How to Backup iPhone, iPod and iPad Contacts

Transfer iPhone Contacts to Computer

If you're getting a new iPhone, and wish to transfer your contacts to it, or if you simply wish to back up your contacts to your computer, TouchCopy can help. If you have lots of contacts to manage, you may even want to export your iPhone contacts as CSV so that you can organise them all in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. You can import contacts in batch to contact management programs like Microsoft Outlook with such a CSV!

The software also allows you to save your contacts as individual vCards from your iOS device to your PC or Mac.

The instructions on this page also provide details on how to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone with exports created by TouchCopy.

Quick Guide on how to back up your contacts:

Step 1: Download and install TouchCopy on your PC or Mac.

Step 2: Run TouchCopy and connect your iPhone, iPod, or iPad using a USB cable.

Step 3: Choose the Contacts section in TouchCopy.

Step 4: Select where you wish to back up your contacts. You can save them as vCards or CSV, or back them up directly to the Mac Contacts app.

What TouchCopy can do with your iPhone, iPod and iPad Contacts

Copy iPhone contacts to computer using TouchCopy

Finding a contact

To view contacts on your iPod, iPhone or iPad in TouchCopy, click "Contacts" in the TouchCopy feature list.

TouchCopy enables you to easily search through your list of contacts. You can sort your list either by first name or last name by using the "Sort Order" button on Mac, or using TouchCopy Settings on PC. You can also search for a specific contact by typing their name in the search box.

Export Contacts to Excel (saving as CSV format)

In TouchCopy, choose the Contacts feature from the list on the left. This will display all the contacts stored on your connected device.

How do I create a CSV file of contacts? If you'd like to organise all your iPhone contacts using a spreadsheet, you can do this by clicking the "Save to CSV" (PC) or "Copy to CSV" (Mac) button in TouchCopy. This will export all your selected contact information as a single CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file. You can then open this file in a spreadsheet management app such as Microsoft Excel or Mac Numbers app for easy viewing and handling. Check out our guide for more information on exporting iPhone contacts as CSV.

If you use a contacts or email manager like Microsoft Outlook, you can easily import your contacts using this CSV file.

Transfer contacts from iPhone to another iOS device

Once you've copied your contacts as CSV using TouchCopy, you can use your email manager or your address book program to import these contacts.

  • How to import contacts from a CSV file into Microsoft Outlook.
  • To import contacts from CSV to Mac Contacts app, launch Contacts on Mac and go to File > Import. Here, select the CSV file containing your contacts and click Open. Next, review the information which will be imported and make any changes you wish (we recommend importing Name as "First Name", and Family Name as "Last Name"). Click OK to import your contacts.

You can then use iTunes (or Finder on macOS Catalina and higher) to sync Contacts you imported to Outlook or another address book program to another iOS device.

  1. Connect your new iPhone, iPad or iPod to your computer using a USB cable.
  2. Open iTunes (or Finder if using macOS Catalina or higher) and select your device.
  3. Select the 'Info' tab and check "Sync Contacts...".
  4. In iTunes, choose your address book program which contains the contacts saved by TouchCopy.
    In Finder optionally choose any groups that you've created.
  5. Click the "Apply" or "Sync" button to initiate the sync.
Import contacts to new iPhone

Note that iCloud needs to be disabled for contact syncing to work. From your new iPhone, go to "Settings" > Your username > "iCloud" and disable iCloud for the Contacts app.

Extra: You can easily copy contacts between iPhones, Androids and PC using our other program Contact Transfer. Contact Transfer can perform direct transfers between devices, without the need to export to computer and import to address books.

Copying your iPod and iOS device Contacts (Exporting vCards)

TouchCopy has the ability to export your contacts from your iPod or iOS device into vCard format so that you can import your contacts into other programs. vCards are files that contain contact information about a person or company that can be understood by just about any Address Book or E-Mail program available. For example, vCards can be generated or imported into Windows Contacts, Microsoft Outlook, Mac Contacts, etc.

To copy your device contacts, select one or more from the list of contacts in TouchCopy and click the "Save to vCard" (PC) or "Copy to Mac" button. To select all Contacts at once, use the Ctrl+A (PC) or cmd+A (Mac) key combination. Then simply select the folder you want to save your vCards into. TouchCopy enables you to create a separate Contacts folder to save your contacts to.

See it in action...

Publisher: Wide Angle Software

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