How to Transfer Contacts from Android to SIM Card

There is a whole range of reasons you might need to know how to copy contacts from Android to SIM card. Here is a selection:

• Backing up your contacts list, in case of damage
• Purchasing a new phone
• Transferring work contacts to a phone you intend to use professionally
• Transferring personal contacts from a work phone to a personal phone

This can be done in many ways, and we have gathered detailed instructions on how to do this using the software that comes built into your device.

First, though, we’d like to suggest an alternative means of transferring contacts. As mentioned above, many of the reasons you would want to transfer your contacts to SIM relate to getting a new phone or simply backing up your contacts to safeguard yourself against damage.

There’s an app you can download that can do this, saving you a great deal of time and hassle in the process.

Easy Backup is a handy app and provides an easy way to backup and/or transfer contacts from Android devices. You can download it from the Google Play store. It’s such a simple process, taking only a few steps to carry out the transfer:

Step 1: Backup on Android

1. Tap “Backup” to begin the process.
   
2. Select “Tap to Upload” to do just that and upload your contacts to the cloud.
   

The app will backup your contacts to the cloud. If all you need to do is create a backup, you can stop here.

Step 2: Restore on your SIM card

To transfer your contacts to the SIM card of your new device, download the app onto it and log in with the same credentials.

1. Open Easy Backup on your Android and select “My Backups”.
   
2. Choose Cloud Backups to find what you’d like to restore.
   
3. Choose a backup file. The app will show you a preview of your contacts.
   
4. Select “Tap to Download”.
   
5. Your contacts are now downloaded, select “Preview”.
   

6. Choose which of the contacts on display you want to have on your device. You can also restore all of them.
   

7. Tap “Restore Contacts”.
   

The app also gives you the option to export your contacts to email, another service or Excel, providing you with another way to store your contacts backup.

There is an optional third step: the app also offers you a faster way to clean up your contacts or merge duplicates (contacts with similar names), so that you only backup what is necessary

If you still wish to store your contacts on your phone’s SIM card, this is of course possible. You have to use the Android Contacts app pre-installed on your device.

• To use it, open the Contacts app. Select the three dots, sometimes marked as “More”.
• You will now have the option to “Export” (on some phones it will be “Import/Export”), which you should choose.
• Your next choice will be to export straight to your SIM card or to a .vcf file. With either option, you can transfer your contacts to your SIM, but tapping “Export to SIM card” is the quickest.

A vCard will now be created on your SIM which you will then be able to transfer to another phone or just keep in case you need to use a backup.

Sometimes you don’t need to back up all of your phone contacts, only some of them. For example, you might want to create separate files containing work contacts, friends and family.

• Open the Contacts app. Select “More”, which is often just marked with three small dots at the top or bottom of your screen.
• Now, you should choose the option marked “Manage contacts” or similar.
• The next option you should select is “Copy contacts” or “Import contacts”. You will now be given choices about where you want to copy or import the contacts from. Choose “Internal storage” if they are stored on your phone, “SIM” if they are stored on your SIM card, or “Google” if you wish to take the contacts from your Google account.

You can now select individual contacts by tapping them. Alternatively, tap “Select all” and then tap individual contacts to deselect them. Once you have finished making your selections, tap “Copy” and choose Copy to SIM. This custom list of selected contacts will now be available as a vCard on your SIM.

In some cases, you might want to just copy one contact to your SIM card. This could be someone whose details you don’t want to lose, such as an important business contact or a member of your family.

• To start, go to your Contacts app.
• Now, tap a contact to see the details. Tap the option marked with three dots, which might have the word “More” beside or below it.
• Choose the option to “Copy” or “Share” and you will be asked where you would like to copy the contact to.
• Select “SIM” and this contact will now be saved individually on your Android SIM card.

Once you have transferred your contacts to your Android SIM you will then easily be able to import them into another Android phone.

• First, insert the SIM into the phone, then open up the “Contacts” app.
• You should now choose the “More” option, which is often marked with three small dots.
• You can now go directly to “Import” or, depending on your phone, “Import/Export” and then “Import”.
• Choose to import from the SIM card and your contacts will be transferred onto this phone.

You have now backed up your contacts not only onto a SIM card but also onto an entirely different phone. Perhaps the best thing is that your contacts are still safely stored on the SIM as a VCard.

As you can see, there is a range of ways in which you can transfer contacts from Android to SIM card. However, it seems the fastest and most effective way to transfer your contacts or back them up is by using a handy app that does most of the work for you.

We also have advice on how to transfer contacts from iPhone to SIM if you’re working with an iOS device.