How to export iPhone Contacts to an Excel or CSV file

A CSV file, which is short for a comma-separated value format file, allows you to store large amounts of information in a file that can be opened with spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel, or Apple Numbers, just like the other spreadsheet files. This is a great way to keep a backup of your contacts with all the information, so you can restore it whenever you have a catastrophic crash on mobile devices, and in this guide I will show you how you can export iPhone contacts to an Excel file or a CSV file.

How to export iPhone contacts to an Excel or CSV file

If you have an iPhone with a large number of contacts and you’re afraid of losing them in case of a sudden crash of the device, I’ll tell you that you are in a position to export iPhone contacts to an Excel file either through a Mac/PC or an iOS device. If you continue reading, I will show you both methods.

Create a CSV file from contacts in your iCloud account

The most convenient way to export iPhone contacts to an Excel file using a Mac or a PC is surely iCloud.com, which can be accessed from any device connected to the internet. Follow these steps to get the result the quickest way.

1) Go to iCloud.com via your favorite web browser and log in with your credentials.

2) Now click on the app Contacts from the list of services provided.

3) Then, wait for the contacts to be loaded and then click on the Settings icon in the lower left part of the web page.

4) From the drop down list, click the Select All option to make sure you have all the contacts selected before proceeding to the next step.

5) Once you have selected all of them, click on Settings once again, and this time click on vCard Export….

6) A vCard file will now be downloaded to your computer ‘s Download folder.

7) Open the web browser again and visit the following URL:

http://labs.brotherli.ch/vcfconvert/

8) Click the Choose File button and select the vCard file you downloaded previously. Then, configure the other options.

Once you’ve configured your options, click the Convert button.

9) A CSV file will be downloaded to your computer’s Download folder.

10) Check the file by opening it in Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers. The method of opening a CSV file differs according to the versions of Excel. Usually the procedure is to open a new Excel document, go to the Data section and look for the entry Import/export data and from here open the CSV file saved on the computer.

You are done! You will see the contacts that will be organized by name and all the information will be displayed in the spreadsheet.

Create an Excel file of contacts on iPhone or iPad

If you need to create an Excel file of your Contacts using your mobile device, be it an iPhone or iPad, simply use a free application called SA Contacts Lite that lets you create an XLS file for Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers.

To do this, follow this procedure:

1) Download and install the SA Contacts Lite app on your iOS device.

2) Start the application, and when you are asked to give access to your contacts, allow it.

3) Click on the blue start button, then from the next interface click on the More button.

4) Select the desired output source for the XLS file. You can also save the file on Dropbox if it is more convenient for you.

5) Access your selected service. Since you’ve chosen Dropbox, you’ll be asked to sign in to Dropbox.

6) Next, click on the blue Continue button and the loading process will begin by sending the file to our Dropbox account.

7) When the application will say that the procedure is complete, click on OK.

8) Now on your Mac or PC, open your output source. In your case, it’s Dropbox. The file in Excel XLS format is stored in the Dropbox folder waiting to be opened.

9) Open the file to make sure everything is OK. You can open the file with Microsoft Excel or Numbers from Apple.

That’s all! All your contacts will be stored in this XLS file and will be organized by name.

Conclusion

Now that you have a CSV or XLS file with all your contacts, you should consider placing it in a safe place, such as on a backup drive or a hard drive. So you always have a backup at your fingertips in order to be able to restore contacts again if necessary.

Although iCloud works great for keeping contacts synchronized across all devices, there are times when iCloud may be inactive and may not work properly. Having the spreadsheet file is a great way to ensure that you always have Contacts online.

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