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How to Transfer Contacts from iPhone to iPhone: 8 Easy Ways
Read this post to learn about 8 ways on how to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone, help you achieve seamless contact migration from old iPhone to new iPhone.
By Kathy / Updated on October 29, 2024
I want to copy contacts from iPhone to another iPhone without having to reset anything.
I have an iPhone 14 and backed up into iCloud and have an iPhone 16 currently and want to extract my contacts from my old phone to the current phone. I do not want to reformat or wipe the current phone I am using and then start all over again by installing everything onto my current phone. All I need are my contacts to be transferred to my current phone.
- Question from Apple Community
Preserving your contacts during an iPhone upgrade is crucial, ensuring you maintain access to essential information. This guide outlines various methods on how to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone hassle-free.
How to move contacts from iPhone to iPhone at once or partly? This guide will show you 8 ways with detailed steps to do that.
Method 1. How to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone[Best way]
We highly recommend using AOMEI FoneBackup, a powerful iOS backup and transfer tool, that provides a quick method to move contacts between iPhones. Notably, this tool allows for selective or all contact transfers, ensuring efficient data migration.
AOMEI FoneBackup- Easily transfer 1000 + contacts within minutes.
- Preview and select contacts to easily transfer all or part of contacts.
- Efficiently export contacts from iPhone to CSV/VCF/Excel.
- AOMEI FoneBackup won't erase any data on your iPhone during the process.
- Transfer contacts from iPhone to any iOS device with different Apple ID.
100% SecureAOMEI FoneBackup supports all iPhone models and the latest iOS 18, install it on your computer. Then follow the steps below to see how to export contacts from iPhone to iPhone without iCloud and iTunes.
Part 1. How to transfer contacts from one iPhone to another with USB cable
Step 1. Go to Phone Transfer > Select iPhone to PC from the Phone Transfer interface and click Get Started.
Step 2. Go to the Contacts option, now you can preview and choose the specific contacts you need. Or you can check the icon to export entire contact list from iPhone.
Step 3. Choose the storage path and format from the Transfer Settings option > Click Start Transfer to save the contacts to your PC.
Step 4. Disconnect the old iPhone and connect the new iPhone to the computer. Choose PC to iPhone and choose your targeted data to transfer iPhone contacts to another iPhone or from iPhone to iPad.
AOMEI FoneBackup can also help you transfer data from old iPhone to new iPhone 16 even if they are using different Apple IDs, just go to Phone Transfer and choose iPhone to iPhone to make it.
Part 2. How to move contacts iPhone to iPhone wirelessly
Besides, for users who don't have USB cable or a computer around, the AOMEI FoneBackup app enables you to move contacts from old iPhone to new iPhone without a USB cable.
💡 This app doesn't need a Wi-Fi connection or consume any cellular data on iPhone.
💡 It supports various iPhone, iPad and Android devices, including iPhone 16, iPad 10, Pixel, Samsung, OnePlus, etc, as well as iOS 18 and Android 15.
Now you can go to the download page to download Aomei FoneBackup for your iPhone.
Step 1. Run AOMEI FoneBackup app on both iPhones. Choose the "Connect Device", and tap the other one from an iPhone to build a connection.
Step 2. Then select the contacts you need. Tap "Send" to share contacts from iPhone to iPhone.
Now you can know how to transfer contacts and photos from iPhone to iPhone. And this way is also applied to answer the question about how to transfer contacts from iPhone to Android.
Method 2. How to transfer contacts from SIM card to new iPhone
The iPhone 14 and later models in the USA have removed the SIM card slot and replaced the SIM with an eSIM. For iPhone 14 and later iPhone users without a physical SIM card, certain carriers offer transfer options during the setup process. Follow these steps:
Step 1. Turn on your new iPhone, and follow the screen to Set Up Cellular screen.
Step 2. Choose Transfer From Nearby iPhone or Use QR Code according to your condition.
Step 3. Follow the guide to choose phone number you need or scan the QR code.
If you have completed the Setup process. You can go to the "Settings" app on the new iPhone > Cellular > Set up eSIM > Transfer from another iPhone.
Method 3. How to move contacts from old iPhone to new iPhone with iCloud
iCloud allows you to sync contacts on all your Apple devices signed in with the same Apple ID. iPhone contacts and iCloud contacts will be merged, And all the devices will keep the same contacts. Follow the steps to learn how to sync contacts from iPhone to iPhone wirelessly:
Enable iCloud Contacts on both iPhones: Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > toggle on Contacts.
Method 4. How to move contacts iPhone to iPhone from iCloud backup
If you backed up your contacts to iCloud, you just need to restore the previous iCloud backup to your new iPhone to complete the how to import contacts from iPhone to iPhone process.
Step 1. Open your new iPhone, go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.
Step 2. Set up your iPhone, and when the Apps & Data header appears on the screen, select the Restore from iCloud Backup option on that page.
Method 5. How to copy contacts from iPhone to iPhone via iCloud.com
What if you want to use new iPhone with different Apple ID? The best way is using AOMEI FoneBackup in Way 1, and iCloud can still do this for you. You can export contacts from iCloud to a computer, then import them into another iCloud account.
If you phone is broken, you can use this way to access iCloud to complete how to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone with different Apple id.
Step 1. Switch on the button of Contacts in iCloud on your old iPhone as in Way 3.
Step 2. Go to icloud.com and sign in the Apple ID of your old iPhone. Select the contacts you want to transfer and click Export vCard to download contacts from iCloud to iPhone.
Step 3. Sign in the new Apple ID on the site. Click Import vCard to upload contacts to iCloud.
Step 4. Switch on iCloud Contacts on your new iPhone, and complete how to transfer multiple contacts from iPhone to iPhone.
Method 6. How to move all contacts from iPhone to iPhone via iTunes
You could use iTunes to learn how to pass contacts from iPhone to iPhone. Use it to sync contacts from your computer to the new iPhone after saving contacts from iCloud to a local file like Outlook.
Step 1. Get contacts off iPhone from iCloud as in Way 5 and save them to Outlook.
Step 2. Connect your iPhone to the latest iTunes and tap the device icon in the upper-left corner.
Step 3. Select Info in the sidebar, check Sync Contacts and click Apply.
Method 7. How to airdrop contacts from iPhone to iPhone
Airdrop is a file-sharing app designed for iOS devices. You could also use it to transfer songs from iPhone to iPhone or share a file, photos, and videos between Apple devices.
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The operation of AirDrop relies on a good connection. It does not perform well in transferring a large number of contacts or files to your iPhone.
Step 1. Enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both iPhone. Swipe down from the upper-left corner to enable AirDrop on the target iPhone.
Step 2. Select contact on the source iPhone and select Share Contacts.
Step 3. Tap the name of the target device and it will receive the information of the contact.
Method 8. How to copy contacts from iPhone to SIM card
For older models like iPhone SE, you can simply import contacts from the SIM card to your new iPhone SE 2022.
Step 1. Put the SIM card that has your contacts into your new iPhone.
Step 2. Tap Settings > Contacts > Import SIM Contacts.
Step 3. If asked, choose where you want to import your SIM card contacts.
Step 4. When the process is completed, you can go to the Contacts app to have a check.
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iPhone only allows you to store contacts in iPhone internal storage, and you cannot copy contacts to SIM card directly. If there is no contact on the SIM card, you can try the following methods to transfer contacts. Or you can refer to this save iPhone Contacts to SIM Card guide to copy contacts to SIM card.
FAQ on iPhone Contacts Transfer and Sync
Many users will encounter tricky problems in the process of iPhone contacts transfer or sync, don't worry, we will solve the problem for you.
Why not all contacts transferred to new iPhone?
Contacts not properly enabled for syncing, network outages, or program errors can all cause incomplete transfers. We recommend that if your current network is not very stable, the safest way is to use a free iPhone transfer tool that does not require a network to do it.
Why did contacts disappear from my iPhone?
Possible reasons for iPhone contacts disappearing: Sync problems, accidental deletion, iOS update glitches, or account issues. Before you do anything, you'd better back up your iPhone contacts to another location, just in case.
Why is sync not working on my iPhone?
If you are experiencing iPhone contacts syncing not working while using cloud drives such as iCloud and Dropbox, it may be due to connection issues, software glitches, or settings.
You can troubleshoot iPhone contacts not syncing by checking the network, updating iOS, and verifying sync settings.
Conclusion
You have got 8 effective ways on how to transfer contacts from iPhone to iPhone. You can transfer selected or all the contacts to your new iPhone easily, please choose a method according to your need.
AOMEI FoneBackup is suitable for most users, and it caters to a variety of needs. Whether you want to transfer some or all of your contacts, it can do it quickly and easily. Additionally, you can backup contacts for free with AOMEI FoneBackup and leave a copy on your computer to keep your iPhone data safe.
