The new phone starts up, the contacts come across, and it looks fine. Two weeks later you notice that the supplier from last year is missing, three people have no name, and one man is in there twice. This is normal, and it is avoidable. Ten minutes before the switch save you the whole mess.
First find out where your contacts live
A phone can hold contacts in four different places at the same time, and only some of them travel. This is the step everybody skips and it is the one that matters.
- • A Google account. These sync and come across on their own.
- • An iCloud account. Same, but only to another Apple device.
- • Phone storage, sometimes shown as Device or Phone. These do not travel unless you export them.
- • The SIM card. Small, names cut short, one number each.
- • A maker account such as Samsung or Xiaomi. These travel only to another phone of the same make.
On Android, open Contacts, tap Fix and manage, and look at the accounts listed there. On an iPhone, go to Settings, then Apps, then Contacts, then Default Account. If anything is sitting in phone storage or on the SIM, move it into the account you plan to keep before you do anything else.
Android to Android
- 1. On the old phone, open Settings, then Google, then Backup, and tap Back up now. Wait for it to finish.
- 2. Check that contact sync is on. Settings, then Accounts, then your Google account, then Account sync, then Contacts.
- 3. Sign in to the same Google account on the new phone.
- 4. Wait. Contacts usually appear within a few minutes and a large list can take longer.
- 5. Compare the total count on both phones. Contacts shows the number at the bottom of the list.
That count check is the only proof that the move worked. If the new phone has fewer names, something was in phone storage and did not come.
iPhone to iPhone, and across the two systems
Turn on iCloud Contacts on the old phone in Settings, under your name, then iCloud. Then use Quick Start when setting up the new phone, or sign in to the same Apple ID afterwards. Contacts sync by themselves. If they do not appear, turn iCloud Contacts off and on again on the new phone and give it a few minutes.
Moving between an Android and an iPhone is easier than its reputation, because Google Contacts works perfectly well on an iPhone.
- 1. Android to iPhone: on the iPhone, go to Settings, then Apps, then Contacts, then Accounts, and add your Google account with Contacts turned on. Every contact appears. Nothing else to do.
- 2. iPhone to Android: on a computer, open icloud.com, go to Contacts, select all, and export a vCard. Then open contacts.google.com and import that file.
- 3. Either direction also works with Apple Move to iOS or the Android switch tool during setup. The account method is more reliable because you can redo it any time.
The manual method that always works
When nothing syncs, when the old phone belongs to a company, or when you simply want to be sure, use a file. Export a .vcf from the old phone, send it to yourself, and import it on the new one. Every phone made in the last fifteen years can read that file. It is slower and it never fails.
Ahoyy keeps your contacts on your own account, so a new phone is just a sign in. The notes you wrote and the places you met people come across with them.
See how syncing worksWhat usually goes missing
| Names and numbers | Nearly always survive. |
|---|---|
| Contact photos | Often lost, especially photos that came from WhatsApp rather than the contact card. |
| Labels and groups | Survive within one account. Lost when you move between Google and iCloud. |
| Ringtones set per contact | Almost never survive. |
| Notes on a contact | Survive on a proper sync. Lost if the transfer went through the SIM. |
| Second and third numbers | Lost if the contacts went through the SIM. A SIM entry keeps one number. |
The pattern is simple. Account sync and .vcf files keep the detail. The SIM route throws most of it away. If someone at a shop offers to move your contacts using the SIM, that is what you are agreeing to.
A ten minute check after the move
- 1. Compare the contact count on both phones.
- 2. Search five names you use often and confirm each one has the right number.
- 3. Open Contacts, then Fix and manage, then Merge duplicates, because a transfer is the most common way to create duplicates.
- 4. Export a fresh .vcf from the new phone and keep it on a laptop. You have just proved the list is complete, so this is a good moment to save it.
- 5. Keep the old phone switched on for a week before you sell it or hand it over.
That last one matters more than people expect. A missing contact usually shows up when you need it, not when you are looking for it. As long as the old phone is still around, nothing is truly lost.
If you are handing your old phone down to a parent or a child in the family, do the same check on their side. A phone passed on within the house often ends up carrying two sets of contacts at once, one from the previous owner and one restored from the new one. That is the single most common way a phonebook doubles overnight.
Before you hand the old phone on, remove your account from it properly. Sign out of Google or your Apple ID first, then do the factory reset. A reset done in the wrong order can leave the phone locked for the next owner.