The easiest way to transfer contacts from iPhone to Android is to get them into your Google account, then sign in to the Android phone with that same Gmail address: they appear on their own within minutes. If you don’t want to sync, export them as one vCard (.vcf) file and import it on Android.
This guide covers contacts only. For photos, WhatsApp and everything else, follow moving from an old phone to a new phone.
Route 1: Sync contacts to Google from iPhone
Easiest: Google’s “Switch to Android” app. Install it on the iPhone from the App Store, sign in with the Gmail you’ll use on Android, and let it copy your contacts (and optionally photos and calendar) to your Google account. Samsung phones can also pull contacts from an iPhone during setup with Smart Switch.
Or add Gmail to the iPhone: 1. Open Settings > Apps > Contacts > Contacts Accounts (on older iOS: Settings > Contacts > Accounts). 2. Add your Google account and switch Contacts on. 3. In the Contacts settings, set Default Account to Gmail so new numbers save to Google.
Catch: this only syncs contacts already stored in Google. Numbers saved in iCloud or “On My iPhone” stay where they are, so move those with Route 2 or the Switch to Android app.
Route 2: Export a vCard file
From the iPhone itself (no iCloud needed): 1. Open Contacts and tap Lists at the top left. 2. Touch and hold All Contacts (or All iCloud) and tap Export. 3. Save the .vcf file to Files, or send it to yourself by email or Google Drive.
From iCloud on a computer: go to iCloud.com, open Contacts, select all, then choose Export vCard.
Import on Android: – Open the .vcf file on the phone and choose to import into your Google account, or – On a computer, go to contacts.google.com, click Import and pick the file.
Open the file to check the count before you rely on it. Exports occasionally miss entries, so compare the number with your iPhone’s contact total.
Copy to SIM card
Many people in Kenya still like contacts saved on the SIM. An iPhone can read contacts from a SIM but can’t write them to one. So move them to Android first, then copy:
- On Samsung: Contacts > menu > Manage contacts > Import or export > Export > SIM card.
- On other Android phones: look in the Contacts app’s settings for Export or Manage SIM contacts.
SIM storage is small: it holds only a few hundred entries, one number each, with short names. Keep Google as the main copy and the SIM as a backup.
Fix duplicates
If you used more than one route, you’ll see double entries.
- Google Contacts: open the app or contacts.google.com, then Fix & manage > Merge & fix and merge the suggestions.
- Samsung: Contacts > Manage contacts > Merge contacts.
Going the other way later? See transfer data from Android to iPhone. Moving between two iPhones is simpler still: transfer iPhone to iPhone.
Quick answers
Use Google’s Switch to Android app, or sync the iPhone’s contacts to Gmail, then sign in to the Android phone with the same Google account.
Yes. In the iPhone Contacts app, open Lists, hold All Contacts, tap Export and send the .vcf file to the Android phone to import.
Not from the iPhone; it can’t write to a SIM. Move them to Android first, then export to the SIM from the Contacts app.
