Copy all contacts. How to transfer contacts from phone to computer: different ways

There are several ways that you can use your Google Mail contacts on your phone. Some options involve not only transferring, but also syncing, so any changes to information will be displayed on all devices connected to Gmail. In all other cases, only contact information will be transferred. Import can be done using a Google account, external media (SD Card), SIM card, Bluetooth, MOBILedit! PC Suite, special utilities from your phone manufacturer.

How to transfer contacts using a Google account

Android devices are automatically synchronized with Google account data (including mail). To import Gmail data to your phone, log in with the account to which you are linked e-mail... To add an account with the desired contact addresses, you simply need to follow this algorithm:

  1. Go to the settings menu.
  2. In the "Personal data" section, select the "Account" sub-item, and then click on "Add account".
  3. Specify the type of account. In our case, this is a Google account.
  4. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the form. The system may ask you to enter a PIN code, pattern key or lock password.
  5. After adding an account, all emails, contacts, calendar events and other data will be transferred to your Android device.

Some Google Accounts may experience sync issues or may be disabled. To fix this, go to the "Settings" of the phone, and then select "Personal information". Click on Google Accounts, and in the More section, click Sync.

You can also import contacts without adding an account. This method is implemented using a special CSV file:

The added file will not be synced until you are signed in to the Google account it belongs to.

How to transfer contacts using a SIM card

If you changed your phone, and the old contact information (including Gmeile's contacts) remained on the old device, you can import using your SIM card to update the entire contact database (including Google contacts). To do this:

  1. Insert the SIM card into old phone, and then go to the contacts menu.
  2. Copy the information from the device to the SIM card.
  3. Move the SIM card to your new Android device.
  4. Go to the "Contacts" section, and then to the "Menu".
  5. Select the "Import from SIM" option.

The method has many limitations (the length of the contact, the transfer of not all information, the number of transferred contacts at a time), therefore it is rarely used.

How to transfer contacts to Android using SD Card

Flash card is another way to import Gmail contact information to your phone. The procedure is similar to the transfer using a Google account, but it has its own peculiarities:


All files will be transferred to your phone. They will automatically be added to the contact menu. In the same way, you can make a backup of all address data on the device. To do this, in the "Import / Export" section, select the flash card as the medium.

How to transfer contacts using Bluetooth

This kind of method is suitable for cases when the gmail contacts that need to be transferred are on another phone.

Turn on Bluetooth on both devices. On the phone from which you want to transfer, select the desired contact information or click "Select All". Then click "Send Contacts" and specify Bluetooth as the transfer method. Find the second device. Select it from the search list. Confirm the transfer and wait for it to complete. Select the received file and import it into the contact menu of your phone.

How to transfer contacts using special applications

One of the most versatile programs when working with contact information considered MOBILedit! It can be used to import this data from a variety of sources, as well as transfer it to other devices in a more user-friendly form.

After installing the program on your computer, connect the phone from which you want to transfer the address information via a USB cable. The program can also import data directly from gmail mail... Here you need to do only 2 steps, namely:

  1. After synchronizing your computer and phone, go to the “Phonebook” menu, and then click the “Export” button.
  2. Whichever method you choose, save the contact information on your computer (for example, in CSV format). Connect the device you want to transfer to.

The program allows you to display data using:

  • USB cable;
  • Bluetooth;
  • SD cards;
  • Google data.

Timely synchronization of contacts on Android with a computer helps prevent the loss of data from the phone book when, or in other similar cases. Even if the smartphone irrevocably breaks down, copied from mobile device information will not be affected. Let's consider how to save contacts from Android to a computer.

Ways to Synchronize Phone Book with PC

You can transfer contacts to your computer or laptop in the following ways:

  • Using standard Android functions;
  • Manual copying of the file with the base of numbers;
  • Via Google virtual storage;
  • Through additional software.

The choice of a specific backup method depends on what functionality your device has. So, if the Internet is connected to it and you have your own mailbox Gmail, easiest to sync android contacts from PC via cloud google service... If you do not have access to the network, you can transfer numbers manually or use the built-in tools of your smartphone.

Copying the phone book using standard Android functions

Considering how to copy contacts from Android to a computer, it should be noted that this operating system is endowed with ample opportunities to preserve personal information. One of these tools is the Import / Export function. With its help, you can write data from the phone book into one file, and then upload this document to a PC via a USB cable.

The recorded document will be named Contacts.vcf and will be located in the storage / emulated / 0 / directory. Now, in order to transfer contacts from Android to a computer, you need to connect your smartphone to a PC via a USB cable and copy the required file to the hard drive.

If necessary, you can open this file and edit contacts using the standard Windows utility Microsoft Outlook. Note that the numbers in the backup are saved in UTF-8 format, while Windows reads text information in Windows 1251 encoding by default. This leads to incorrect display of Russian letters.

To get rid of such inconsistency will help the Sublime Text program, which must be installed on your computer. You need to open the Contacts.vcf file through it, and then change its format in the settings.

Creating a backup of contacts in manual mode

When considering how to transfer contacts to a PC, a manual backup method should be noted. To do this, you need to know in which folder the contacts are stored on Android. All information from the phone book is located in the data directory (file contacts.db). If necessary, you can copy it to your computer or to external media:

Using Google Cloud Storage

If your phone is connected to the Internet, you can save your Android contacts to Google virtual drive and manage them using your computer. This is done as follows:


When you save the file in CSV format, you can later manage your synchronized contacts from your PC using Outlook.

Synchronization of the phone book via additional software

Considering how to synchronize Android with a computer, you need to highlight the MyPhoneExplorer application. With its help, you can make not only a backup of contacts, but also create a complete backup of the system, which is especially important before flashing or resetting the settings on a smartphone.

As a rule, the need to transfer contacts from Android to Android arises when buying a new smartphone. Of course, you can manually transfer contacts, but this option is very laborious and time-consuming. Most people want to know how to transfer contacts from android to android quickly and easily. Fortunately, there are many available and simple ways transfer contacts from phone to phone.

In this article, we will look at the simplest and most reliable ways to transfer numbers from a device running on the Android operating system to another device with a similar OS. All methods are simple and effective. To eliminate the possibility of errors and loss of important information, just follow the instructions.

Import contacts using SIM, SD and Bluetooth

Before considering ways to transfer contacts from phone to phone using special programs and services, it should be said about the most simple solutions (SIM, SD and Bluetooth).

Import contacts to SIM or SD:

  • Select "Contacts";
  • Go to the "Import / Export" tab;
  • Specify where and where you want to import contacts (from phone memory to SIM card or SD).

After transferring the contacts from the phone book to the SIM or SD card, remove the card and insert it into new smartphone... Now you can import contacts from SIM or SD to phone memory.

Speaking about how to transfer contacts from android to android, it should also be said about the possibility of using Bluetooth for these purposes.

To transfer contacts via Bluetooth, follow these steps:

  • Turn on Bluetooth on both phones;
  • On the phone from which you want to transfer contacts, go to Bluetooth settings and find a new device;
  • Open the phone book and mark the contacts you want to transfer;
  • Now all that remains is to transfer the selected contacts via Bluetooth.

Transferring contacts using Google sync

When you first launch a smartphone running on Android OS, we are offered to create google account... Few people ignore this recommendation, because many functions are not available without a Google account, for example, you cannot use Google play... Not many people know, but a Google account is useful not only for the presence of the Play Store. In fact, having an account implies the ability to use many other useful services and functions. So, you can sync Google with your phone book. This method not only allows you to transfer contacts from Android to Android, but also guarantees the safety of information in case of loss of numbers (for example, if you lose your phone).

To sync your phone contacts with Google, follow these steps:

  • Enter the phone settings and select the section "Accounts" / "Google";
  • Go to the sync settings by clicking on the mailbox;
  • Check the box next to "Contacts" and wait for the end of the synchronization process.

Now, when you log into your account from another smartphone, all your contacts will be displayed in it.

How to transfer contacts from Android to Android via PC

If none of the above methods suits you for some reason, you can transfer contacts from Android to Android using a computer.

To import contacts via a PC, you will need:

  • Directly the smartphone itself, from which it is planned to transfer contacts;
  • Computer or laptop;
  • USB cable;
  • MOBILedit program (you can download the program for free from the official website http://www.mobiledit.com/).

First of all, you need to download and install the MOBILedit program. As mentioned earlier, the program is distributed free of charge and you can download it from the official website of the developers. Immediately after installing the program, you need to copy the contents of the Crack folder to the folder where you installed MOBILedit, as a rule, you need to go along the following path: C: \\ Program Files \\ MOBILedit! Enterprise). Then you can run the program. At the first start, you will be prompted to download the driver database. Select your manufacturer and confirm the download of drivers.

Before transferring contacts from android to android, you need to enable USB debugging. To do this, find the "Developer options" item in the smartphone settings and check the box next to "USB debugging". If you could not find the corresponding item, then go to Settings, open the "About device" tab and click on the "Build number" item several times. Now you can start transferring contacts.

To transfer contacts using the MOBILedit program, follow these steps:

  1. Run the MOBILedit program and select Phone - Cable connection;
  2. On the phone, select the type of connection PC Sync or just synchronization (the name may differ depending on the model);
  3. In the left panel of the program, select Phonebook and click Export at the top;
  4. Specify the file type - csv;
  5. Choose a place to store contacts, set a name and save;
  6. Connect the smartphone to which you want to transfer numbers to the computer (the old one can be turned off);
  7. Click Import at the top and find the previously saved csv contacts file;
  8. After importing the file with contacts to the phone, the transfer procedure can be considered complete.

In fact, there are many other ways to import contacts from one smartphone to another. It makes no sense to list them all, then as the methods discussed above will be more than enough. They are all easy to use and effective. You only need to choose one option that suits you best and transfer your contacts.

If the phone in your hands is not new and you already have it account Google, then you first have to go to "Settings" and click on the "Add account" button. On old android versions it may be in the "Accounts and sync" section, but since version 4.4 of KitKat it is located on home page settings. After adding an account, click on it (it will be in the “Google” menu in the “Accounts” section) and select what exactly you want to sync with this device.

If you do not want your account to be subsequently linked to the phone on which you do this, then you can remove the account link after copying the contacts to your phone (or even just to your address book). To do this, go to “Settings”, enter the “Google” menu, select an account, click on the “Menu” button (three vertical dots or a physical button on your smartphone) and click on “Delete account”.

Regardless of which of the two methods you used, wait a few minutes and enter the Contacts application - most likely, the contacts will already be downloaded to your phone. What to do with them next is up to you.

But sometimes it's easier to transfer the contact book to your computer. Here it will definitely be safe and sound, and at some point you will copy it to new apparatus... However, a question arises. How to copy contacts from Android to computer? Is it possible?

A computer is easiest to use as a backup storage. Many users regularly throw photos taken with the built-in smartphone camera at him. Music reserves are also stored here. So why not save time to time to your PC and contacts? In the future, in the event of a breakdown or theft of the phone, all your contacts will not disappear anywhere.

It should also be remembered that sometimes it is impossible to transfer the phone book from one device to another over the air. For example, how do you do this if the screen is broken and the touchscreen does not respond to your touches? In this case, a computer comes to the rescue - you just need to connect a smartphone to it using a USB cable.

The easiest way

The easiest way to download contacts is using the built-in operating system Android means... To do this, follow these steps:

Step 1. Go to the smartphone menu and open the application “ Contacts».

Step 2. Here you should click on the ellipsis located in the upper right corner, then select " Import Export».

Step 3. On smartphones and some others, an intermediate action will be required in the form of pressing the " Settings". This will take you to a separate menu, in which you can easily find the item you need, dedicated to the import and export of numbers.

Step 4. By clicking on the corresponding item, you will see a pop-up menu. Here you should click " Export to VCF file". Depending on the phone model, this item may have a different name. For example, " Export to storage».

Step 5. Next, select the location where the file with contacts will be saved. It is possible that here you will be present in the form of Google Drive. You can save the file on it - then you just have to open your account on your computer. But we will create a file with contacts in the folder “ Downloads».

Step 6. Give the file a name.

Step 7. Connect your smartphone to your computer using a working USB cable. You can find the created file in the folder Download... You just have to copy or cut it.

Step 8. When buying a new smartphone, you have to follow all the steps in reverse order. That is, you will copy the file to the phone's memory, and then select the item " Import from VCF file».

Saving contacts with a Google account

If you have enabled contact synchronization with Google servers in your device settings, then you can do even easier. You can transfer contacts without involving your smartphone. This is especially true when the device is broken.

Step 1. Go to the page contacts.google.com ... Here you should click on the " Export", If necessary expanding the" Yet».

Step 2. IN new version service export of contacts is not supported (as of 2016). Google suggests to switch to the previous version of this page.

Step 3. Here, select all contacts, and then click the button " Yet"And select" Export».

Step 4. In the pop-up menu, specify which contacts you want to save and which format to use. When you have done this, press the blue button " Export».

Using third-party programs

If necessary, you can use some third-party programs. For example, Airdroid performs well. He will help to throw off the numbers by air. At the same time, the corresponding application is installed on the smartphone, and on the computer it is enough to use any Internet browser.

You can also save contacts from Android to your computer using MOBILedit... About this computer program we have already told. It serves to copy the phone book, call log, SMS messages and much more.