Top 2 Ways to Sync Contacts from iPhone to iPhone

Previously, a contact had to be added to multiple phones manually. But with the advancement of technology, you can transfer and sync contacts between multiple devices quite easily. While there are many ways to transfer contacts from one iPhone to another, or from iPhone to Android, keeping them in sync is what confuses many. If you are also wondering how to sync contacts from iPhone to iPhone, this post will help you.

When we talk about keeping contacts in sync, this means that if you add, change or delete a contact on one iPhone, the same change should be reflected on another iPhone. The change should happen instantly and automatically without any manual effort from the user.

Let’s check out two methods to sync contacts between iPhones.

Note: You can use the same methods to sync contacts between iPad, iPhone and iPad and vice versa.

1. Sync Contacts from iPhone to iPhone with iCloud

This is one of the easiest and direct ways to keep your iPhone contacts in sync with your other devices. The only downside is that this method only works between Apple devices. But as we are dealing with syncing contacts between iPhones in this post, this method will come in handy for us.

In this method, you have to use iCloud to sync contacts from one iPhone to another.

Note: You must be using the same Apple ID on both iPhones to sync contacts.

Here’s how to do it.

Stage 1: On your first iPhone, open Settings. Tap your name at the top.

Step 2: Tap iCloud. Under iCloud, enable the toggle next to Contacts.

Stage 3: Sign in with the same Apple ID on your second iPhone or iPad. Then follow step 1 and 2 i.e. Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Contacts.

Step 4: On the second iPhone, open the Contacts app and swipe down from the top to refresh the app. This is a one-time step, or you should try it if a change isn’t reflected quickly on the second iPhone.

Now your contacts will always be in sync with each other. Any changes you make to a contact on one iPhone will be reflected on another iPhone.

Fly: You can also view contacts stored in iCloud from a PC. Open iCloud.com and sign in with your Apple ID. Go to Contacts. All your synced contacts will appear. Learn more about uses of iCloud storage on iPhone.

2. Sync Contacts from iPhone to iPhone Without iCloud

Google Contacts will come in handy if you don’t want to use iCloud to sync contacts. Google Contacts is a service that syncs contacts not only between Apple devices (iPhone/iPad), but also between iPhone and Android.

Since Google Contacts uses a Google account, you can use this method to sync contacts from iPhone to iPhone working with two different Apple IDs. However, you must add the same Google ID to both iPhones.

Here are the steps:

Step 1. Move iPhone Contacts to Google Contacts

First, you will need to move your iPhone contacts to Google Contacts. If your contacts already exist in Google Contacts, skip to step 2.

You can move iPhone contacts to Google Contacts with or without a computer. Both methods are mentioned here.

Method 1. Import iPhone Contacts to Google Contacts Using PC

Stage 1: Open iCloud.com from your computer (Windows or Mac) browser. Sign in with your Apple ID. Click People.

Note: Make sure Contacts is enabled under iPhone Settings > [your name] > iCloud. If disabled, you won’t see the contacts on your iPhone or the web version of iCloud.

Step 2: Click the Settings icon in the lower left corner. Choose Select All from the menu.

Stage 3: After all the contacts are selected, click the same Settings icon again. Select Export vCard from the menu. Download the VCF file to your computer.

Step 4: Now open contact.google.com and sign in with the Google account you intend to use on your iPhone. Click Import from the sidebar.

Step 5: Click the choose file button and select the file you downloaded in step 3. This is how you import iPhone contacts to Google Contacts.

Skip to step 2 below to enable the sync function.

Method 2. Transfer iPhone Contacts to Google Contacts Without PC

If you don’t have a handy computer, don’t worry. You can import contacts from your iPhone to Google Contacts directly from your iPhone using Google Drive. Here are the steps:

Stage 1: Install the Google Drive app on your iPhone.

Download Google Drive

Step 2: Open the Google Drive app and tap Settings from the left sidebar.

Stage 3: Tap on Backup in Settings.

Step 4: You will be taken to the Backup with Google Drive screen. Tap on Contacts and enable the Backup to Google Contacts toggle on the next screen.

Step 5: Go back and tap on the other two options one by one i.e. Calendar events and Photos & videos. Disable toggles for them.

Step 6: Return to the Backup with Google Drive screen. Now with only Contacts backup enabled, tap on Start Backup.

After the iPhone contacts are in Google Contacts, follow the next step.

Fly: Check out 13 tips and tricks for getting the most out of Google Contacts.

Step 2. Sync Google Contacts

Now that your iPhone contacts are in the Google Contacts service, it’s easy to keep them in sync with other devices.

Here are the steps:

Stage 1: Open Settings on your first iPhone. Go to Contacts.

Step 2: Tap Accounts. If a Gmail account is already added, tap on it. Alternatively, tap Add Account.

Stage 3: Tap Google and add your Google account where you save your iPhone contacts.

Step 4: Once added, go back to Settings > Contacts > Accounts and tap Gmail.

step 5: Under Gmail, enable the toggle next to Contacts. Now your contacts saved in Google will appear on your iPhone.

Step 6: Repeat steps 1-5 on another iPhone. Make sure you are using the same Google account.

Step 7: Open the Contacts app on your iPhone and refresh.

Change Default Account to Save New Contacts on iPhone

Method 2 will keep your existing contacts in sync with each other. If you want to save new contacts to Google and keep them synced, go to iPhone Settings > Contacts. Tap on Default account. Choose Gmail. Do this on both of your iPhones.

Fly: If Google Contacts not syncing on iPhone, check out 8 ways to fix Google Contacts not syncing.

Right choice

We hope you were able to keep your contacts in sync with each other using the two methods above. While the first method is sufficient, the second method will be the right choice if you have an Android phone/tablet. If you accidentally deleted a contact from Google Contacts, learn how to restore deleted contacts.

Next: Interested in viewing your iPhone notes on a Windows PC? Check out 3 methods to achieve this from the next link.