There are times when you need to switch to a new email address or a new gmail account. The first thing you can think of is to transfer all your emails and create an email forwarding rule. but don’t forget all your contacts!
In the days of online sync, all your contacts automatically sync across all your devices as long as you sign in to the same account. That’s why it’s important to keep all your contacts up to date. If you’re moving to a new Gmail or Google account, here’s how you can import contacts to Gmail from various sources (including Outlook, Android, and iCloud) in CSV and VCF (VCard) formats.
how to export contacts from outlook
if you are in microsoft suite and use your outlook account to sync your contacts, you will find all your contacts stored in the people section on the outlook website.
- To get there, open outlook.com in your browser and sign in with your account.
- This will open your outlook inbox. in the lower left corner, click the people button.
- You will now see all your contacts listed here. in the upper right corner, click the manage button. here, choose the export contacts option.
- From the pop-up window, you can choose to download all contacts or a particular group. then click the export button.
within a second or two, outlook will save a csv file to your download folder.
how to export contacts from icloud (and iphone)
iPhone users who use iCloud to sync contacts can export all their contacts using the iCloud website from a desktop or laptop. Unlike Outlook and Gmail, iCloud exports contacts in vCard (.vcf) format. but don’t worry, gmail can read and import the vcf format just fine.
First, you need to make sure icloud contact sync is enabled. To do this, open the Settings app and tap on your profile from the top. here, choose the icloud option, and on the next screen, make sure the contacts option is enabled.
- Now, open the icloud website on your desktop or laptop browser, and after logging in, choose the contacts option.
- click the gear icon in the upper left corner and choose the select all option. you can also use the keyboard shortcut command/control + a.
- now click the gear icon again and select export virtual card. strong> option.
icloud will instantly download the vcf file to your computer.
how to export gmail contacts
Moving contacts from one gmail account to another is very easy. You will need to export your contacts from the first gmail account to import contacts to your new gmail account. First, make sure you’re logged into the gmail account you want to export the contacts from, and open the google contacts website in a new tab.
- here, in the sidebar, choose the export option.
- google will show you a couple of options in the popup window. you can export only selected contacts, all contacts or contacts with a particular tag.
- since we are exporting it for another gmail address, make sure google csv format is selected. then click the export button.
google will now download the csv file.
how to export contacts from android smartphone
If you are using an android smartphone and have all your contacts saved locally or on the sim card, you can still export them quite easily.
Different android manufacturers use their own contacts app. that is why we recommend that you use a third-party application to export local contacts.
the super backup & restore app is a reliable solution to backup and restore contacts and call logs.
- after installing the app, go to the contacts section.
- here, to backup all contacts, select backup everyone’s security option.
- From the next screen, you can rename the vcf file. then tap the ok button.
- The application has now created a vcf file for you and it will be saved to local storage. the app will ask if you want to upload it to google drive or share it with other apps.
- we recommend that you email this file to yourself. choose the send to others option, and then, in the app list, tap gmail.
- enter your email address in a . strong> and then send the email.
this way the vcf file will always be available in your gmail account and you can download or import it on any platform (this can be useful if you are switching from android to iphone).
how to export contacts from iphone (without icloud)
if you don’t want to use icloud sync, you can use a third party app to manually export all local contacts from iphone (it’s just as easy to move contacts from google to iphone).
There are many contacts backup apps on the app store, but the only app that has stood the test of time is my contacts backup. The free version of the app allows you to export up to 500 vcf contacts. You can buy my contacts backup pro app for $1.99 to remove all limits.
is a very simple application that allows you to export and send contacts by email from your iphone. By default, the app exports contacts in vcf (vcard) format, but you can change it to csv from the app settings menu.
Open the app and tap the gear icon in the bottom right corner. here, go to the type section and choose the csv (excel) format.
- To export contacts, open my contacts backup and give the app permission to access your contacts.
- then tap the backup icon. the app will start backing up all your contacts.
- once the process is complete, tap the email button.
- from the email compose menu, enter your email address to send the contacts file to yourself. then tap the send button.
check your inbox to see if you have received the email with the contact file.
how to import contacts to gmail
Now that you’ve exported contacts and are ready with the csv or vcf file, it’s time to import contacts into your gmail or google account.
- To do this, go to the google contacts website and sign in with your google account.
- in the sidebar, choose the import option.
- From the pop-up window, click the select file button.
- Now select and open the csv or vcf file you want to import.
- click the import button on the popup window.
- google contacts will now go to work and start importing all the contacts in the file.
within a couple of seconds, you’ll see all your contacts appear on the google contacts website.
These contacts will now be available on all devices where you have enabled google sync.
Now that you’ve moved to your new gmail account, make sure to delete your old google account data.
what is your favorite contact management tool for google contacts? Are you a fan of Google’s new dating website? Share your workflows with us in the comments below.