacts app. Choose Create New Contact or Add to Existing Contact according to your needs.

Conclusion

That’s all for how to transfer contacts from iPhone to computer and transfer contacts from computer to iPhone. If you want to transfer plenty of contacts, the most efficient way is using FoneTool. It can help you directly transfer iPhone contacts to PC while you need more steps to make it when using iTunes or iCloud.

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