4 Ways to Sync iCloud Contacts with Outlook for Mac and PC

This article will show you how to sync iCloud contacts with Outlook for Mac as well as Windows.

iCloud is a cloud storage service from Apple. iCloud Contacts offers basic features for you to manage contacts. Outlook can refer to Microsoft Outlook, an email client app. It can also refer to Outlook.com, an email service provider.

There are two possible reasons to sync contacts from iCloud to Outlook. You want to use your iCloud contacts in Outlook. In such a case, you can manually export and import, which is easy to do. Or, you want the two to share the same contact list. The methods described below will cover both situations.

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Method 1. Manually sync iCloud contacts with Outlook

Applies to: macOS, Windows

The Outlook app is available for Windows, Mac and mobile. The fact is that Outlook for Mac doesn’t officially support contact synchronization with iCloud. But you can do it manually, which is, fortunately, easy to do. We will use Outlook for Mac as an example of how to use this method to sync iCloud contacts with Outlook for Mac and Windows.

Part 1: Import iCloud contacts to Outlook

1. On your web browser, sign in to iCloud.
2. Go to https://www.icloud.com/contacts/.
3. Click the gear icon in the bottom left corner and choose Select All.
4. Click the icon again and choose Export vCard.
5. Control-click the exported file (with the .vcf filename extension) and select Open With > Microsoft Outlook.

This is how to import iCloud contacts to Outlook for Mac. Now you can see and use them in the Outlook address book.

Note: When it comes to Windows, the first four steps are the same. In Outlook for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2019 or Outlook 2016 etc., choose File and go to Open & Export > Import/Export. The wizard will guide you through the process.

Part 2: Import Outlook contacts to iCloud

1. In the Navigation Bar of your Outlook app, click People.
2. Select all or certain contacts.
3. Right-click and choose Forward as vCard.
4. Send the contacts to yourself as email attachments. Download the contacts.
5. Go to https://www.icloud.com/contacts/.
6. Click the gear icon and choose Import vCard. Import the downloaded contacts.

Method 2. Sync iCloud contacts with Outlook for Mac using ContactsMate

Applies to: macOS

If you have set up Outlook with your Outlook.com account and contacts can sync between the two, then you can use Cisdem ContactsMate, the best contact management app for Mac, to make things easier.

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1. Download ContactsMate and install it.
2. When you open it for the first time, click OK to grant access.
3. Click Add Account in the toolbar.
4. Choose iCloud and sign in to it.
5. Select the box next to Contacts.
6. Click the plus icon + in the bottom left corner of the Internet Account window and choose Exchange. Sign in.
7. Select the checkbox next to Contacts.
8. Click the button next to the Updated contacts detected message. Now you should find iCloud and Exchange in the sidebar.
9. Select iCloud in the sidebar and mass select all iCloud contacts. Drag selected contacts into Exchange.

Wait for the sync to finish. Now you should be able to find your iCloud contacts in Outlook for Mac. Similarly, you can drag Exchange contacts into iCloud.

Tip: Remove or merge duplicate contacts after syncing

There’s a possibility that lots of duplicate contacts appear after you finish sync. Is annoyed to locate a particular contacts from cluttered address book. Don’t worry. Cisdem Duplicate allows you to find and remove/merge duplicates efficiently. Go to the main window and select iCloud/Exchange in the sidebar. Click Scan in the toolbar. It’ll found duplicate contacts in seconds and list them clearly. Select a duplicate contact and choose a solution. Click Fix or Fix all.

Method 3. Use SyncGene to sync iCloud contacts with Outlook for Mac and Windows

Applies to: macOS, Windows

If you are looking for a quick way to sync your iCloud contacts with Outlook, some third-party synchronization services that can help you with your need. SyncGene is one of them.

If you use SyncGene, you will need to let it access your info. Use caution with this method.

If you don’t trust such a third-party service, then you can skip this method.

1. On your web browser, go to SyncGene. Create an account.
2. Go to sync status > ADD SOURCE.
3. Select Apple iCloud and sign in to it. You can follow the instructions provided to generate an app-specific password.
4. Select Office 365 / Outlook.com and add the source.
5. Click WHAT TO SYNC.
6. Click CONTACTS.
7. Configure settings. Click SAVE.
8. Click DIRECTION. Choose the desired direction. Click SAVE.
9. Click SYNC ALL.

Now you can verify that if it syncs iCloud contacts with Outlook.

Note that there could be sync errors. In our test, it did a good job of syncing newly added contacts, but it failed to successfully sync the previously existing iCloud contacts. In such a case, you can first export existing contacts from iCloud to Outlook.

Method 4. Use iCloud Control Panel to sync iCloud contacts to Outlook

Applies to: Windows

For Windows users, the synchronization is easy thanks to the iCloud for Windows app. In addition to syncing iCloud contacts with Outlook, this method will sync Outlook Mail, Calendars and Tasks.

1. Download and install the latest version of iCloud for Windows.
2. Sign in with your Apple ID and password.
3. Select the Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and Tasks With Outlook checkbox.
4. Click Apply.
5. You will be presented with the Outlook Setup for iCloud window. You can choose to add all or certain iCloud Contacts to Outlook.
   

Now you will see your iCloud contacts in People in Outlook. This is how you can sync contacts from iCloud to Outlook on Windows 11, Windows 10 or an older version.

With this method, if you experience the iCloud contacts not showing in Outlook issue or if you receive the Repair iCloud for Windows to use iCloud with Outlook message, you can try to uninstall and reinstall iCloud.

Conclusion

The possibility and practice to sync iCloud contacts with Outlook for Mac or other sources help improve our productivity. We hope that the methods described above will help you out. If you are a Mac user and want to sync, organize and manage your contacts with little effort and high efficiency, ContactsMate is recommended. It excels at importing/exporting contacts, syncing, backing up contact information to various formats, editing, and removing duplicate contacts, among other things.