How to Sync Contacts from iPhone to Mac

Apple’s iOS and Mac OS work seamlessly. The Continuity feature allows you to make and receive phone calls with Mac as longs as your iPhone/iPad and the Mac are on the same Wi-Fi network. You can also view and send messages from your Mac. In addition, sometimes, we also want to transfer iPhone contacts to computer as a backup and in a readable format like CSV or VCF. That’s why we want to sync iPhone contacts to Mac.

In this guide, we will tell you the detailed steps to sync contacts from iPhone to Mac with iCloud, iTunes, Finder, or a third-party tool.

Part 1. How to Sync Contacts from iPhone to Mac via iCloud

With iCloud, you can keep all your contacts up to date on your iPhone and Mac. It’s easy to sync your iPhone contacts to Mac wirelessly with iCloud, here are steps:

Step 1. On your iPhone: Go to Settings > [Your name] > iCloud > Turn on Contacts option > Select Merge contacts app.

Step 2. On your Mac: Go to System Preferences > Find and open iCloud > Sign in with your Apple ID > Select Contacts to enable it.

After then, all your iPhone contacts are synced to your Mac via iCloud.

Part 2. Sync iPhone Contacts to Mac with iTunes or Finder

Option 1. Sync iPhone Contacts with iTunes:

On macOS Mojave or earlier or a Windows PC, you can sync iPhone contacts with iTunes. Here is how:

Step 1. Open iTunes and connect with your iPhone.

Step 2. Click on your device name, and click on the Info option.

Step 3. Check Sync Contacts, and click Apply. iTunes will start backing up your iPhone and then sync your iPhone contacts with Mac. After that, go to the Contacts app on your Mac and iPhone, you will find that all contacts are synced (merged.)

Note: If you don’t want to replace the existing contacts on your iPhone, don’t check the option below. If it is checked, your iPhone contacts will be replaced by Mac’s contacts.

Option 2. Sync iPhone Contacts with Finder (macOS Catalina required):

With macOS Catalina, there is no iTunes app. But you can still sync data with Finder which is similar to syncing with iTunes. Here is how to sync iPhone contacts with Mac using Finder:

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac and open Finder.

Step 2. You should see your iPhone name from the left sidebar in the Finder window. Click on it.

Step 3. Click on trust in the Finder window as well as tap trust on your iPhone.

Step 4. Click on Info, and check Sync contacts onto [Your iPhone Name]. Click Apply.

Part 3. Transfer Contacts from iPhone to Mac via AnyTrans

AnyTrans is an iOS data manager that works on both Mac and Windows computer. With it, it is easy and flexible to manage contacts on your iPhone.

• Transfer contacts from iPhone to Mac’s Contacts app Directly and you don’t have to log in with any Apple ID.
• Flexibly transfer ALL or Multiple contacts instead of iCloud entire sync.
• Export contacts from iPhone to Mac’s hard drive as .csv/.vcf format. You can view them anytime you need.
• Transfer iPhone contacts to new iPhone 12 (and any other iOS devices) directly.
• Import iPhone contacts to iCloud selectively.
• Edit, delete and add contacts to iPhone from a computer with ease.

Click here to download AnyTrans and then follow the steps below to import contacts from iPhone to Mac with it.

Step 1. Download and install and launch AnyTrans on your Mac > Connect your iPhone to Mac via USB cable > Choose Device Manager, and click More > Select Contacts.

Step 2. Select All or some contacts and click on the To Mac or directly Send to Mac’s Contacts App button to start. Here you can also transfer them to computer, to another iPhone or to iCloud.

Step 3. Go to your Mac’s Contacts app and check the contacts.

Video Tutorial on How to Transfer Contacts from iPhone to Mac:

Part 4. How to AirDrop Contacts to Your Mac

AirDop works well between Mac and iPhone. If you only get a few contacts to sync, you can try AirDrop your contacts between iPhone and Mac.

Step 1. On your iPhone, open the Contacts app.

Step 2. Find the contact you want to AidrDrop.

Step 3. Tap Share Contact and choose AirDrop.

Step 4. Select your Mac. On your Mac, click Accept.

Part 5: Why iPhone Contacts Not Syncing with Mac?

If contacts not syncing between your iPhone and Mac when using iCloud sync. Here are some quick fixes you can try to solve the iPhone contacts not syncing problem:

• Make sure your iCloud storage is enough. When it’s full, nothing will sync.
• Make sure you are connected to stable Wi-Fi or Cellular data. If you have lots of contacts or data to sync, it may take time.
• Make sure you’ve logged in with the same Apple ID.
• Toggle iCloud Contacts off and on again on iPhone and your Mac.
• Try logging off and logging in to the iCloud account.

The Bottom Line

That’s all for how to sync contacts from iPhone to Mac. If you prefer an easy and quick way and want to transfer the contacts selectively, then AnyTrans is the first choice. Get the free trial now >

If you meet any problems when syncing contacts from iPhone to Mac with AnyTrans, be free to contact us by emailing us or leaving a comment. We will reply to you as soon as possible! By the way, don’t forget to share this how-to guide with others on Social Sites so that it can help more people.