How to transfer contacts to your Alcatel Android phone

So you've got your new Alcatel Android phone set up, but you need to move your contacts over from your old handset. We'll show you how to export contacts from your old phone's online account using vCard or CSV files and import them into Google, which will push them over the air directly to your handset. Read on to discover how!

• 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 Alcatel

Import contacts from an Android phone

If you've previously had an Android phone, you will most likely have had a Google account on it. By using the same Google account on your new phone, Google's contact sync will bring your contacts over without doing anything else! 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.

In order to get started, open your Contacts (or People) 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

Exporting your contacts from iCloud and getting them into Google is the easiest way to move then from your iPhone to your new Alcatel. You will need a PC or a Mac to do this, and if your iPhone contacts aren't syncing with iCloud you'll need that handset too.

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 Alcatel.

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 Alcatel within just a few minutes.

Import contacts from a BlackBerry

To transfer contacts from your BlackBerry (running BB OS6 or 7) you will need the BlackBerry Desktop Software installed on your computer, your BlackBerry and your new Alcatel. 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 Alcatel.

14. You should now be in your Gmail 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

If you;ve been using a Windows Phone with a Microsoft account, then all of your contacts will be backed up into that account online. To move your contacts to your new Alcatel, we need to export them from your Microsoft account and import them into your Google account which will then sync across. 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 Alcatel.

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 Alcatel 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

Instead of exporting and importing contacts between online accounts, you could use a memory card or SIM to transfer your contacts from one phone to another. We would always recommend using the memory card as the better option, because a SIM card will 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 Menu (either 3 dots near the top, or the square icon below bottom of the screen).
3. Tap Import/Export.
4. Choose where to copy the contacts from (in our example we've chosen the SIM card, which is showing USIM).

5. Select where to copy the contacts to (we'd always recommend the Google account to ensure they're backed up).
6. Select which contacts you would like to import by tapping the square next to the required names or files. When you've made your selection, tap OK at the top.
7. If any of your contacts are already on on your handset, or in the Google account, you will be asked about joining (merging) them. Tap OK to allow this.
8. 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 (it looks like a silhouette with a + beside it).
3. You can choose where you'd like to save your new contact. We'd always recommend the Google account, to ensure it is backed up. Tap 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 the Edit icon at the top (it looks like a pen) to make your changes. Don't forget to save them afterwards!

Any problems?

So there you have it - a simple, step-by-step guide to transferring all your contacts to your Alcatel 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.