The fastest way to transfer contacts is through iCloud during setup

When you turn on a new iPhone, the setup screen offers to restore from your old phone or from an iCloud backup. If you choose iCloud and sign in with the same Apple ID you used on your old phone, your contacts transfer automatically — no manual work required. This happens in the background while you finish setup, and all your contact information, including phone numbers, email addresses, and notes, comes over intact.

This method works best if your old iPhone is still nearby and turned on, because the setup process can pull directly from it. If your old phone is broken or unavailable, iCloud still works as long as you backed up to iCloud before losing access to the device.

If you've already finished setting up your new iPhone without restoring from backup, you can still get your contacts back by going to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud, turning on Contacts, and signing in with the same Apple ID. iCloud will merge your contacts within a few minutes.

Key Takeaways

  • During iPhone setup, choose "Restore from iCloud Backup" and sign in with your Apple ID to transfer all contacts automatically.
  • If setup is already complete, turn on iCloud Contacts in Settings to pull contacts from your backup into the new phone.
  • You can also transfer contacts by exporting them as a file from your old phone and importing them on the new one using a computer.
  • Contacts stored only in your phone's local storage (not synced to iCloud or another service) will not transfer unless you back them up first.

What happens if you skip iCloud during setup

If you finished setting up your new iPhone without restoring from a backup, your contacts are not lost — they're still on your old phone and in iCloud (if you had iCloud Contacts turned on). The simplest fix is to turn on iCloud Contacts on your new phone.

Go to Settings, tap your name at the top, select iCloud, and toggle Contacts to on. Your new iPhone will ask whether to merge or replace. Choose merge, and within a few minutes your contacts will appear. This works even if your old phone is no longer available, as long as you had iCloud Contacts enabled before.

If you're not sure whether iCloud Contacts was on, check your old iPhone: Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Contacts. If the toggle is on, your contacts are in iCloud and can be pulled to the new phone at any time.

Transferring contacts using a computer and a file

If you don't use iCloud or prefer a manual approach, you can export your contacts as a file on your old iPhone, move that file to a computer, and import it on your new phone. This method takes longer but gives you a backup file you can keep.

On your old iPhone, open the Contacts app, tap Groups (upper left), make sure All Contacts is selected, then tap Edit. Select all contacts, copy them, and paste them into a note or email to yourself. This is cumbersome for large contact lists. A better option is to use a third-party app like Contacts Backup or My Contacts Backup, which can export contacts as a .vcf file (a standard contact format) that you email to yourself or save to cloud storage.

Once you have the .vcf file on your computer or in cloud storage, open it on your new iPhone (or download it from cloud storage), and iOS will prompt you to add the contacts to your phone. Tap Add All, and the contacts import into your default Contacts list.

Moving contacts if you're switching from Android

If your old phone is an Android device, you have two main routes: use Google Contacts or export a file. Most Android phones sync contacts to a Google account automatically. On your new iPhone, go to Settings > Mail > Accounts > Add Account, select Google, and sign in with the Google account you used on Android. Choose which data to sync — make sure Contacts is on — and your Android contacts will appear in your iPhone's Contacts app within a few minutes.

If you don't remember your Google account or prefer not to use it, you can export contacts from Android as a .vcf file. On Android, open Contacts, tap the menu (three lines), select Settings > Export, choose Export to File, and save the file to Google Drive or email it to yourself. Then follow the import steps described above: download or open the file on your iPhone and tap Add All.

Contacts that won't transfer and why

Contacts stored only on your old iPhone's SIM card will not transfer through iCloud or a standard backup. SIM contacts are rare on modern iPhones, but if you have them, you'll need to export them separately. Go to Settings > Contacts > Import SIM Contacts on your old phone, then export them as a file and import on your new phone.

Contacts from third-party apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, or LinkedIn don't transfer with your iPhone contacts — they stay within those apps. You'll need to reinstall those apps on your new phone and sign in with your account. The app will sync its own contact list once you log in.

If you had contacts in a different email account (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo), they may not sync unless you add that account to your new iPhone. Go to Settings > Mail > Accounts > Add Account, sign in, and turn on Contacts for that account.

Checking that all contacts made it over

After transferring, open the Contacts app on your new iPhone and scroll through to spot-check a few entries. Look for any that are missing phone numbers, email addresses, or notes — sometimes partial transfers happen if the sync was interrupted.

If you notice missing data, go back to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Contacts and toggle it off, wait 10 seconds, then toggle it back on. This forces a fresh sync. If contacts are still incomplete, check your old phone to confirm the information was there originally — it's possible some details were never saved in the first place.

For a full count, open Contacts and tap Groups. The number next to All Contacts shows your total. Compare this to your old phone's count to make sure nothing was left behind.

Keeping contacts in sync between two iPhones

If you plan to use both your old and new iPhone, or if you switch back and forth, turn on iCloud Contacts on both devices. Any contact you add, edit, or delete on one phone will update on the other within a few minutes. This requires both phones to use the same Apple ID for iCloud, or at least to have iCloud Contacts turned on.

If you're keeping your old phone as a backup or secondary device, make sure you're not using two different Apple IDs, because contacts won't sync across different accounts. Stick with one Apple ID for iCloud on both phones, or turn off iCloud Contacts on one of them to avoid confusion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need WiFi to transfer contacts?

Yes, if you're using iCloud or downloading a file. WiFi is faster and more reliable than cellular data for large transfers. If you're using a computer to move a .vcf file, you'll need WiFi on the iPhone to download or open the file, but the computer can use either WiFi or a wired connection.

What if I don't have my old iPhone anymore?

If you backed up to iCloud before losing the phone, restore from that backup during setup on your new iPhone. If you didn't back up, contacts are gone unless you exported them to a file or they were synced to Google, Outlook, or another email account. Check those accounts on your new phone to see if contacts are there.

Can I transfer contacts without using iCloud?

Yes. Export contacts as a .vcf file from your old phone using a third-party app or your email account's contact export feature, then import the file on your new iPhone. You can also add email accounts (Gmail, Outlook) to your new phone, and contacts from those accounts will sync automatically.

Will my contact photos transfer?

Contact photos transfer through iCloud backup and restore, and through .vcf file import. If you're adding an email account to sync contacts, photos may not come over — it depends on the service. Check your contacts after syncing to see which photos made it.

What if some contacts are duplicated after transfer?

Open Contacts, tap Edit (upper left), and look for duplicate entries. Tap the contact, then tap Edit > Delete Contact to remove duplicates. If you have many duplicates, a third-party app like Contacts Cleaner can find and merge them automatically, though you'll need to download it from the App Store.