How to Back Up Your Android Contacts to Your Google Account

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 28, 2019

Contacts that you've added through various accounts like Google and WhatsApp are automatically saved to their respective accounts. Contacts that you've saved to your device's storage will need to be backed up if you're planning on wiping your device. The quickest way to back up any contacts stored on your Android device is to copy them to your Google account.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Finding Your Contacts

1
Tap the Contacts or People app on your device. The process for all of this will vary depending on the manufacturer of your device and the contacts app you are using.
2
Tap the ⋮ or More button. This is typically located in the upper-right corner.

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3
Tap Contacts to Display or Display Options. You may have to tap Settings first. The wording may vary from device to device.
4
Tap an ACCOUNT to view the contacts. When you select an account, you'll see all of the contacts that are saved to that account. Any contact that is connected to an account is automatically backed up and can be restored whenever you sign in again.
- For example, tapping "WhatsApp" will display all of your WhatsApp contacts. These contacts are stored on WhatsApp servers, so you don't need to worry about backing them up.
5
Tap Phone to view contacts stored on your phone. These are contacts that have been saved to your device's memory, and will need to be transferred to another account like Google or exported to a file. Contacts stored on your phone's memory will be erased if you perform a factory reset.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Copying Contacts from Phone to Google

1
Open your Contacts app to the Phone view. Your contacts app should just be displaying the contacts that are stored on your device's memory.
- Note that the terminology in this section will vary a lot depending on your phone manufacturer. The features discussed may not be available on all devices.
2
Tap the More or ⋮ button.
3
Tap Settings or Manage Contacts.
4
Tap Move device contacts to or Copy. The wording on this feature will vary a lot depending on your device. Look for a utility that allows you to transfer contacts from one account to another.
- If you don't have the ability to copy contacts to your Google account, you can still export your contacts as a file and them import them to Google.
5
Tap Phone in the From list. If you are prompted to select the account you want to move contacts from, select your phone's storage.
6
Tap your Google account in the To list. Select your Google account in the list of accounts you can move your contacts to. This will ensure that they reappear when you sign back in with your Google account, and that they can be accessed from contacts.google.com.
7
Tap Copy or OK. Your contacts will begin copying to your Google account. This may take a few moments if you are copying a lot of contacts.
8
Visit contacts.google.com in your browser. You can verify that your contacts were successfully added here.
9
Sign in with your Google account. Sign in with the same Google account you copied the contacts to.
10
Find your newly-added contacts. If you see your contacts from your phone here, they have been safely backed up to Google. You may need to wait a little while for the contacts to sync.^{[1]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Exporting Your Contacts as a File

1
Tap the Contacts app on your device. If you can't copy your contacts directly to your Google account, you can export them to a file and then import that file to your Google account.
2
Tap the ⋮ or More button.
3
Tap Contacts to Display or Display Options. You may have to tap the Settings option first.
4
Tap the Phone option. This will set the contacts app to only display contacts stored on your device, which are the contacts that need to be backed up.
5
Tap the ⋮ or More button again.
6
Tap Settings or Manage Contacts.
7
Tap the Import/Export or Back up option.
8
Tap Export.
9
Tap your device's storage. This will set the contact file to save in your phone's storage.
10
Tap the contacts you want to export. If you're given the option, tap the contacts you want to export. Since you restricted the view to the contacts just stored on your device, you can usually just tap "Select All."
11
Wait while your contacts export. You'll see a notification appear at the top of the screen when the contacts have finished exporting.
12
Tap the ⋮ or More button in the Contacts app.
13
Tap Settings or Manage Contacts.
14
Tap the Import/Export option.
15
Tap Import.
16
Tap your Google account. This will ensure that the imported contacts are added directly to your Google account.
17
Tap your contact file. Tap the file that you just created when prompted. This will import the contacts from that file into your Google account, backing them up online.
18
Visit contacts.google.com in your browser.
19
Sign in with your Google account. Sign in with the same account you just imported the contacts to.
20
Find your newly-imported contacts. Look for the contacts from your phone that you just imported. If you see them, they have been safely backed up to your Google account.^{[2]
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- It may take a little while for the contacts to sync.

Community Q&A

Question

Can I backup my contacts without an existing backup?

Community Answer

Yes.
Question

Can I transfer contacts from one device to another?

Joel

Community Answer

Yes, you can. This is typically done in store by a technician when you get a new phone.
Question

I want to export my contacts from my android device to my PC. What should I do?

Community Answer

Get a data cable. Connect your android device to your computer. You might have to go into the settings on your phone to connect to the computer. Then on your computer, go to your file explorer and you should see your device listed there. If it's a newer phone and you have your google account on it should add them automatically. At least, mine did.