Android does a great job of keeping all your contacts in sync with your Google account, so theoretically you should never lose all your contacts. That said, things happen, and keeping a backup is never a bad idea. Here’s how to export all your contacts on Android.
How to Export Contacts with Google’s Contacts App
If you’re using Google’s stock Contacts app—which is available for free in the Play Store if it’s not already installed on your phone—then you’re just a couple of taps away from having a backup of all your contacts.
Fire up the app, and then swipe in from the left side to open the menu. Tap on the “Settings” option, and then tap the “Export” option (you might have to scroll down a bit to see it).
Select which account you’d like to export (if you have more than one), and then tap the “Export to .VCF File” button.
You can save the file to the default Downloads directory if you want, but if you’re a Google Drive user, slide open the menu and choose Google Drive. This way you have a backup stored in the cloud.
Easy peasy.
How to Export Contacts in Samsung’s Contacts App
If you have a Galaxy phone and don’t feel like installing another app just to export contacts, it’s pretty simple here too.
Go ahead and fire up the Contacts app. Tap the menu button in the upper right corner, and then select the “Manage Contacts” command.
Tap the “Import/Export Contacts” option, and then tap the “Export” button on the next page.
You only have one option for an export location here: Internal Storage (though it may show SD cards as well). That means if you want to store your backup in the cloud, you’ll have to do it manually after the fact. Go ahead and tap your export location, and then hit the “Export” button at the bottom.
The exported file (contacts.vcf) is saved to the root of the selected location. You can use Samsung’s My Files app to find the contacts.vcf file. When you do, long-press it, and then select the “Share” command.
From there, just choose your preferred cloud storage medium.
