How to Backup Contacts on iPhone in 3 Ways

It’s vital to keep a habit of backing up data on the iPhone to avoid losing information, especially contacts. Performing this task keeps your contacts safe even if you get your iPhone broken, lost, or stolen. Speaking of iPhone data backing up, most users would think about iTunes or iCloud. However, both of them won’t support backup contacts on your iPhone separately.
If you want to backup iPhone contacts only, fortunately, some iTunes/iCloud alternatives can do it. In this guide, we illustrated 4 ways that back up contacts on iPhone via iTunes, iCloud, and using easy third-party tools.

How to Back Up Contacts on iPhone with iTunes

iTunes will create a full backup for almost all your iPhone content as well as contacts. Here are steps to backup iPhone contacts with iTunes:

Step 1. Download and lunch the latest version of iTunes.

As iTunes error always happens and has no reason, update it to the new version would be better.

Step 2. Run iTunes on your computer.

Generally, iTunes could detect your iPhone once you connect your iPhone to the computer. And now you should tap on the device. There are some buttons you will see.

Step 3. Back up your iPhone.

Tap on the Summary, now you will see there are some choices, you can just click Back Up Now which will start to back up the iPhone data and settings to the computer.

It won’t take too much time to complete the data backing up on iPhone with iTunes. However, users have no access to check the iTunes backup files. In other words, they can’t check what contacts they have backed up.

What’s more, restoring iTunes backup will erase the existing content on your iPhone first. That is to say, after restoring your iPhone with iTunes backup, it is possible for you to find that although the contacts are retrieved, some other iPhone files and data are lost. Therefore, I’d love to introduce other iPhone contact backup utilities.

How to Backup Contacts in iPhone with AnyTrans

One of the best alternatives to iTunes is AnyTrans, a powerful iOS data management tool. It not only allows you to selectively back up iPhone contacts to a computer in readable formats but also does not harm your existing content when restoring the backup. With just two simple steps, you can easily complete the contacts backup without any technical requirements. Except for contact backup, AnyTrans also can transfer photos, music, and WhatsApp data.

Here is a detailed guidance on how to backup contacts on iPhone:

Step 1. Download AnyTrans and launch it on your computer > Connect your iPhone to the computer > Go to Device Manager > Choose the More option.

Step 2. Scroll the left panel screen down and choose Contacts > Choose the Contacts you want to back up > Tap the To Computer button and set up the exporting format of the iPhone contacts.

Seconds later, you will see there is a Transfer Complete on the screen. That’s what AnyTrans does to back up contacts on iPhone without iTunes. This tutorial also can be applied to backing up contacts on iPad/iPod touch. Additionally, besides backing up contacts, it also supports another 20 types of iOS data and files, including Photos, Videos, Music, Messages, Notes, etc.

How to Backup Contacts on iPhone with PhoneTrans

As an outstanding iPhone contacts backup tool, PhoneTrans supports backing up iPhone contacts selectively and wholly within minutes. Besides contacts, it also can back up photos, messages, call logs, etc. For its star features, PhoneTrans is a smartphone switcher helper that can also transfer contacts from an iPhone to any other phone with great ease.

Let’s take a look at how to back up contacts on iPhone with PhoneTrans.

Step 1. Download PhoneTrans and install it on a computer. Also, connect your iPhone to the computer with a great USB.

Step 2. Click Phone Backup on the left panel. Then choose Selectively Backup and tap on Start Backup to go on.

Step 3. Follow its instructions on the screen, you should tap on Contacts and click Back Up Now to start the contacts backup journey.

It won’t take minutes to complete the backup process on PhoneTrans. It only takes me 5 seconds to back up all the contacts on my iPhone.

How to Backup Contacts on iPhone via iCloud

When it comes to backing up iPhone contacts with iCloud, you have two choices. One is creating a full backup of your iPhone with an iCloud account, and the other is syncing only iPhone contacts to the iCloud server. The detailed steps to back up iPhone contacts to iCloud are as below.

Creating a Full Backup of Your iPhone with iCloud

Unlike iTunes, backing up iPhone to iCloud is backing up your iPhone contacts in Apple’s cloud server instead of keeping them on a computer hard drive. To backup your iPhone to iCloud, you just need to log into iCloud on your iPhone with simple steps:

1. On your iPhone, go to Settings.
2. Tap on your Apple ID’s part > Select iCloud > Select iCloud Backup.
3. Tap on it to turn it on if it is closed > Click Back Up Now.
4. Then contacts on your iPhone will be backed up to the iCloud server as well as other iPhone content.

Syncing Contacts to iCloud with Wi-Fi

Syncing iPhone contacts using iCloud means all your iPhone contacts will be backed up to an iCloud server, and all the contacts on your different devices logged in the same Apple ID will be merged in one iCloud and synced to all your iDevice. At the same time, the contacts on other iDevices will also come to your iPhone. Therefore, if you want to keep your contacts independent, and don’t merge with other iDevices’, you need to log in to a different Apple ID on your iPhone.

To back up iPhone contacts by syncing to iCloud, you just need to ensure your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network, and then perform the steps below on your iPhone:

Go to Settings > Click on your Apple ID’s part > Select iCloud > Tap on Contacts to turn it on > Then wait for your iPhone contacts backed up to iCloud.

This method will back up all your iPhone contents to iCloud. The only way for you to get backed-up contacts to your iPhone via this method is by restoring your device with your iCloud backup. During this process, the contents in the backup will replace the existing data and files on your iPhone.

The Bottom Line

This is all about how to back up contacts on an iPhone. You can save contacts with iTunes, AnyTrans, PhoneTrans, and iCloud. Among all these methods, AnyTrans stands out for its convenience and efficiency. With this powerful tool, you can back up contacts within a few minutes. No need to back up all content, no privacy worries. Free download AnyTrans and try it now!