If your contacts are synced to an account, signing into that account on the new phone is the entire job. Everything else is a fallback for contacts stored only on the device.
Method one: account sync
This is the correct method and it takes no effort. Contacts saved to a Google account appear on any Android phone signed into it. Contacts saved to iCloud appear on any iPhone signed into it. Nothing is transferred because nothing needs to be, the contacts were never only on the old phone.
Check first that sync is actually enabled on the old device, since contacts saved locally rather than to the account will not appear. On Android this is in Settings under Accounts. On iPhone it is under your name at the top of Settings, then iCloud.
Method two: platform migration tools
| Direction | Tool | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Android to Android | Built-in setup transfer, cable or wireless | During initial setup |
| iPhone to iPhone | Quick Start or an iCloud backup restore | During initial setup |
| Android to iPhone | Move to iOS | Only during iPhone setup, not after |
| iPhone to Android | Manufacturer switch app or a vCard export | Any time |
The important constraint is that Move to iOS runs only during initial iPhone setup. Once the phone is configured, using it means erasing and starting over, which is why people who skip it end up exporting a vCard instead.
Method three: vCard export, the universal fallback
- On the old phone, open Contacts and find Export or Share contacts.
- Export to a .vcf file, which is the standard contact format everywhere.
- Send it to yourself by email or cloud storage.
- Open the file on the new phone and choose to import.
This works between any two platforms and does not depend on either manufacturer’s tooling. It is also the only method that gives you a file you can keep as a backup.
Why the SIM method disappoints
Copying contacts to a SIM card still works but it is severely limited. SIM storage holds only a few hundred entries, one number per contact, and it discards email addresses, photos, notes and secondary numbers. Use it only when nothing else is available.
Cleaning up duplicates
Duplicates appear when contacts arrive through two routes at once, for instance an account sync plus a manual import. Both platforms handle this. Android offers a merge suggestion in the Contacts app, and iPhone prompts to link duplicates when it detects them. Run the merge once after the transfer settles rather than immediately, since sync can still be delivering entries for several minutes.
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