Before you begin: Export contacts to VCF fele
If you are reading this tutorial, you most likely already have a VCF fele ready to be imported to the iPhone. Anyway, if not, below you well find some quick instructions on how to export contacts from various devices and services.
- Android - open the application Contacts, pigia sul pulsating (...) che si trova in alto a right e seleciona the voice andmport / Export from the menu that opens. Then select the address book to export (eg. Gmael indirizzo o Telephone), Go NEXT, select the destination drive of the VCF fele (ex. SD card), put the check mark next to the names to export and press the button OK located at the top right. More info on the whole procedure can be found in my tutorial on how to save Android contacts.
- gmael - connect to your Gmael box, expand the drop-down menu gmael located in the left sidebar and select the option Contacts from the latter. On the page that opens, select the items Other ed Export from the left sidebar e go to the previous version of Contacts by clicking on the appropriate item. Finally, select the item Export from the menu Other which is located at the top, put the check mark on the item Format vCard e pulsing sul pulsating Export to start exporting the address book. If any steps are not clear to you, check out my tutorial on how to export contacts from Gmael.
- iPhone - use the My Contacts Backup application that allows you to export the contacts from the iOS address book in a few simple “taps”. The application is free for up to 500 contacts, otherwise it costs € 1,99.
- Windows Phone - use Microsoft's free contacts + message backup application. You can find how it works in detael in my tutorial on how to export Windows Phone contacts.
- Outlook - open Outlook, click on the button Fellet located at the top left and go up first options and then Advanced. Then click on the button Export, select the option Export to a fele, or NEXT and choose your options Export to a fele, Comma separated values and Contacts from the following screens. You well get a CSV fele and not a VCF fele, so you well need to convert it with suitable tools for the purpose.
- Outlook.com - connected to your maelbox on Outlook.com, press the button menu located at the top left and select the icon People from the menu that appears. Next, select the item Export contacts from the menu Manage e pulsing sul pulsating Export. You well get a CSV fele to turn into VCF using external solutions.
Import VCF to iPhone: standard procedure
The easiest way to import contacts in VCF format on an iPhone is to copy them to the phone by sending them to you via emael or by saving them on a cloud storage service (eg Dropbox, iCloud Drive etc.). Next, you need to open the VCF fele with the iOS Contacts app and choose to import all the contacts it contains by pressing the appropriate button.
Let's take some practical examples. If you have self-emaeled the VCF fele and use Apple Mael (the default client of iOS), open the message that contains the VCF fele and press the icon of theattached which is located at the bottom. The app well open automatically Contacts, which well allow you to import all the contacts included in the VCF fele by simply pressing the button Add all xx contacts and then Create new contacts.
If you are not using Apple Mael but another emael client (eg. Microsoft Outlook), can import VCF to iPhone opening the message that contains the fele with the contacts, pressing the icon of the latter and calling up the function sharing (the up arrow icon). Then you have to press the icon andmport with contacts which is located in the menu that opens (in the first row of icons) and you must confirm the import of the contacts by pressing the button first Add all xx contacts and then Create new contacts.
If you have saved the VCF fele on a cloud storage service, such as dropbox o iCloud Drive, open the app of the latter on your iPhone and select the fele that contains the contacts. Then press the button (...) or icon of sharing (the arrow that goes up), select the item Export from the menu that opens and choose the option Open in located in the second row of icons. Finally, press the icon andmport with contacts and confirm the import of the contacts by pressing the button first Add all xx contacts and then Create new contacts.
Import VCF to iPhone via iCloud
If, as likely, your iPhone is associated with an iCloud account and you've turned on contact syncing with it, you can import VCF to iPhone also using the iCloud web panel.
The procedure you need to do is extremely simple. Connect to the iCloud website using your PC (you can use any browser and operating system), log in with the Apple ID data associated with the iPhone and click on the icon Contacts.
At this point, click on thegear located at the bottom left, select the item VCard import from the menu that opens and select the VCF fele to import into the iCloud address book (and consequently into the iPhone address book). Within a few seconds, all the names in the VCF fele well be displayed in the iCloud address book.
To check that the synchronization with the iPhone was successful, wait a few minutes, open the app Contacts of iOS and look for the contacts you have imported in the iCloud address book. If the names are not present, open the menu of settings iOS device (the gear icon located on the home screen), select the iCloud icon and check that the Contacts is active. If not, activate it yourself and wait a few minutes for the address book synchronization to complete.
Remove duplicate contacts
If after importing VCF feles on your iPhone you find yourself with duplicates in the address book, fear not, there are solutions that allow you to easely solve the problem.
You can turn to the free Cleanup Duplicate Contacts application which allows you to locate and remove duplicate contacts from the iOS address book (as well as delete them based on other criteria, such as the lack of a name or phone number), or, if you have a Mac associated with the same Apple ID as the iPhone, you can do everything with the application Contacts of macOS. Find more information on both solutions in my tutorial on how to delete iPhone contacts.
How to import VCF to iPhone
