The fastest way to transfer contacts is through iCloud during setup

When you turn on a new iPhone for the first time, the setup screen asks you to sign in with your Apple ID. If you use the same Apple ID on both phones and iCloud is turned on, your contacts sync automatically — you do not have to do anything else. This works whether your old phone is still in use or not.

If you have already finished setup on the new phone without signing in, you can still sync contacts through iCloud. Go to Settings, tap your name at the top, select iCloud, and turn on Contacts. Your phone will then read any contacts stored in your iCloud account.

This method works only if your contacts were already synced to iCloud on your old iPhone. If you never turned on iCloud syncing before, your contacts may still be stored only on the old phone, and you will need to use a different method.

Key Takeaways

  • iCloud syncing during setup is the fastest route if you use the same Apple ID on both phones and had iCloud Contacts turned on before.
  • If iCloud was never turned on, you can export contacts from your old iPhone as a file and import them on the new one.
  • You can also transfer contacts through a computer using macOS Contacts or iTunes, or by restoring from a backup file.
  • Contacts stored only in third-party apps like Gmail or Outlook will not transfer automatically and must be re-added or synced through those apps.

Transferring contacts if iCloud was not turned on

If your old iPhone never had iCloud Contacts syncing enabled, the contacts are stored only on that phone. You can still move them by exporting them as a file and importing that file on the new phone.

On your old iPhone, open the Contacts app, tap Groups in the top left corner, and make sure all contact groups are selected. Then open any contact, tap Edit, and look for a Share or Export option — this varies by iOS version. If you see it, select all contacts and choose to export them as a VCF file. Email this file to yourself or save it to iCloud Drive.

On your new iPhone, open the file you exported. Your phone will ask whether to add these contacts to your phone. Tap Add All Contacts, and they will appear in your Contacts app.

If your iPhone does not show an export option in Contacts, you can use a computer instead. Connect your old iPhone to a Mac or Windows PC, open Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows), and select your phone. Go to the Info tab, check the box for Sync Contacts, and choose which contact source to sync from (usually your computer's address book). Complete the sync, then connect your new iPhone and repeat the process to transfer those contacts to it.

Using a backup to restore all contacts at once

If you have a backup of your old iPhone stored in iCloud or on a computer, you can restore from that backup on your new phone. This transfers not just contacts but all your data — apps, photos, messages, settings — so use this method only if you want a complete copy of your old phone.

During initial setup on your new iPhone, the setup screen offers the option to restore from an iCloud backup or a computer backup. Choose the backup from your old phone, and your new phone will read everything from it, including all contacts.

If you have already finished setup, you can still restore a backup, but it will erase everything currently on your new phone first. Go to Settings, tap General, select Transfer or Reset, and choose Erase All Content and Settings. When the phone restarts, you will see the setup screen again and can choose to restore from a backup.

Transferring contacts through a computer

You can move contacts using a Mac or Windows PC as an intermediary. This is useful if you want to back up your contacts before transferring them, or if you need to edit or organize them before they go to your new phone.

On a Mac, connect your old iPhone and open the Finder app. Click your phone's name in the sidebar, go to the Info tab, and check Sync Contacts. Choose which contact source to sync from — usually Contacts app — and click explore. Your phone's contacts will sync to your Mac.

Next, connect your new iPhone to the same Mac. In Finder, select your new phone, go to Info, check Sync Contacts again, and click explore. Your Mac will now sync those contacts to your new phone.

On Windows, the process is similar but uses iTunes instead of Finder. Connect your old phone to your computer, open iTunes, select your device, go to the Info tab, check Sync Contacts with, choose your contact source (Outlook or Windows Contacts), and click explore. Then connect your new phone and repeat the same steps.

Contacts stored in third-party apps or email accounts

Contacts saved only in Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo Mail, or other third-party apps do not transfer automatically. These contacts live in those apps' servers, not on your iPhone itself.

To access them on your new iPhone, sign into those apps on the new phone. Open Gmail, Outlook, or whichever service you use, and your contacts will appear there. You can also add these accounts to your iPhone's Settings so their contacts show up in the native Contacts app. Go to Settings, tap Mail, then Accounts, select Add Account, and sign in with your email credentials. Turn on Contacts for that account, and those contacts will sync to your iPhone's Contacts app.

If you want to move these contacts to your iPhone's native storage rather than keeping them in the app, you can export them from the app and import them as described in the earlier section on exporting contacts.

What to do if contacts are missing after transfer

If some contacts did not transfer, they were likely stored in a place you did not sync from. Check whether those contacts are in a third-party app like Gmail or Outlook — if so, sign into that app on your new phone to see them.

If contacts were on your old phone but nowhere else, and you no longer have access to that phone, they cannot be recovered. This is why turning on iCloud Contacts on your old phone before you get a new one is important — it ensures your contacts are backed up in the cloud.

If you still have your old iPhone, you can retrieve missing contacts by exporting them as described above, even if you have already set up your new phone. Connect your old phone to a computer, export the contacts, and import them on your new phone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my contacts transfer if I use a different Apple ID on my new iPhone?

No. iCloud syncing only works with the same Apple ID. If you use a different ID, your old contacts will not sync automatically. You will need to export contacts from your old phone as a file and import them on the new one, or restore from a backup of your old phone.

Can I transfer contacts without a computer or iCloud?

Yes. If both phones are nearby, you can export contacts as a VCF file from your old iPhone, email the file to yourself, and open it on your new iPhone to import them. You can also use AirDrop if both phones support it — open Contacts on your old phone, select a contact, tap Share, and choose AirDrop to send it to your new phone.

What happens to contacts if I restore my new iPhone from a backup?

All contacts from the backup will be restored to your new phone, replacing any contacts already there. If your backup is from your old iPhone, you will get all the contacts that were on that phone at the time the backup was made.

Do I need to delete contacts from my old iPhone after transferring them?

No. Transferring contacts does not remove them from your old phone. If you want to delete them from your old phone after confirming they arrived on your new one, you can do so manually in the Contacts app.