How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone

Have you replaced your iPhone with a newer model and are looking for a way to easily recover all the contacts from your old address book? Do you have to send some contacts to your friend’s iPhone but you don’t know how to do it? Don’t worry, I’m here to help you out.

With today’s guide, we will see together how to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone using features included “standard” in iOS and some third-party applications. We will therefore find out how to transfer the address book from an iPhone to another using local backups or iCloud synchronization and how to send individual contacts to other iPhones using AirDrop wireless technology.

In all cases, these are very simple operations to complete. So I would say not to get lost further in small talk and immediately take action. Find explained all the steps to take below.

How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone with iCloud

How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone ©Aranzulla

If you don’t plan on restoring a backup from your old iPhone, you can transfer your address book to the new iPhone by associating the latter with the same Apple ID used on the other device.

First, then take the old iPhone, go to the menu Settings> [Tuo nome] > iCloud of iOS and verify that the lever relative to the synchronization of Contacts is active. If not, activate it yourself.

Then move to the menu Settings> Contacts, scroll the screen that opens to the section Default account and make sure the default account for address book synchronization is the one named iCloud. If you don’t see the option Default account it means that only the iCloud account is set up on your iPhone and is already used as the default account for synchronizing contacts.

At this point, you can move on to the new iPhone. If you have not yet carried out the phone activation procedure, do it, and when the time comes to enter the login credentials of theApple ID enter those of the ID used also on the old device. On the screen Apps and data choose to set up your phone as a new iPhone not to restore any previous backups.

If you’ve already gone through the initial iOS setup process, you can set up yours iCloud account by going to the menu Settings> [Tuo nome] > iCloud iPhone (or Settings> iCloud on older versions of the operating system) and making sure that the item relating to synchronization of the contacts.

In case the smartphone is already associated with another account iCloud, to replace it with yours go to the menu Settings> [Tuo nome] (or Settings> iCloud on older versions of iOS) and presses the button Go out which is at the bottom of the screen.

How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone ©Aranzulla

When the operation is complete, log in with the iCloud account on which the contacts have been synchronized and the address book will be updated automatically.

How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone without iCloud

The solution I told you about a moment ago is certainly the most immediate and fastest way to synchronize your contacts, but it can happen running out of iCloud space or to prefer other backup methods. No problem, read on to find out how to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone without iCloud.

Transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone with Gmail

How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone ©Aranzulla

If you wish, you can transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone also through Gmail. If you add the same Google account to two iPhones and impose Gmail as the default address book on both, the contacts will in fact always be synchronized.

To add a Google account to your iPhone, go to the menu Settings> Contacts> Accounts of iOS and presses on the voice Add account. In the screen that opens, tap on the logo of Google and log into your Gmail account, make sure that the Contacts is active and press the button Save located at the top right.

Next, to set Gmail as the iPhone’s default address book and then sync all new contracts with the Google cloud, go to the menu Settings> Contacts, presses on the option Default account, and put the checkmark next to the item Gmail.

You now have Gmail contacts on iPhone but not vice versa: To upload the contacts you currently have on iPhone to Gmail you must export them manually and then upload them to the service Google contacts from browser. To find out in detail how to do this, read this guide of mine.

Once you have saved your old iPhone contacts to Gmail by manually importing them to Google Contacts, associate the Gmail account you have used so far also with the second iPhone (the one you want to synchronize your contacts to) and that’s it.

A similar procedure can also be followed with Outlook and other cloud services that allow synchronization of contacts with iPhone.

Transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone with iTunes

If you want to restore a backup from your old iPhone from iTunes or from the default file manager Finder macOS, including contacts, first make sure you’ve made a device backup in recent times.

In case you have already activated your iPhone, for restore it to factory settings and restore it via Finder or iTunes, went to the menu Settings> General> Transfer or Erase iPhone for iOS, select the option Initialize content and settings, press the button Keep it going, type the unlock code and presses the button Initialize iPhone.

Then connect the phone to be activated to the computer using the Lightning cable supplied, click on the icon smartphone that appears on the left, and choose the option Restore backup. Then select the backup with the most recent date from the drop-down menu Restore from this back up and start the device reset process.

If you want to reset an iPhone that is already configured, connect it to the computer, select the phone icon in the top left, and click on the button Restore iPhone. Then press on Reset / Restore and Update and agree to the iOS terms of use by clicking first Following and then on I accept.

How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone ©Aranzulla

The iPhone reset procedure involves downloading the latest version of iOS from the Internet, so it can take a long time. When it is finished you can restore iOS with a previous backup or you can set up your phone as new syncing it with your iCloud / Gmail account (in order to obtain the synchronization of the address book). More info here.

Transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone with app

How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone ©Aranzulla

If you don’t want to go through either the cloud or iPhone full backups, you can transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone using My Contacts Backup. It is a free application that allows you to export your contacts to a VCF file to be sent automatically by e-mail and then imported to the new iPhone.

The operation of this application is really very simple. After downloading it using the button Get from the App Store, start it and authorize it to read the iOS address book by replying OK notice that appears on the screen.

Next, press the button Backup and wait for the.VCF file with all the contacts in the address book, it will take a few seconds. At the end of the export, press the button E-mail and auto-sent the created file to an address accessible by the new iPhone.

At this point, take the new iPhone, launch the app Mail, open the e-mail that you have just sent yourself and press the icon of.VCF file to open the latter in the app IOS Contacts. Now press the button Add all xx contacts to import the contacts into the iPhone address book and that’s it!

How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone ©Aranzulla

If you are using a third-party email client, such as Outlook or Gmail, after opening the attachment presses the icon of Sharing (the arrow pointing up), choose the option Open with and tap on the icon Copy to contacts to open the.VCF file in Contacts.

How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone with Bluetooth

How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone ©Aranzulla

Do you want to transfer individual contacts from your iPhone to a friend’s via Bluetooth? Nothing easier. Just use AirDrop, Apple’s wireless technology (which uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) that allows you to share contacts, photos, videos, websites and geographic locations with all devices Apple. It works with all iPhone models from 5 onwards and with all versions of iOS from 7 onwards.

To share a contact via AirDrop follow these very simple steps: open the application Contacts, select the contact to send to the other iPhone and select the item Share contact which is at the bottom of the screen that opens.

At this point, wait for it in the menu AirDrop the icon for the appears iPhone by of your friend (the smartphone must have the display on and the Wi-Fi / Bluetooth connections active), presses on the latter, and wait a few moments for the contact to be transferred.

If AirDrop doesn’t work, try opening the Control Center of iOS by swiping from the top right margin to the bottom (or from the bottom of the screen to the top on iPhone models with a physical Home button) and do a prolonged tap on the section of connections. Once this is done, repeat the long tap on the icon AirDrop, and set the menu to All instead of on Contacts only. Repeat the operation on your friend’s smartphone as well.

After transferring the contacts, reset the menu to Contacts only, otherwise, all iOS users nearby will be able to send you files freely! Once the contact is received, your friend will just have to press the button Save (top right) or on the item Create contact and the name will be added instantly to your phonebook. For more information on how AirDrop works check out my tutorial on the subject.

Alternatively, if you want, you can also transfer a contact via e-mail or away Whatsapp. Just follow the procedure just seen together and select the icons of your email app you hate Whatsapp from the share menu (instead of the AirDrop one).