Have you ever switched to a new phone and wondered: “where are my contacts stored on Android?”. You are certainly not alone. This is why a solid understanding of the Android contacts editor for your contacts is necessary in a world with so many contacts.
It’s impossible to count the average entries in an Android contacts library. For any new contact we make, we simply hit ‘add to contacts’ and we assume that our contacts are safe.
Today, our contacts are not only telephone numbers. Each contact in our Android may have a home, mobile, and work number, an email and Skype address, as well as many other social media contact information. The need to know the best way to backup Android contacts is crucial.
We are going to look at all the ins and outs of the contacts editors, how you can manage Android phone contacts from a PC, how to merge with Google Contacts and other accounts, how to backup Android contacts, and the best Android contacts backup app.
Let’s start by finding out more about the Android contacts file location.
Table of Contents
- Where are my Android contacts stored?
- How to edit contacts on Android
- Does Android backup contacts?
- The Best Way to Backup Android Contacts
- Best Way to transfer Android contacts to iPhone
- Wrap Up
Where are my Android contacts stored?
When you add a new contact to your Android phone it is automatically saved to your phone, more specifically, the internal storage. In some cases, depending on the phone you have, your contacts might be stored on the SIM card. The easiest way to check this is:
- Insert your SIM into a different phone;
- Open your contacts icon;
- Click the 3 dots for settings;
- Click manage contacts and open imports/exports;
Here, you will find the option to export contacts to SIM. Now, you will have your contacts on your phone and Android contacts to SIM. This is the same process if you happen to be using an SD card on your Android phone.
How to edit contacts on Android
Personally, I have 951 contacts on my Android. It’s no surprise that some Android contacts files end up getting repeated or you want to manage contacts on Android.
Once you open your Android contacts, select any name in the address book. You will see the option to call, message, video call, and details. Select details and at the top right-hand side, you can select edit. There are so many options to edit in the Android contacts library, each contact will be completely unique. Aside from names, numbers, and emails, you can:
- Include events
- Add notes
- State relationships
- Add the phonetic name (how it is pronounced)
- Scan a business card
- Personalize ringtones and vibrations
What are linked contacts on Android?
Depending on your phone, this will appear as “link”, “merge”, or “group” contacts. Using this as an Android contact editor is a great way to organize your contacts.
You might have three different contacts for one person (mobile, Skype, email, for example). By selecting link/ merge, these contacts become one. Or you can group contacts by categories such as work, family, old school friends, etc.
Does Android backup contacts?
The short answer is yes, your contacts are automatically backed to your phone if you don’t have an alternative account (Gmail/Outlook) set up. To change this, you can go into the manage contacts and click on default. This will allow you to change where your contacts are automatically saved.
The Best Way to Backup Android Contacts
We found that there are 4 straightforward ways for you to backup your Android contacts:
- Outlook for Android contacts
- Merge with Google contacts
- Android contacts backup to PC
- Android contacts recovery app
Outlook for Android contacts
If you want to use Outlook for Android contacts, the process is very simple and can be done from your Android contacts file location.
Once you have opened your Android contacts, you can click on the settings option and you will find options to merge contacts, import/export contacts, move contacts from the phone, and sync contacts. To backup your contacts, click move contacts from your phone. The screen will display all of the accounts that you have registered.
This method will also work if you want to import your Android contacts to Gmail or Yahoo. When you have completed the backup, you can edit Yahoo contacts on Android just as you can your Gmail contacts.
Android contacts not syncing with Outlook
If you can’t sync Android contacts with Outlook, the most common reason is that you haven’t allowed syncing to occur. There are two steps to solve this:
- First, open your settings and find your applications. Open Outlook and check that you have contacts enabled.
- Second, you need to open your Outlook app and click on settings. Tap your account and then tap sync contacts.
Google contacts: how to import
The simplest way is to use the import/export feature in your settings, the same way as we did for the SIM card. Begin by opening your contacts on your Android and tap the three dots for settings. Open manage contacts and you will see import/export.
A list of your registered accounts will appear and you can click on Google, followed by import. You can choose individual contacts or the entire address book.
Google contacts do not sync with Android
As with Outlook, you need to check that in your Android settings and your Google settings, the option to sync contacts is on. Due to the sheer size of Google, error messages when syncing are quite common. Here are some other things to try:
- Check that your background data is enabled by looking in your Android data usage setting;
- In your apps manager, clear all of the data and the cache for Google Contacts;
- Delete your Google account and reset it up;
Android contacts – backup to PC
AirMore is a popular app for Android users that enables you to edit Android contacts on a PC for free. You can download the app from the Google Play Store on your Android and then back the data up onto your Windows PC or Mac.
From your Android, run the app and click scan to connect. You will need your devices to be on the same Wi-Fi network and follow the directions to scan the QR code.
AirMore will let you delete, group, and add new contacts from your PC. You will also be able to share other content from your Android to your PC such as files and photos.
Before the days of Wi-Fi and apps, we had a good old-fashioned USB cable. Different phones have different setups but the first thing you will need to do is import your contacts to your phone storage. Connect your phone to your computer via a USB cable and follow the instructions. The only downside is that you will need enough storage space on your phone for your contacts.
Android contacts recovery app
If none of the above options suits you, you can choose from one of the best Android contacts backup software below. These apps are also great if you accidentally delete all contacts on your Android phone.
Easy Backup
You can use Easy Backup to recover lost contacts, backup to the cloud, and even send via email. The design is easy to use and highly intuitive. Plus, it has an automatic cleanup system.
Backup Your Mobile
This incredibly useful app may not be the best in terms of user-friendly but it does come with multiple ways to store your contacts. Restoring your contacts is fast and there is a feature that automatically backups up contacts.
Super Backup & Restore
A good choice for fast backups and straightforward contact recovery. If you are looking for a simple app, this might not be for you as you also have the ability to back up a range of data sets like bookmarks and calendar storage.
Wondershare Dr. Fone
As one of the original data recovery tools for Android, Dr. Fone will recover lost contacts, SMS text messages, and photos, even after restoring your phone to factory settings and from the SD card on your phone.
Undeleter
For the recovery and backup of contacts, photos, and SMS messages, Undeleter is easy to use and supports many formats. It will also take care of your Wi-Fi passwords and show previews of your files before you recover them.
Best Way to transfer Android contacts to iPhone
Some people see Android and Apple like chalk and cheese. Not so long ago the software of these two operating systems was completely incompatible. So, can Android contacts transfer to iPhone?
Yes, and the great news is, that you have already learned many ways to do this when we discussed the best way to backup Android contacts. Let’s recap:
- Export your contacts to your SIM card and put your SIM card in an iPhone;
- Sync your contacts with Google/Gmail/Outlook;
- Use AirMore to share your contacts with your Mac, once they are on your Mac you can sync them with your Apple contacts or edit Android contacts online via iCloud, etc.
If you are looking for a fresh start, the Move to iOS app has been downloaded over 50 million times, and with good reason. This app enables the transfer of all files from Android, not just your contacts. Here’s how:
- When setting up your iPhone, open Apps & Data and select move data from Android;
- Now, on your Android, download the Move to iOS app from the Google Play Store;
- Follow the instructions to find and enter the code to pair the devices;
- Once they are paired, you can choose the contacts or data you want to share and tap next, it should start automatically;
Don’t be put off by the initial reviews of this app because it has come on leaps and bounds since it was first released.
Wrap Up
When you cannot edit contacts on Android, you may well be tempted to through your phone out the window. Half the time we go around in circles and confuse ourselves as it rarely is the fault of the technology.
Put the phone down for a second, re-read our pointers on how to edit contacts on Android, and start over! This time it will be a breeze!
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