How to Transfer Contacts from iPhone to Mac Address Book or Contacts App

Many iPhone users may not know how to sync contacts from iPhone to Mac address book (also called Contacts app). Transferring iPhone contacts to Mac is an ideal way to back up contacts. So that you'll never worry about suddenly losing contacts from iPhone without any backup.

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After the introduction of how to transfer data from old iPhone to new iPhone, today, let’s discuss how to transfer contacts from iPhone to Mac address book. For more detailed information, please read on:

Sync contacts from iPhone to Mac address book via iCloud

This method requires you to have an iCloud account, so if you don’t have iCloud account, please create a new one before transferring contacts from iPhone to Mac address book via iCloud.

Step 1. Connect your iPhone with Wi-Fi, tap Settings > iCloud on your iPhone. Sign in with your Apple ID and make sure that Contacts is on. If not, please wipe the button for Contacts to ON.

Step 2. Transfer contacts from iPhone to Mac

Option 1. Save iPhone contacts to Mac as a vCard file

Open a web browser on Mac and visit iCloud.com. Sign in with your Apple ID. Click Contacts icon and then click the settings icon at the bottom left and select Export vCard. Then all your iPhone contacts will be saved to Mac as a vCard file.

Option 2. Sync iPhone contacts to Mac Address book

Set up iCloud and enable your iCloud account on your Mac. Click the little apple icon on the top left of your Mac, choose System Preferences, click iCloud, and select Contacts (Address book) you want to enable. Then you will see all the iPhone contacts are synced to your Mac Address book.

Transfer contacts from iPhone to Mac address book directly

Many users complain that using iCloud to sync contacts from iPhone to Mac address book is complex and not easy to operate. So here we will recommend you how to import contacts from iPhone to Mac. The following are the steps for how to do it.

Step 1. Install Cisdem iPhone Recovery on Mac. Download and install iPhone Recovery on Mac. It is the tool that will help you import contacts from iPhone to Mac directly. Launch it on your Mac and connect your iPhone with your Mac via the USB cable. Choose “Recover from iOS Device”.

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Step 2. Scan your iPhone. Click Start Scan button to scan your iPhone, and this iPhone data recovery will scan all files on your iPhone. Just wait for a while untile it finishes scanning.

Step 3. Preview and import contacts from iPhone to Mac. You will see all files are listed in categories. Choose contacts item to preview and check the list one by one, then select those you want and click "Recover" to export your contacts to Mac. And then all your iPhone contacts will be saved on your Mac directly.

Step 4. Import contacts from iPhone to Mac (Optional). Open your Mac Address Book or Contacts app, and click File > New Group. Name the new group, select the Address Book or Contacts group you want to import your contacts into, then choose File > Import, and select your .csv files to import. Then you have successfully transferred iPhone contacts to Mac Address Book.

Sync contacts from iPhone to Mac using AirDrop

AirDrop is a method of transferring files wirelessly from one device to another device. It uses Bluetooth to create a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi network between the devices. Each device creates a firewall around the connection and files are sent encrypted, which actually makes it safer than transferring via email. It is also supported on Macs running OS X Lion or later. So AirDrop can be used to transfer contacts between iPhone and Mac. Follow below steps to transfer contacts from iPhone to Mac using AirDrop.

1. Turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. If you want to share with your contacts, sign in to iCloud.
2. Turn on AirDrop on your iPhone. Swipe up from the bottom of your screen to open Control Center. Tap AirDrop and turn permissions from "Off" to "Contacts Only" to "Everyone". It's usually best to leave it at "Contacts Only". You will also need to navigate to whatever you want to share. Here you should choose Contacts to share.
3. Choose Go > AirDrop from the menu bar in the Finder on Mac. Or select AirDrop in the sidebar of a Finder window. You can use the “Allow me to be discovered by” setting at the bottom of the AirDrop window to receive files from everyone instead of only those in your Contacts app.
4. Save iPhone contacts on Mac. Then all your contacts you're sending are automatically accepted and saved on your Mac.