Forum Discussion
How can I backup or transfer Android contacts to PC with Windows 11?
Hello all,
I’m looking for a way to backup or transfer my Android contacts to my Windows 11 PC. I’ve tried a few methods in the past, but none of them seem to work reliably. Here’s a bit of background on my situation:
I’ve been using my Android phone for a while, and I’d like to create a backup of my contacts in case something happens to my device. I want to transfer Android contacts to PC, either as a file I can store or through syncing options.
I’ve heard about options like syncing with Google contacts or even transferring via USB, but I’m not sure which method is the most straightforward and safest. If anyone has experience with this, I would appreciate a detailed guide or tool recommendations.
7 Replies
The contacts exported from Android phone is not editable. You have to export them in xslx, csv or txt for future editing. You can bulk transfer contacts from Android to PC with the following guide. The benefit is that you can selectively choose the contacts you want to backup.
https://www.softfixnow.com/backup-android-contacts-to-pc
You can also transfer photos, music and text messages at the same way!
The contacts exported from Android phone is not editable. You have to export them in xslx, csv or txt for future editing. You can bulk transfer contacts from Android to PC with DroidGeeker. The benefit is that you can selectively choose the contacts you want to backup.
I have also used vCard files exported via USB to back up contacts before, and it is actually quite simple to operate! At that time, I changed my phone and was afraid that my contacts would be lost, so I used this method to transfer Android contacts to the computer. Here are my specific steps:
- Turn on the contact export function
- On your phone, open the "Contacts" app (some brands may call it "Address Book").
- Go to Settings, find the "Export" option (such as "Export to Storage Device"), and then choose to export as a vCard file (the suffix is .vcf).
- Connect your phone to a Windows 11 computer with a data cable and select "File Transfer" mode.
Open the storage directory of your phone and find the vCard file you just exported (usually in the root directory or Downloads folder). - Drag this .vcf file to your computer and save it, and your contact backup is complete! You can also import it directly to other devices when you need it in the future.
I used an old Samsung Galaxy phone to export the contacts, which had more than 200 contacts. The whole process took less than 10 minutes, which was very convenient. And the .vcf file is very light, usually only a few hundred KB. I also opened the vCard file with the "People" app that comes with Windows to confirm that all the contacts were successfully saved.
Backing up contacts is still very important! I have tried to transfer Android contacts to computer before. After studying for a while, I finally found this simple method and shared it with you:
- Make sure your phone contacts have been synchronized with your Google account. Open Settings -> Accounts and Sync -> Select your Google account and make sure the "Contacts" option is turned on.
- Open Google Contacts on a computer browser.
- Click "Export" in the left menu and select the format (CSV format is recommended so that Windows 11 can read it easily).
- Save the file to the computer and you're done!
Advantages: simple and safe, no additional tools required; Disadvantages: requires a Google account to bind contacts.
The easiest and most reliable method is to sync your Android contacts with your Google account and then export them to your PC.
Google Contacts Sync is a feature that allows Android users to automatically back up and synchronize their phone's contacts with their Google account. It ensures that your contacts are securely stored in the cloud and accessible from any device linked to the same Google account.
Step 1: On your Android phone, go to Settings > Accounts and sign in to your Google account if not already.
Enable Sync Contacts.Step 2: On your PC, open a browser and visit Google Contacts.
Step 3: Select all your contacts and click Export. Choose the format: CSV (for Excel) or vCard (for other devices). Save the file to your PC.
By following the above steps, you can easily backup Android contacts to PC without installing additional software.
Android contacts are typically stored in VCF (vCard) format, which might not be compatible with all contact management software on Windows. Make sure you choose a compatible format or use a converter to ensure seamless transfer.
When transferring Android contacts to PC, it's easy to overwrite existing contacts on your PC. Make sure you choose a unique file name or folder to store your backed-up contacts to avoid overwriting existing data.
One simple way is using the USB cable to transfer Android contacts to PC. Before doing that, make sure Android USB driver is properly installed in your Windows 11 PC. You won't be bale to see the files if the Android device name is not showing up in the File Explorer.
How to transfer contacts from Android to PC with USB:
- Open the Contacts app on your Android device.
- Tap the Menu (three dots) or More Options and select Export Contacts.
- Save the contacts as a .vcf file to your phone’s internal storage or SD card.
- Connect your Android phone to your Windows 11 PC using a USB cable
- Transfer the .vcf file to your PC.
