When we change mobile phone, moving contacts from one device to another is one of the processes that most concern the user. This is especially true when we use the mobile for work purposes. In our device we keep different clients that are cumbersome to recover. That is why you have to be careful when transferring contacts from one mobile to another to avoid any loss of data.
The first thing to consider is if both devices have the same operating system. The two most used are Android and iOS, and in case the source and destination system are the same, the process is simplified. In case of migrating from one system to another, it may require a few more steps but it cannot be considered difficult either. Here you will see step by step how to get your old contacts on the new device.
How to transfer contacts from an Android mobile to another Android
First of all, if you have saved contacts on SIM card of your mobile, when loading it on the new Android device the contacts will appear automatically. But some users do not save the contacts in the SIM and instead use the mobile memory as a phonebook. In this second case, we can do some procedures.
Synchronize contacts to a Gmail account It's very easy, and by following these steps your contacts will be directly in the cloud. As part of the information stored in your Gmail email account. Follow these instructions:
- Open the Settings – Accounts – Google app.
- Select your Gmail email account to which you want to sync contacts.
- Activate the synchronization of contacts and other data that you want to have saved in the cloud.
- Once confirmed, you will be able to access these contact details from the Google suite of apps: Drive, Gmail, Contacts and Calendar, among others.
- Choose the option All contacts, so that the synchronization includes both the contacts saved on the mobile and those on the SIM. This step is done from Contacts - Settings - Contacts to Show
- To synchronize, access Contacts - Settings - Move device contacts to and as a last step, choose the Gmail account where they will go.
Activate synchronization on the new mobile
At the end of the previous process, we open the new Android mobile and go to Settings – Accounts – Google.
It has to appear Gmail account that you chose when registering on the new mobile. Click on Synchronize contact from your account and the mobiles will begin to load, as if it were a data migration. Thus sync contacts to gmail.
Transfer contacts from one Android mobile to another without using Google
In this second case, we want to migrate the contacts but without using Google's cloud tools. In this case a vCard file is used.
- Enter Contacts - Settings - Import / Export contacts on your old mobile.
- Select the contacts from the locations to keep: WhatsApp, Google, SIM, phone memory.
- Click on the Export option and a vCard file will be generated.
- You can move the file to a computer or directly to the new Android mobile, load it and all the contacts will be downloaded to the new device.
How to transfer files from iPhone mobile to iPhone
The other side of the coin is how to transfer between iPhones. The good thing is that if we keep the same account in iCloud, the procedure is almost automatic. You just have to activate the contacts option in the iCloud account.
- We turn on the new device and put our Apple ID.
- We choose the Restore from a backup option.
- Choose the most recent copy.
- Choose Sync contacts to iCloud on the new device.
- Open the Contacts app and you will see how it fills up with the numbers of your old contacts.
Transfer data with Quick Start
If you have two iPhone devices, you can put them together and boot the new device. Devices running iOS 12.4 and above can automatically automate contact recognition. The new iPhone will detect the data from the old one and a point code will appear. Use the old device's camera to read the code and transfer the data.
How to transfer mobile data from Android to iOS or vice versa
The fastest and simplest option is to use Google Drive for iOS. This app allows you to backup iPhone and then upload it to the new Android phone.
- Download Google Drive on iPhone and open Settings – Backup.
- Select contacts as one of the data to save.
- Confirm the Back up to Google Contacts option.
- The process ends when the new Android copies all the data we select.
- When opening Android, you have to put the same email that was used for Google Drive in iOS.
In case of doing it in reverse, going from Android to iOS, the procedure is slightly more extensive but just as simple:
- We sync Contacts data to a Gmail account.
- We open the new iPhone, choose Settings – Settings and select Mail, Contacts and Calendar.
- Choose Add account and then Other.
- By pressing Other we choose the function create CardDAV account.
- Add https://contacts.google.com in the Server field.
- Confirm Google key and password.
- Hit continue and your Android contacts will have been moved to your new iPhone device.
In this post we analyze the most common functions to transfer contacts on the mobile and between different operating systems. Quick, simple, but also demanding minimum knowledge to carry it out.