Android Transfer Contacts to iPhone

If you’re an Android user thinking about switching to iPhone (or if you’ve already made do it), you may be concerned about transferring your contacts - and making sure nothing is lost in the process. The good news is that transferring contacts and the rest from Android phone to iPhone really couldn’t be simpler - it turns out that Google is good at this stuff. The basic principle is to back up to either the cloud or a desktop machine, and then sync to iPhone. Even better, Apple recently launched an Android app specifically to guide you through this process.

Transfer contacts to iPhone with App

When iOS 9 launched, it brought a new "Move to iOS" app that wirelessly transfers a user’s "contacts, message history, camera photos and videos, web bookmarks, mail accounts, calendars, wallpaper, and DRM-free songs and books" from an Android phone to their new iPhone.

The switching process also suggests that they install free apps from their Android device that are also available on Apple’s App Store, so switchers can quickly get back on their feet with their favourite apps such as Facebook and Twitter. Paid apps that they have on Android with iOS versions available will be added to a user’s wish list in the iOS App Store.

Once the process is done, the Android app helpfully prompts users to recycle their Android phone, just to keep them from going back to Google’s mobile platform unless they buy a new phone.

The app is available on the Google Play store. This app makes the process of moving from Android to iPhone far simpler. But there remain alternative methods that you prefer to use for one reason or another...

Transfer contacts from Android with Google

Another easy method to follow when transferring your Android contacts to an iPhone is through Google’s Gmail (you need a Google account). When you add a new contact in your phone, it will always ask if you want to add it to the SIM card or Gmail. The reason for that is you will be able to migrate your contacts to iOS later on.

From your Android device:

  1. Navigate to Settings > Accounts and Sync
  2. Choose Google and enter your Gmail credentials (Username and Password)

By entering your Gmail account credentials, you let Android sync the contacts from either your SIM card or existing contacts on the device to your Gmail account. Once that has been taken care of, Head over to the iPhone and also go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars from the Settings app. This time, we are not going to choose Import from SIM, but instead tap on Gmail.

You will be asked for the Gmail account credentials again. After you log in it will ask which information would you like to activate. There are Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and Notes. What we want is Contacts, but if you also have other stuff, feel free to toggle them on. Your Android contacts should get imported after you let Gmail sync it to the iPhone.

Transfer with iCloud

If you have iCloud enabled on your iPhone, this method should take no time at all. On your iPhone, go to Settings, choose “Mail, Contacts, Calendars”, then choose “Accounts” where you should see “iCloud” listed. Choose this option, then turn on the toggle for “Contacts”. Your iPhone will prompt you to “Merge” your device’s contacts with iCloud.

Once this process is done, navigate to icloud.com on your computer’s web browser, long in with your Apple ID, the select “Contacts”. Click on the little wheel in the lower-left corner, then press “Select All”. After that, click the wheel again and choose “Export vCard”.

Navigate to gmail.com, click on the “Mail” button, then select “Contacts”. Click the “More” tab, select “Import”, select “Choose File”, then select your saved vCard file. When it gets done importing, Gmail will display the number of contacts that have been imported. At this point you may have some duplicate contacts, and getting rid of these is easy. Simply press the “Find & Merge Duplicates” button under the “More” tab.

Transfer contacts - just swap SIMS

This works only if your Android phone takes a similar sized SIM to your iPhone, either a micro- or nano-SIM for later iPhone models. First save all contacts on the Android phone to its SIM. Next, insert the SIM into your iPhone, taking care not to mislay the iPhone’s SIM. Finally, go to Settings and choose "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" and tap "Import SIM Contacts". When the operation has finished, you can put the iPhone’s SIM card back in.