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Whatever you attempt with your iPhone Contacts synchronization experiments, it's definitely a good idea to Backup iPhone Contacts to PC first
Indeed, every situation is different and even the most proven procedures can fail due to specific configurations
Accidental iPhone Contacts deletions are not uncommon, they are actually quite frequent, for example during synchronizations with Outlook or Gmail, and always regrettable and disastrous
Hereafter is the most standard procedure on How to Backup iPhone Contacts to Computer
Backup iPhone Contacts
- Open iTunes and connect your iPhone
- Go to Start -> Programs -> Accessories and open the Address Book
- In iTunes, click your iPhone in the "Devices" section on the left, then click the "Info" tab
- In "Contacts", check "Sync Contacts with" and select "Windows Address Book"
- Select "All Contacts"
- Finally, click "Sync" in iTunes lower-right corner
You will be asked whether to Merge or Replace
Make sure to select "MERGE", otherwise Contacts on your iPhone would be deleted
All your iPhone Contacts should now be safely backed up in your Windows Address Book
( Note that from then on, any contact added to your iPhone will automatically be added to your Windows Address Book and the other way around )
Pretty neat, huh !
At this point, you can also sync iPhone Contacts with Gmail or Yahoo!
For even more safety, you can Backup Windows Address Book Contacts to a .CSV file ( that doubles security, which is never a bad idea when it comes to protecting such precious information as your iPhone Contacts )
- In Address Book, go to File -> Export and click Address Book ( WAB )
- Locate and select the Windows Address Book file you wish to export to and hit the "Open" button
Save this .CSV file to a safe place such as a USB Flash drive and / or an external hard drive
You can even send it to yourself as an attachment to an email
Notes & possible issues
Once done with the above tutorial, you can proceed to
All your iPhone Contacts got deleted by an unwanted synchronization with Outlook or Gmail ?
They might not be lost forever
Let's try to Recover iPhone Contacts
Restore iPhone Deleted Contacts
- In iTunes left panel, right-click on your iPhone in the "Devices" section and select "Restore from Backup"
It might allow you to Retrieve iPhone erased Contacts, if it doesn't, then we are out of hints
Good Luck !
Notes & possible issues
- This solution works for both Mac and PC
Mike Johnson
Founder and Editor of sync-iphone.com has a sincere desire to provide readers with honest and useful solutions for their iPhone
More about him on Google+
Microsoft Office latest version brought some slight changes on
How to transfer contacts from Window Address Book to Outlook 2010
Here is the updated procedure
- Open Outlook 2010
- Click File -> Open
- Click "Import" and select "From another program or file"
- Next
- Select "Personal Address Book" and hit Next again
- Click "Browse" and find the Personal Address Book to import ( it should be in C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook )
- Click OK, Next and Finish
Notes & possible issues
- The extension of the file to be imported will be .pab if created by Outlook 2007, 2003, 2000 or earlier
Mike Johnson
Founder and Editor of sync-iphone.com has a sincere desire to provide readers with honest and useful solutions for their iPhone
More about him on Google+
Apple just released iCloud
Let's discover how to Synchronize iPhone Contacts to iCloud
First off, make sure to Update your iPhone to iOS 5, as this is required for iCloud
Download iPhone Contacts to iCloud
- In your iPhone, go to Settings->iCloud and switch off Contacts
When asked whether to keep or delete iPhone Contacts, select delete if you have a backup of your Contacts on your computer. Otherwise, keep your iPhone Contacts
- Now, sync iPhone contacts with your computer as per these instructions
- Next, switch Contacts back on in iPhone Settings->iCloud
- Tap "Merge" to import iPhone Contacts to iCloud
You are all set. You can now go to your iPhone Contacts App to make sure all iPhone Contacts have been downloaded to iCloud
Notes & possible issues
- If you cannot or do not want to update iPhone to iOS 5, you can create an iCloud account from any Mac running OSX Lion
Mike Johnson
Founder and Editor of sync-iphone.com has a sincere desire to provide readers with honest and useful solutions for their iPhone
More about him on Google+
Note: if you encounter problems with iTunes trying to erase your iPhone from the new computer, read our Prevent iTunes from syncing iPhone instructions
Probably the biggest limitation with iTunes is the one-way transfer allowing to synchronize iPhone and Computer only from the PC to the iPhone
What if you want to transfer your iPhone the other way round: from iPhone to Computer / iTunes ?
The only way to Copy iPhone to Computer is to use a dedicated program
We describe the iPhone to PC procedure in our Sync iPhone to iTunes tutorial
Notes & possible issues
- This solution works for both Mac and PC
- In case you only want to copy your iPhone files to your Computer and not import them to iTunes, select the "Manual Mode" described in the "Notes & possible issues" section of the Sync iPhone to iTunes tutorial
Mike Johnson
Founder and Editor of sync-iphone.com has a sincere desire to provide readers with honest and useful solutions for their iPhone
More about him on Google+
- For instructions on specific email providers such as Gmail and Yahoo!, please refer to the corresponding tutorial
- Sync iPhone Contacts with Outlook
- Sync iPhone Contacts with Gmail
- Sync FaceBook Friends with iPhone Contacts
- Sync Yahoo! Contacts with iPhone
- Sync iPhone Contacts with Hotmail
- Sync iPhone Contacts with Thunderbird
- For Mac, please refer to Sync iPhone Contacts with Mac
One of the first things you need after having purchased your iPhone is to Synch your personal Contacts, Calendars and Email Accounts from Computer to iPhone
Thanks to iTunes, you can sync all these in just one easy operation
- Connect your iPhone to your Computer ( iTunes should open up automatically. If not, launch it from Start->All Programs->iTunes->iTunes )
- Click your iPhone in the "Devices" section on the left
- Click the "Info" tab
- Check the "Sync contacts with" option and select "Windows Address Book"
In case you don't want all your iPhone Contacts to be synchronized with your Computer Contacts, click "Selected groups" and make your choice the groups you want to synchronize
- Then, hit the "Sync calendars with" check box and select "Windows Address Book"
If you do not want to synchronize all your iPhone Calendars with your Computer's, click "Selected calendars" and select the ones you want to be synchronized
- Finally, click the "Sync" button in iTunes lower-right corner
Notes & possible issues
- Once you complete the above procedure, your iPhone Contacts will synchronize every time you connect your iPhone to your Computer
- In case of any iPhone Contacts synchronization problems, on your iPhone go to Settings->Safari->Clear Cookies and restart the Contacts application ( if your iPhone supports multi-tasking, make sure you have actually closed the Contacts app )
Mike Johnson
Founder and Editor of sync-iphone.com has a sincere desire to provide readers with honest and useful solutions for their iPhone
More about him on Google+
