By Vernon Roderick, Last updated: August 8, 2020

Open your iPhone or iPad's Settings app. Tap Accounts & Passwords Add Account Google. Enter your email and password.

How to Backup Contacts to iCloud? Here are some solutions.

'I have been using my iPhone for quite some time now and as many of you have likely experienced, my contact list has ballooned into an obscene number. I am just getting anxiety from thinking or imagining a morning where I wake up and they are gone for some reason or another.

  1. Then, AnyTrans can help you sync Google Contacts with iCloud in an easy way. AnyTrans is an awarded iOS content manager, and when it comes to managing iCloud content, it can help you access and manage the photos, notes, contacts, etc.
  2. Jun 18, 2019 You can, however, use Google’s web interface as described above, or — if you sync your contacts with iCloud — use the Contacts app on a Mac to get rid of duplicates.

I'm not exactly a careless person but even I've known myself to delete a text message or something instead of replying and that could happen to my contacts and I just can't let that happen. I need to back these up and I know that the iCloud is the perfect program to help me with my concern, I'm already breathing a little easier thanks to the idea that there is something to help me, however, I just realized I zero knowledge on how to backup contacts to iCloud.

Any tips or guides would be super awesome. Thank you, thank you!'

Part 1. iPhone Contacts and iCloud

The iPhone is an amazing smartphone and millions of users can't help but agree that it will likely continue in its popularity. While our abilities with a smartphone continue to amaze us, we are able to surf, install apps, handle work and emails, watch videos and so much more. These are still amazing things and let's face it, life-changing abilities, we can still focus on the horizon and expect more improvements to come.

As we await those inevitable developments, we continue to enjoy our phones as the groundbreaking technology that we have ready in our pockets and since they are still mobile phones at heart, our contact list is what continues to empower our phones ability to stay in touch.

Now, much like the user stated above, it could be a little unnerving to assume the worst and the ideal process might be to prepare for it instead. After all, an iPhone without any contacts is less likely to be useful than one that has all your contacts ready to be used whenever you need to.

Our attention is now focused on the ability to backup our contact list and as most users of an iPhone, our immediate go-to solution is iCloud. For those of you who are not quite familiar with what iCloud is, iCloud is a program that can help backup quite a bit of data for iPhone users or account holders on a virtual cloud or storage space on the internet. Sometimes we sync all contacts to icloud.

All you need is an active account and a reliable wifi or data plan and you shouldn't have any problems with getting or using an iCloud account.

Part 2. Backup Contacts to iCloud Account

Now, assuming you aren't that familiar with the program, don't worry it isn't going to require you to reprogram your iPhone and we can simply teach you how to use it with a few simple steps. All you need to do is follow these easy steps and you should easily backup your contacts to your iCloud account:

Step 1: Login to your iCloud account using your iPhone, please make sure to input the proper username and password. Assuming you do not have an iCloud account, don't worry you can easily create one before logging in. Simply follow the creation instructions to proceed.

Step 2: Go to the settings of your phone, find the iCloud option and scroll through it.

Step 3: You will likely notice that there is a 'Contacts' option listed, simply toggle it off and on in order to proceed. Please make sure to leave it switched on and you are done.


Backup Contacts to iCloud

That was a fairly simple process that most people can easily follow. Please note that iCloud will automatically update the backup files every day at a certain time within the day but the iPhone unit with the iCloud account must be plugged to a power source and have wifi available otherwise it will only update when both those criteria have been met.

This makes sure that your contacts and other details are up-to-date and you won't have any issues should you need to restore using iCloud as your restoration point.

On the other hand, some people have mentioned that they don't have all their contacts as of yet and needed to do some extra steps, please keep reading if you really want to make sure that all contacts are on your iCloud account.

Step 1: Check on iCloud.com if all your contacts are there, simply go to the site and log in, find the contacts and search for a contact or two to make sure it is all there. Assuming you could not find it please proceed to the next few steps.

Step 2: Check the contacts on your iPhone and see on the upper right, there is a 'Groups' category, please choose that. You will see that there are a few groups listed here and if your categories are listed as 'All on my iPhone' simply uncheck it and search for the missing names that you did in step 1. If the names did not appear, it is likely that the contacts did not sync properly onto iCloud.

Step 3: To alleviate that problem, go to the settings of your phone and go to 'Mail, Contacts, Calendar' on your phone and find the make your default account to the iCloud, simply toggle it on when you see it.

Step 4: Export all your contacts, this may require you to use a third party program or app and there are quite a few that might be best, we leave it up to you to choose which one you prefer.

Contacts

Icloud

Step 5: After exporting using a third party app or program, you will now import that file to your iCloud.

Step 6: There will be a merge option to combine your existing contacts on iCloud and the imported information that you did in step 4 and 5, this will help you remove any duplicates and avoid the messy need to clean up the backed up contact list.

Part 3. Some Tips of Backuping Contacts to iCloud

Admittedly, the latter steps might be a little difficult for some users and let's face it, it isn't exactly 100% foolproof. Well, if you need to have all your contacts, this is something that you cannot help but avoid doing to make sure that you did not miss out on any information or contacts that may not have been saved.

To add to that rather challenging step, some users have a difficult time backing up due to the limitation in storage space of the iCloud. The free version limits your data to 5 GB which is quite big but with pictures, videos, apps and so much more, that can get full rather quickly.

You can, however, buy more storage space on iCloud for a monthly fee which some people prefer to avoid altogether. Additionally, some people still cannot find full comfort in trusting their information to a cloud server, especially since it was hacked into a few years back.

Please note that Apple has since then, improved on security and beefed up on antihacking programs or such but that had taken a rather strong toll on the trust levels of iCloud. Finally, there are of course users who prefer to keep sensitive and important information within their own reach, perhaps within their laptop or computer, it just makes them feel more secure or safer knowing that it is with them instead of on the internet.

And sometimes you may meet some peoblems, such as why are all my contacts not showing up in icloud or contacts not syncing to iCloud.

Whatever the reason might be for you not to prefer using iCloud, don't worry, there are still other options there to back up your contacts. You can backup iPhone contacts without icloud.

Among the many options, one that we can wholeheartedly recommend is the Fonedog IOS Data Backup and Restore for your iPhone.

Part 4. Quickly Backup Contacts Using Fonedog Toolkit

The Fonedog IOS Data Backup and Restore is a program that does exactly as the name implies, it helps you backup your information and can be used to restore it should the need ever arise. From the very beginning, as you back up, you can view the entries one by one and screen if all the contacts made it into the Fonedog IOS Data Backup and Restore as you instructed, you can even remove those that you do not want to backup should you have any reason to not want them on your phone.

The storage space of Fonedog IOS Data Backup and Restore is only limited by the memory space of your computer or laptop, so as long as you have more than 5GB free, you should be well over what iCloud is offering you and there is no monthly storage fee that comes with anything above 5GB which should entice more people to try Fonedog IOS Data Backup and Restore.

Finally, as mentioned, Fonedog IOS Data Backup and Restore will save the information to your computer or laptop and you will have full control. In fact, you are even able to save the contacts or other details in a folder of your choosing with a password attached to it in order to access the said folder, which doubles the security that you are expecting from having the data in your computer or laptop.

Sound Good? Let's download it to try to backup contacts, it is free for you.

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Many people have several email addresses across disparate email providers, all of which keep track of their contacts. Google Contacts, for example, is a standalone service which only tracks people you’ve contacted via Gmail, when using an Android phone, or if you’ve synced it to your iOS device.

Apple keeps your contacts within its standalone “Contacts” app. Both entities are siloed vaults for contacts, and it can be confusing when your contacts aren’t synced to the devices you use most often. If you deleted a contact in Google Contacts, it’s also smart to have all your contacts synced to another service and to backup your device often so you never lose any data.

Here, we’ll tell you how to sync Google Contacts to iPhone, if there’s a Google Contacts for iPhone app, how to import contacts from Google to iPhone manually, and why it’s important to have your Google contacts on iPhone.

Reasons to transfer your Google contacts to iPhone

Many people use Gmail as their default email provider and can’t see a reason to export Google contacts to iPhone. It’s a fair position, but these are a few reasons importing Google contacts to iPhone is a great idea:

  • You have one place for all contacts. Gmail for personal use, iCloud for your Apple devices, Outlook for work – all the unique email providers log your contacts in distinct vaults. Having one place all your contacts live is smart.
  • Services often don’t sync. You may be emailing someone new fairly often, then go to text them and find they’re not in your contacts list. That’s because services often don’t sync contacts automatically. Routine backups and syncing are the right moves to make.
  • You can merge contact info. When you sync your Google contacts to iPhone, there’s an option to merge contacts. Someone may have emailed from a Gmail address, but you’ve got their Outlook and phone number in another contact. After you import, you can simply merge the two profiles.
  • Google makes changes (often). Google once kept your contacts in Gmail, then moved them to the standalone Google Contacts service. There were no widespread reports of contacts being deleted with this transfer, but Google likes to shift ground beneath you. It’s better to sync your Google information to iCloud and back it all up.
  • You don’t want to use Gmail anymore. People often switch email providers. Many also want to break free of Google due to privacy concerns. After syncing your contacts, you’re free to email people from an iCloud or other email address with the same ease of using Gmail.
  • iCloud supports ‘Push’ syncing on iPhone. For syncing contacts and data, Apple forces Gmail and other services to use a ‘Fetch’ protocol to get new data. This means your data is synced less frequently, which can cause contacts to not sync properly, or when you need them.

How to sync Google contacts to an iPhone

Merge

You can sync Google contacts to iOS without ever touching your iPhone! Syncing iCloud to all of your Apple devices will keep your iCloud contact data on each of your devices. This means you can grab Google contacts from the web and download them to your Mac. Here’s how:

  1. Go to google.com
  2. Sign into Google if necessary
  3. Open the Google Contacts app from the nine-dot menu on the top right of the page
  4. From the Google Contacts website, select “Export”
  5. Choose “vCard (for iOS Contacts)” from the popup window
  6. Select “Export”

This downloads all of your Google contacts in vCard format to your Mac. To read and download Google contacts iPhone will need them to be in vCard format, so don’t overlook that step.

With your Google contacts downloaded in vCard format, follow these steps on your Mac to download and sync the contacts to your iCloud account:

  1. Open the Contacts app on your Mac
  2. From the menu bar, select “File”
  3. Choose “Import”
  4. Select the vCard file downloaded from the Google Contacts website
  5. Choose “Open”

Your Google contacts will download to your Mac’s Contacts app, which syncs with iCloud.

Sync Google contacts to iPhone via settings

If you want to skip the Mac altogether, you can! In the iPhone’s settings, you can sync your Google contacts data directly. Just remember it only ‘fetches’ data and won’t push new or changed contact data to your device automatically. If you’re syncing data and don’t see a contact, this may be why.

First, you need to add your Google account to your iPhone. If your Google account is already synced to your iPhone, feel free to skip these steps. Otherwise, this is how to add your Google account to the iPhone:

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone
  2. Select “Mail”
  3. Choose “Accounts”
  4. Select “Add Account”
  5. Choose “Google” from the list
  6. Follow the on-screen prompts and enter your Google account login credentials

Here’s how to sync Google contacts to iPhone via the Settings app:

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone
  2. Select “Mail”
  3. Choose “Accounts”
  4. Select your Gmail account
  5. Make sure “Contacts” is toggled on

Whichever method for syncing contacts you use, one thing you should definitely do is create backups of your iPhone. For that, AnyTrans is exactly what you need.

With AnyTrans for Mac, you have complete control over your iPhone. Simply open the AnyTrans app, plug your iPhone into the Mac, and you will be able to create backups of your entire device, or particular items like messages, photos, and even contacts!

AnyTrans has a ton of other features, too, including the option to quickly transfer your iPhone’s data to a new device. You can also manage your home screen, delete apps from your iPhone, restore your phone from previous backups, and curate your media library!

Import Google contacts to iPhone with iCloud

After importing your Google contacts to your Mac, iCloud should sync your contacts across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

To verify your iCloud contacts are synced with your Mac, follow these steps:

  1. From the Mac menu bar, select the Apple logo on the top left corner
  2. Select “System Preferences”
  3. Choose “Apple ID” at the top right corner of the new window
  4. Select “iCloud” from the left side of the window
  5. Make sure “Contacts” is toggled on

On your iPhone, ensure your iCloud contacts are syncing by following these steps:

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone
  2. Select your Apple ID name banner at the top of the screen
  3. Choose “iCloud”
  4. Ensure “Contacts” is toggled on

If you like, feel free to toggle contacts off and back on to trigger syncing. This shouldn’t be necessary, but doing so will ping the iCloud servers to initiate syncing of contacts or any other cloud service to your iPhone.

Contacts is one of the services iCloud syncs across your devices. There’s also Mail, which keeps your inbox and folders current on all devices; Reminders, to help you manage to-do lists and trigger reminders when you’re at a location; Notes, which syncs and shares all of the data in your Notes app on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac; Messages, to ensure all chats are up to date; and Safari, which keeps open tabs, the reading list, and bookmarks synced on all of your Apple devices.

Those services all stake their claim to your iCloud storage, but none as much as Photos. Most users will notice their iCloud data allotment is dominated by the pics and video in the Photos app, which is synced across all Apple devices. Much of what’s found in Photos may be unnecessary, too; old photos, screenshots, and blurred images occupy precious space.

To help manage your iCloud media storage, get Gemini.

The Gemini app for Mac helps you manage similar and duplicate images in your Photos folder, which you are then able to delete quickly. The Gemini iOS app continually watches your Photos app for video, screenshots, and other categories. It then creates unique folders for those media types in the Gemini app, and provides a quick and easy way to bulk-delete your images. The gigabytes of iCloud storage you will reclaim with Gemini make it well worth a download.

Conclusion

Managing contacts on your Apple devices is simple. You may prefer to sync your Google contacts and continue using Gmail and other Google services, or download and add all of your Google contacts to iCloud. Either way, you’re in full control.

AnyTrans is a great app for managing backups, a practice we should all be in as we move and sync data across services. If anything goes awry, a backup helps you recover data with ease.

Gemini helps manage files, folders, and photos to keep your iCloud free of unneeded files. If you’re going to sync data, you should keep as much room available in your cloud storage account as possible.

AnyTrans and Gemini are free to use for seven days with your trial of Setapp, a robust suite of productivity apps for the Mac. Along with these two incredible apps, you’ll have unlimited access to over 200 other native Mac apps during your week of free use!

When the trial period ends, continued access to the entire Setapp catalog is only $9.99 per month. It’s a sensational offer for so many amazing apps, so why wait? Give Setapp a try today!

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How To Merge Icloud Contacts With Google Contacts

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