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Help: How to transfer contacts from Android to other phone
- Thread starter hardst0ne
- Start date
1. You don't need to do anything. When you login to a new Android phone with your Google account, all your contacts are replicated on the new Android phone. Like magic.
Note: If you own multiple Android phones, all the contacts are automatically synced in real time to mirror each other across the phones.
2. Use Google Sync. Its not an app (except for Blackberry where it does take the form of an app). Basically its a set of instructions to use Exchange ActiveSync to sync it to Google using your Google account. It makes your non Android phone look like you're working for Google and using Google's corporate Exchange servers.
Note: It will be like #1, except using non Android phones. As a matter of fact, if you also own both multiple Androids and non Androids, all these phones will be magically syned and mirrored with each other.
Google Sync for your phone
3. Pictures of your contacts are automatically sync'ed to your Google account as well and to whatever phone your Google account is synced to.
a.) If your contact has his or her unique picture they added to their Google account by themselves.
b.) if the contact is synced to their Facebook, Twitter or Yahoo accounts in which case the picture reflects their social networking avatars.
c.) You can add the pictures manually using your phone, or go to your PC desktop and open your GMail with your browser. You will see your contacts there. Click on a contact and copy and paste a picture to that portrait. Anything you put into your Google account will be synced to the phones (see #1 and #2).
Note: If you own multiple Android phones, all the contacts are automatically synced in real time to mirror each other across the phones.
2. Use Google Sync. Its not an app (except for Blackberry where it does take the form of an app). Basically its a set of instructions to use Exchange ActiveSync to sync it to Google using your Google account. It makes your non Android phone look like you're working for Google and using Google's corporate Exchange servers.
Note: It will be like #1, except using non Android phones. As a matter of fact, if you also own both multiple Androids and non Androids, all these phones will be magically syned and mirrored with each other.
Google Sync for your phone
3. Pictures of your contacts are automatically sync'ed to your Google account as well and to whatever phone your Google account is synced to.
a.) If your contact has his or her unique picture they added to their Google account by themselves.
b.) if the contact is synced to their Facebook, Twitter or Yahoo accounts in which case the picture reflects their social networking avatars.
c.) You can add the pictures manually using your phone, or go to your PC desktop and open your GMail with your browser. You will see your contacts there. Click on a contact and copy and paste a picture to that portrait. Anything you put into your Google account will be synced to the phones (see #1 and #2).
AndroidSPCS
Android Expert
The cloud is amaaaazing!!
Picture of contact is attached to their Google, Facebook or whatever account. Unless you went and replace that with a picture of your own in your Google Contacts. Again, you can do that with your phone or PC.
My bro and sis always changes their Facebook avatars all the time. I always see those changes with my Android phone contacts.
My bro and sis always changes their Facebook avatars all the time. I always see those changes with my Android phone contacts.
Amitabh123
Lurker
will the following happen?
-- the android contacts and gmail contacts will be merged
-- the "Groups" in my android will be backed up to, so when I use a new phone, it will be automatically updated with all contacts
Link2Hyrule
Newbie
Okay, just so we're clear, if you're transferring data from one Android phone/tablet to another, it's done automatically, right? There's no process or program or app or anything that you need to start for this to happen? Also, how much information is saved? Is all the information transferred, i.e. contacts, apps, media, etc., or just a few things?
Yes on both.
Also note, if you old phone still has internet access, and you added new contacts and edited your existing ones, all these changes will sync back to the cloud and into the old phone as well.
You can keep two, three or more phones, and tablets as well and they will sync the same.
Yup. Yup.
As for the information, it would be your contacts, your GMail, and your Calendar that are backed up. Your Paid apps will be remembered and marked purchased in the Android Market, so you can download them for free on the new phones. These apps will always be marked purchased and you can download them for free on any new phone regardless how many so long you own the phone or tablet and logged in with your GMail account.
However, these paid apps cannot be transferred to any new owner of your phone when you sell your old phone. When you sell your Android, you have to do a clean reset to remove all account information and apps and return the phone to a clean slate.
The downloads for purchased apps are not automatic however, so you have a choice whether or not you want to include the apps into the new phone. Free apps you installed are not remembered in the new phone's Android Market, though they are noted in the web Android Market.
Pictures, music, stuff you put in the SD drive, SMS, settings for apps, other email accounts that are not GMail, these are not saved per se, though there are apps that can do this as well. If you upload your pics to Picasa, they will always show on the Gallery of any Android phone you own. Please note it must be the standard Gallery app, and many Androids don't have the standard Gallery app. For them however, you can download the app at the Android Market as Gallery 3D.
The Cloud backup stuff is now extending to Music too with Google Music but currently this is on a testing stage.
Your ability to transfer cloud stuff from one Android phone to another is not limited to Google services. You can also do Evernote or Dropbox and more.
D
Deleted User
Guest
Hi,
I stored my contacts in another android 2.1 as phone contacts, not gmail. This has let's say user1@gmail.com email address. I have another android 2.2 phone, which has another gmail account, user2@gmail.com. I added user1@gmail.com as secondary account in android 2.2 phone. I don't see my phone contacts from android 2.1 appearing in android 2.2 phone. Does it have to be Gmail contacts, not phone contacts? I tried bluetooth but I can't seem to exchange files between these phone.
I also have 200 contacts stored on the phone and not on gmail. Moving them one by one from phone to gmail is just way too cumbersome.
Any idea?
Thanks.
I stored my contacts in another android 2.1 as phone contacts, not gmail. This has let's say user1@gmail.com email address. I have another android 2.2 phone, which has another gmail account, user2@gmail.com. I added user1@gmail.com as secondary account in android 2.2 phone. I don't see my phone contacts from android 2.1 appearing in android 2.2 phone. Does it have to be Gmail contacts, not phone contacts? I tried bluetooth but I can't seem to exchange files between these phone.
I also have 200 contacts stored on the phone and not on gmail. Moving them one by one from phone to gmail is just way too cumbersome.Any idea?
Thanks.
chanchan05
The Doctor
You need to have the phones use the same account as primary. that way, even paid apps paid for on one phone will be downloadable and useable on the other phone without having to pay again.
Second, the contacts need to be saved as Google contacts otherwise they wont sync. What you do is on your old phone, export the contacts to sd card, then import them again, but this time import them to your Google account.
Second, the contacts need to be saved as Google contacts otherwise they wont sync. What you do is on your old phone, export the contacts to sd card, then import them again, but this time import them to your Google account.
pool_shark
Android Expert
A lot of what is suggested here is assuming your preference is syncing your contacts online.
I never sync my contacts. I prefer to export them to a file, then import into the new phone.
I never sync my contacts. I prefer to export them to a file, then import into the new phone.
That's great if the target supports local file import. Good luck with that on an iPhone, or even Windows Phone.
