How to transfer contacts and data to your Samsung Galaxy

If you need to copy the contacts from your old handset to your new Samsung Android phone, we're here to help. By using the Google account you have set up on your smartphone, it's possible to transfer contacts using vCard or CSV files which then pushes them directly to your handset. Read on to find out more!

• Importing contacts from an Android phone
• Importing contacts from an iPhone
• Importing contacts from a BlackBerry
• Importing contacts from a Windows Phone
• Transferring contacts using a SIM or memory card
• Manually adding a contact to your Samsung

Import contacts from an Android phone

If you've been usiong an Android handset, there are two ways to move your contacst over to your new Samsung phone. Samsung have created Smart Switch, which is an app based tool to move not only contacts but other data too, such as calendars and messages, as well as pictures and music. If you only have contacts to copy across, you may find it easier to use the Google account to do this. Either way, we're here to help!

Import contacts and other data from an Android handset using Smart Switch

1. On both of your handsets, open the Play Store and download Samsung Smart Switch. Open the app on both phones, and accept the End User License Agreement on each by tapping Agree.
2. On your new Samsung handset, select the source handset by highlighting Android device, then tap Start.
3. You must choose to set up the new Samsung as the Receiving device as this is the phone you're sending data to. Tap Next when you're ready to pair the two phones together.
4. On your old Android phone, choose Samsung Device and press Start to tell your older phone how to behave over the next few steps. Once done, your phone will remind you to download and open Samsung Smart Switch on your new Samsung handset.

5. Press Connect on your old phone and make sure the PIN code matches on both phone screens. The two phones will pair up together, but if this doesn't seem to work for you don't worry. Just turn up the volume on both handsets, as the smartphones connect to each other using an audio signal!
6. Still using your old phone, tick each box for the type of data you wish to transfer. Press Send to start the transfer.
7. On your new Samsung Galaxy phone, make sure to confirm you wish to receive content by pressing the Receive button on the screen.
8. The data will start to copy across, and when finished both phones will show a Completed confirmation screen. Tap Finish to complete the transfer stage.

You may notice that your apps themselves didn't copy across, although any saved app data should have. The Play Store app on your new Samsung phone will allow you to check all the apps you've downloaded or purchased in the past, and re-download as many of them as you wish. We'd recommend connecting to a Wi-Fi network if you're doing this, as downloading apps can consume a large amount of data!

Import contacts using the Google account

The Google account is an easy to transfer contacts from an old Android phone to your new Samsung. Because Google synchronises over-the-air, using the same Google account on both handsets will sync them across. If you haven't set up Google contact sync on your old phone, the following steps will help you do this, although your handset's options may differ from the one we've used to prepare this guide.

To start moving your contacts into the Google account, open your contacts app from the home screen or Apps menu.

1. With your contact list open, tap the Menu or More button/icon.
2. Depending on your handset, you may need to tap Settings.
3. Tap the option to Move or copy device contacts to Google. Depending on your handset, you may need to go into the Import/Export menu to do this.
4. If prompted, confirm the Google account you wish to copy your contacts to.

If your handset does not give you the option to move your contacts from the handset to the Google account directly, you may need to use your memory card (or SIM) to help you achieve this.

Import contacts from an iPhone

If you've taken the plunge and are moving from an iPhone to a Samsung handset, there are a couple of ways to migrate your contacts across. The Samsung Smart Switch app can import your contacts, calendars, pictures and media from an iCloud backup of your old Apple device, or you can use your computer to extract the contact information from iCloud and import it into your Samsung's Google account. The choice is yours!

Import contacts and other data from an iCloud backup using Smart Switch

If you're migrating from an iPhone or want to import your personal information from an iPad, read our guide below for help moving contacts, photos and other personal information to your new Samsung smartphone.

1. Firstly, we need to make sure your iPhone or iPad is signed into iCloud. Pick up your iOS device, find and press on the Settings icon then scroll down to the iCloud entry. Press it to continue.
2. You might already be signed in to iCloud, and if you are you will see a list of all the different items currently synchronised to your account. If you don't see any of this, sign in with your Apple ID and password when asked.
3. Now that you're in the iCloud settings page, find and press on Storage & Backup. When the new menu page loads, make sure iCloud Backup is turned on and press Back Up Now at the bottom of the list. Once the backup is finished you will see today's time and date below the Back Up Now button.

Now that an iCloud backup of your iPhone has been made, it's time to switch over to your new Samsung Galaxy to import your data. On your new Samsung phone, install Samsung Smart Switch through the website or by using the Play Store app on your handset.

1. To get started, locate and tap on the Smart Switch app.
2. The app will open to the End User Licence Agreement. In order to proceed, you must tap Agree.
3. To restore from your iCloud backup, choose iOS Device as your old device and press Start.
4. You will be asked to sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID and password. Enter the information, then tap Sign in.

5. Once you're logged in, all available backups will be shown. Tap on the backup you'd like to restore from, which will usually be the most recent.
6. Next you'll be asked to pick which pieces of information you'd like to import. Tick the items you want to move to your new Samsung phone, then tap Import at the bottom of the page.
7. Your data will copy over with the Samsung app displaying a progress bar, and an estimate of the time left to complete the transfer.
8. After the transfer has finished, tap Close app to quit the app. Your contacts and other data will now be on your Samsung Galaxy handset, ready to use!

Import contacts from the iCloud account using your computer

This process is fairly straightforward and requires an internet connection, a PC or a Mac and both your old and new phones. We'll take you through exporting the contacs from your iPhone's iCloud service and importing them into Google.

1. On your iPhone, find and press on the Settings icon.
2. Scroll down the settings list and tap on iCloud.
3. If you aren’t already signed in with your Apple ID, sign in now.
4. Press the small switch next to Contacts to turn on contacts sync.
5. Press the Merge button to import your contacts into iCloud. This may take a few minutes, depending on how many contacts you have.
6. Go to your computer. From an internet browser like Google Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer, visitthe iCloud website and sign in using your Apple ID and password.
7. Click on the Contacts button to see your iCloud address book, and hopefully the contacts you’ve just synchronised.
8. Click the Settings button (which looks like a cog or gear) in the bottom-left corner of the iCloud address book and choose Select All.
9. Click the Settings button again and choose Export vCard.
10. Your contacts will now download to your computer as a vCard file. This is usually called Contacts.vcf and normally will end up in your downloads folder, but this can vary depending on your internet browser.
11. Still on your computer, open the Google contacts page.
12. Log in with the same Google email address and password that you use on your Samsung.

13. You will now see your Google address book. Find and click on the More button at the top of the contacts list, then choose Import from the drop-down menu.
14. A new window will open, so click the Choose File button and find the .vcf file you downloaded in step 10.
15. After finding your contacts file, click Import to start adding them to your Google contacts list.

Google will sync these to your Samsung within just a few minutes.

Import contacts from a BlackBerry

All you need to transfer contacts from your BlackBerry is BlackBerry Desktop Software installed on your computer, your BlackBerry and your new Samsung. You’ll also need a USB cable to get the phones connected to your computer.

Once you’ve installed the BlackBerry Desktop Software, follow the instructions below to continue!

1. Connect your BlackBerry to your PC or Mac using the microUSB cable, open the BlackBerry Desktop Software and wait for it to recognise your phone.
2. Find and click on Organizer in the left-hand panel, then tick the Contacts box.
3. When asked to choose the sync direction, choose one way to your computer only.
4. Under the Contacts account heading, make sure that Windows contacts is highlighted. Press OK to continue.
5. Click on the Sync Organizer option in the bottom right-hand corner of the BlackBerry software to copy your contacts in to your Windows address book.

6. Now that your contacts are stored inside your Windows address book we need to export them into something called a CSV or Comma Separated Value file.
7. Open your Start menu and find Contacts. Open it to view your Windows address book.
8. Select all your contacts at once by holding down the Ctrl button on your keyboard and tapping A. This is a standard shortcut for “Select All” and can be used in many places on your computer!
9. Find and click on Export from the menu bar above the contacts list.
10. Choose CSV as the file type and click Export.
11. Click the Browse button and choose where to save the file. We recommend saving to your Desktop or to your Downloads folder. Give your file a name like Contacts, then click Save.
12. On your computer, open the Google contacts page.
13. Sign in with the same Google email address and password that you use on your new Samsung.

14. You should now be in your Google address book. Find and click on the More button in the upper left area of the page, then click Import from the drop-down menu.
15. From the window which will appear, click Choose File and find the .csv file you downloaded in step 11.

Once these contacts have imported, Google will sync them through to your new phone.

Import from a Windows Phone

To copy your contacts from a Windows Phone, we need to export them from your Microsoft account and import them into your Google account. In order to do this, you'll need to have a PC or Mac turned on and connected to the internet.

1. You should already have a Microsoft account (a Windows Live or Hotmail account) set up on your Windows Phone. These contacts will be saved to the Outlook.com People page automatically, so click the link and sign in with your Microsoft account email address and password when prompted.
2. Once you can see your contacts list, click the Manage button at the top of the page and choose Export for Outlook.com and other services from the drop down menu. Your contacts will download as a .csv file to your computer, usually to your Downloads folder.
3. On your computer, open Internet Explorer or which ever browser you prefer, then visit theGoogle contacts page.
4. Sign in with your Google email address and password, making sure to use the same Google account that’s set up on your Samsung.

5. Click on the More button, then choose Import from the drop-down menu.
6. A new window will open,asking for your contacts file. Click the Choose File button and find the .csv file you downloaded in step 2.
7. Once you’ve found your contacts.csv file, click the Import button to add these contacts to your Gmail account.
8. Make sure your Samsung handset is connected to the internet, either via Wi-Fi or over a mobile internet connection. Within a couple of minutes, your new Google contacts will have synced to your handset.

transferring contacts using a SIM or memory card

You can use a memory card or SIM to transfer contacts from one phone to another. We would always recommend using the memory card as the better option, because a SIM card can only store a limited amount of information.

Export contacts to a SIM or memory card

In order to transfer your contacts from your old phone using a memory or SIM card, you'll need to export them from your handset. The following steps are typical of those needed, but be aware that they may vary from device to device.

1. From the home screen or the Apps tray, open the Contacts app.
2. Tap the Menu or More icon.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap Import/Export.

5. To move your contacts, tap Export.
6. Choose where to export your contacts to by tapping on the correct location.
7. You may need to choose which contacts to export, and you may also have to confirm the action before proceeding.
8. Your handset will advise when your contacts are being moved.

Now that you've got them moved onto your memory or SIM card, put that card into your new phone and follow the steps below to import them. You can move them back onto the phone, but to ensure your contacts are backed up and to make life easier when changing devices in the future, we'd always recommend importing them to your Google account!

Import contacts from a SIM or memory card

You may have contacts on your SIM card, if you used it to transfer them from your old phone. To import these:

1. From the home screen, tap the Contacts icon.
2. Tap the Menu or More icon.
3. If necessary, tap Settings.
4. Tap Import/Export contacts.

5. Tap Import.
6. Choose where to Import contacts from by tapping on their location.
7. Select where to Save contacts to (we'd always recommend the Google account to ensure they're backed up) by tapping on it.
8. If requested, choose which contacts you would like to import and when you've made your selection, tap OK.
9. When the contacts import is complete, you will see a notice on the screen advising you of the fact.

If you're using the Google account to manage your contacts, then you can also edit and manage them through the Google contacts page.

Manually adding a contact

We've covered how to import your contacts from your previous handset, but what about adding a new one on-the-fly? Well, it's pretty straightforward! Read on to discover how.

1. From the home screen, tap the Contacts icon.
2. To add a new contact, tap New Contact at the bottom.
3. At the top you can choose where to save your new contact to. We'd always recommend the Google account, to ensure it is backed up. Tap the drop-down box to select your desired location.
4. Complete the contact form with all the relevant details, and when you're happy with the information you've entered, tap Save at the top.
5. If you need to update a contact's details at any time, tap their name in the contact list to open their card, then tap Edit to make your changes. Don't forget to save your changes afterwards!

Any problems?

So there you have it - a simple, step-by-step guide to transferring all your contacts to your Samsung handset. However, if you're having problems with any of the above steps, we're here to help! Let us know your issue in the comments box below and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can.