How to Back Up Contacts to Gmail to Keep Your Contacts Safe: Complete Guide

Part 1. Why Backing Up Contacts to Gmail is Important

Before you know how to back up contacts to Google, do you know why it matters? To answer that, this section lists 5 reasons that highlight the importance and need to back up the contacts:

1. Protection Against Data Loss: When the phone is lost, damaged, or reset, Gmail backup keeps a secure copy online. Thus, this saves personal, work, and emergency numbers that took years to collect.
2. Easy Restore on New or Reset Phones: After contact backup to Gmail, you can sign in to the same Google account on a new or reset phone. So, all the contacts appear on their own, and there will be no need to retype and save each contact. Additionally, this saves time and effort, even with an extensive contact list.
3. Same Contacts on All Devices: Gmail backup keeps a single contact list across phone, tablet, and computer, and any change on one device is reflected on all others. Hence, this avoids old or repeated numbers, and you always see the latest details.
4. Access from Anywhere: This backup solution stores contacts online, not on one phone, and you can open them from any device with internet and a browser. Hence, this helps during travel, work, or phone trouble, and important numbers stay within reach.
5. Better Control and Order: Google Contacts helps sort contacts with labels, search, and duplicate removal. So, all contacts stay in one place, and this makes contact search fast and easy for daily and work use.

Part 2. How to Back Up Contacts to Gmail (with All Methods)

For those who want to know how to back up contacts to a Google account, review the 3 listed ways for Android and iOS users:

Method 1: Automatic Sync (Recommended for Android Users)

After setup, this solution automatically saves every new or edited contact to your Google account. Hence, the same contact list appears on phone, tablet, and computer without any mismatch. So, if a phone gets lost or reset, sign in to the same Google account and all contacts return at once. This avoids missing recent numbers that manual backup can skip, and is easy to perform, as guided below:

• Step 1. Within the Settings app, go to the "Google" option and choose the "Google Contact Sync" option in the "All Services" tab.



• Step 2. After that, expand the menu for the "Also Sync Device and SIM Contacts" option and enable the "Sync Device and SIM Contacts Automatically" option. From the pop-up menu that appears, make sure to select the relevant Google Account for saving.

Method 2: Manual Export (For Desktop & Specific Files)

While learning how to back up contacts on Google accounts, iCloud gives complete control via manual export. You can choose which contacts or groups to copy and skip old or unwanted ones. Additionally, it works well when you want a safe snapshot or plan a switch from iPhone to Android. Besides, iCloud and Google stay separate, which lowers the risk of unwanted edits or deletes, as performed via the given guide:

• Step 1. On iCloud.com, choose the "Contacts" option as you sign in and press the "Share" icon on a certain contact to tap the "Export As vCard" option.



• Step 2. To save it to Gmail, choose the "Import" option on the Google Contacts and pick the "Select File" option to import the downloaded vCard file from iCloud.

Method 3: Export from Android Contacts App

It's another solution if you ask how to back up my contacts to my Gmail, because you can save contacts as a VCF file. This file acts as a one-time copy that stays unchanged, and you can later upload it to Gmail or Drive when online. Moreover, the VCF file works on many phones and services, so it helps during a phone change or data move, once performed through the given ways:

Instructions: In the Contacts app, long-press the contact you want to export and select the "Share Contact" option. From the menu, select a format such as "vCard," then choose "Gmail" or "Drive" to save the contacts to Google.

Bonus Tip. Protect Your Contacts Effortlessly with Dr.Fone - Phone Backup

While learning how to back up contacts from phone to Gmail, you can rely on Dr.Fone - Phone Backup solution. It allows you to back up contacts and other data types, such as call history, wallpaper, photos, and videos, in just a few clicks. This tool suits those who want to back up data to a PC while leveraging Dr.Fone's compatibility with both android and iOS devices.

Additionally, it allows users to selectively choose the data they want to back up or restore, with the option to select the desired path. Beyond basic backups, you can use it to restore data to Android or iOS, including from iCloud or iTunes backups, with no additional skills required. Overall, the usage of this tool is seamless, and all the steps are fully guided to back up Android data wirelessly with incremental updates.

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Guide to Back Up Android Data to PC with Dr.Fone - Phone Backup

As you are out to learn how to sync contacts to a Google account, review the listed guidelines and understand how to back up Android data with Dr.Fone:

• Step 1. Access the Phone Backup Tool & Connect the Device

Within the "My BackUp" tab, press the "Back Up Now" button as you connect your Android smartphone to the PC.



• Step 2. Select the Required Data Types for Backup

After that, select the listed data types like contacts, and if you need to back up text messages, follow the guidelines in the pop-up. Then, press the "OK" button, and the tool will initiate the backup process.



• Step 3. Choose the Option to View Backup or Open the Folder

Once it's ongoing, another pop-up will be listed to users who are backing up the text messages. So, set the required SMS application, press the "OK" button, and tap the "Open in Folder" or "View Backups" option as the process concludes.

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Part 3. Pause or Stop: How to Unsync Contacts from Google

After getting answers on how to save contacts to a Google account, there comes a time when one wants to unsync the contacts. This helps cut contact clutter, protect privacy, and avoid unwanted changes. When sync stays off, new contacts on the phone do not go to Google, and Google Contacts do not show on that device. Regardless of the reason, doing this is seamless and is illustrated in the given steps:

Instructions: Press the "User & Accounts" option from the settings to pick the "Google" option. After that, disable the "Sync Contacts" option to stop automatic contact sync with your Google account.

Conclusion

To wrap up, many users wonder how to back up contacts to Gmail in multiple ways. For that, this guide has reviewed 3 simple and effective ways, with an additional option to unsync the contacts in exceptional cases. However, if you want to back up other Android data besides contacts with a simple and preview facility, Dr.Fone - Phone Backup (Android) is suggested.

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