[4 Ways] How to Transfer Contacts from Computer to iPad

How do I transfer my contacts from my computer to my iPad?

I recently purchased an iPad, so I am in learning mode. I want to have my contacts on my computer available to me on my iPad. How do I go about this? Thank you.

- Question from Apple Community

It’s such a good habit to backup your iPhone contacts to computer regularly because contacts have become more important than before. Besides phone numbers, contacts also record email, birthday, address, etc. for you.

Therefore, when you buy a new device, like a new iPad, you may wonder how to transfer contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone. Keep reading, and choose one of the four ways elaborated below to transfer contacts from Windows PC or Mac to iPad wirelessly or with a USB cable.

Part 1. How to transfer contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone wirelessly

There are 2 ways available to tell you how to copy contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone wirelessly. You may take advantage of iCloud, iCloud client, or emails. Let’s get started.

Way 1. Copy contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone via iCloud

iCloud is usually used to backup iPad/iPhone. Thus, you may think of getting contacts from iCloud to iPad/iPhone. Depending on you're using a Windows computer or a Mac, you can copy contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone via iCloud in three methods.

For Windows PC: using iCloud for Windows (Outlook contacts)
If you store and manage your contacts on computer using Outlook, you can try iCloud for Windows to copy contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone. Besides, it is convenient because any changes that you make will automatically update to your other devices. Follow the steps to make it.

Step 1. Download and launch iCloud for Windows on your computer > Sign in with your Apple ID and password.

Step 2. Select Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and Tasks, then click Apply.

Step 3. Switch to your iPad/iPhone, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > enable Contacts.

Wait for minutes, and you can go to the Contacts app to refresh it and check whether contacts have been transferred to your iPad/iPhone.

For Windows PC: visit iCloud.com (vCard files)
If the contacts on your computer are stored as vCard files, you can also import contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone via iCloud.com. You may make it by following steps below.

Step 1. Visit iCloud.com on your computer > Sign in your Apple ID and password.

Step 2. Select Contacts > Tap the gear icon on the bottom-left corner > Select Import vCard.

Step 3. Wait till all the contacts are imported from computer to iCloud. Then, you can go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud and enable Contacts to sync them.

For Mac: Use iCloud directly
If you are using Mac, you can transfer contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone by iCloud syncing directly.

Step 1. On your Mac, go to System Preferences > iCloud > Sign in with your Apple ID > Select Contacts.

Step 2. Repeat the same step on your iPad/iPhone to sync contacts from Mac to iPad/iPhone.

Note:
⁕iCloud transfers data based on your Apple ID, so it doesn’t support transferring contacts with different Apple ID. If you need, you can turn to Way 3 in this post.
⁕You need to know that iCloud can sync contacts only when your devices are under a good Internet connection. Correspondingly, it may take much time to make it.
⁕iCloud only provides you 5 GB of storage space, make sure you have enough space to store contacts.

Way 2. Transfer contacts from PC to iPad/iPhone with Email

If the contacts are saved as vCard files in VCF format on your computer, Email offers you an easy and simple way to copy contacts from PC or Mac to iPad. Assume that you have two accounts of Email.

Step 1. On your computer, send yourself an email with all the contacts files you need.

Step 2. On your iPad, open the email and tap the contacts files > Choose Add All Contacts option.

Part 2. How to copy contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone with a USB cable

You might have concern about the stability of the wireless transfer. Then, you may need the two methods introduced below to help you transfer contacts from computer to iPad with a USB cable.

Way 3. Transfer contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone by AOMEI FoneBackup selectively

To ensure the safety of your contacts files, you can try AOMEI FoneBackup, a professional tool for you to quickly backup and transfer data between kinds of Apple devices and Windows PC. It comes with an intuitive and simple interface, enabling anyone can easily complete the transfer in a few steps.

Besides, you can also
✅ Preview and select specific files. You can preview and transfer contacts and other files selectively via AOMEI FoneBackup.
✅ Transfer data from one Apple ID to another. You can transfer data among kinds of Apple devices, like iPhone, iPad, and iPod without any limitation of Apple ID.
✅ Transfer to the Contacts app directly. Different from other methods, AOMEI FoneBackup can enable you to transfer contacts from computer to the Contacts app in iPad/iPhone directly. Once the transfer is complete, you can access these transferred contacts in the app.

Download AOMEI FoneBackup by clicking the icon below to have a try.

Step 1. Connect your iPad to computer > Launch AOMEI FoneBackup. Click Phone Transfer and move the mouse to PC to iPhone. Click Get Started​​​​​​.

Step 2. Click the folder icon to preview and select contacts > Click Open > Click Start Transfer to transfer contacts from computer to iPhone.

Step 3. When it is over, click OK.

Tips:
① The contacts you’d like to transfer should be stored in VCF or CSV format.
② As you can see from the pictures above, AOMEI FoneBackup has many functions. For example, when you got a new iPad, you can easily sync iPhone and iPad via AOMEI FoneBackup.

Way 4. Transfer contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone using iTunes

If you have synced contacts to iTunes on your computer, you can get them back from computer to your iPad. However, you need to be noted that iTunes will overwrite all contacts information on your iPad. Thus, you may think twice before trying this method.

Steps to transfer contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone using iTunes.
Step 1. Connect your iPad to computer with a USB cable and open iTunes > Click the device icon on the top-left corner after your iPad being detected.

Step 2. Click Info on the left panel > Check the box of Sync Contacts with > Click the drop-down menu and select the sources of contacts > Click Sync.

It is frustrating sometimes that iTunes doesn’t allow you to preview and select contacts files. If you are wondering how to transfer contacts from PC to iPad/iPhone without iTunes, the tool in the next method may be a good choice for you.

Conclusion

These are 4 ways about how to transfer contacts from computer to iPad/iPhone. Hopefully, you can transfer contacts from Windows PC or Mac to iPad/iPhone without any data loss. Please share this passage to help more people.