How to Transfer Contacts from Exchange to Gmail on iPhone
Every now and then there comes in user requests asking how to transfer contacts from Exchange to Gmail on iPhone.
This simple-sounding process becomes quite complex when users realize there is no import contacts option present in the iOS version of the Gmail app.
Moreover, when combined with the inability to set up an Exchange Server profile inside the app bringing in any amount of contacts becomes an uphill battle. Not to worry we have come up with a multi-part approach to end user woes.
Just follow the steps as directed and you will find your contacts in the right place in the least amount of time. We start in the Exchange Server to pull out all contacts. Before proceeding you may want to recover deleted Exchange server contacts first.
Part 1 Get Contacts Out of Exchange to View them in the iOS Version of Gmail
Step 1. Log into the Exchange Admin Center with an Account that has Import Export Permission.
Step 2. In the Recipients section go to the Contacts tab.
Step 3. Then, select the contacts. Hold Shift for a continuous selection, or Hold Ctrl for a distributed selection.
Step 4. Click on the 3 horizontal dots.
Step 5. Then, select Export data to a CSV file.
Step 6. In the popup screen, mark the checkbox next to all attributes you wish to include in your Gmail counterpart.
Step 7. Then, hit Export.
Step 8. Wait for the file to download and save it.
Note: This procedure applies to all contacts from Exchange and Unlike
For a user-specific contact export, admins can use PowerShell or Exchange Admin Shell:
Open a new instance and wait for the connection.
Then type:
#how to transfer contacts from Exchange to Gmail on iPhone via PowerShell
Get-Mailbox -RecipientTypeDetails UserMailbox | ForEach-Object { Get-Contact -Identity $_.Name } | Export-Csv -Path "C:\ExchangeContacts.csv" -NoTypeInformation
A third option is also available. Its advantage is that it can be done at the user level similar to one where we export calendars from Outlook to Excel acceptable format.
New Outlook Client
Step 1. Open Outlook, and go to the People Tab.
Step 2. Then, click on Manage Contacts.
Step 3. Select Export Contacts.
Step 4. Finally, go to the popup window, pick the contacts folder and hit Export.
Use a Classic Outlook Client where your Exchange Account is connected
Step 1. Go to File.
Step 2. Open and Export.
Step 3. Import/Export.
Step 4. Export to a File > Next.
Step 5. Then, select Contacts from the tree menu.
Complete the rest of the steps as per the on-screen instructions.
Using any of the above methods, you can get a contact list in CSV format.
Part 2 Add Exchange Contacts to Cloud for Viewing in Gmail iOS App
Perform these steps on the same workstation where you have kept the CSV contacts. Otherwise, if you use a Mac device, airdrop the details to your iPhone and continue from there.
If you choose to do the steps from your Apple mobile, make sure that you use the browser iCloud and not the native app, as you won’t find any contact import option there.
Using iCloud to answer how to transfer contacts from Exchange to Gmail on iPhone
iCloud can only import contacts that are in vCard/ have a .vcf extension, so you must first convert the Exchange CSV contacts to VCF.
- Step 1. Login to https://www.icloud.com/contacts/ on your browser.
- Step 2. Click on the + icon at the top right side.
After this, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
Using Google Contacts
Google and Microsoft have slightly different headers when it comes to saving contacts, so uploading this list directly into the Google Contacts app may result in a value mismatch. So, edit the CSV, remove redundant columns, and only then move forward with the next stage.
Step 1. Go to https://contacts.google.com/.
Step 2. From the left-hand pane, click Import.
Step 3. In the popup window, select file.
Step 4. Browse and pick the Exchange Server contacts.
Step 5. Hit Import.
Part 3 Setup Gmail in iPhone and Sync Contacts
If you use Google Contacts, all you have to do is add that Gmail account in th iOS app. Those who went with the iCloud route
Step 1. Install Gmail app > Go to Settings on your iPhone.
Step 2. Tap Mail > Accounts.
Step 3. Tap Add Account and select Google.
Step 4. Then, enter your Gmail credentials to sign in.
Step 5. Enable Contact Sync for Gmail
If you feel that these export/import steps are too much and not a fitting answer on how to transfer contacts from Exchange to Gmail on iPhone or if you only have a few contacts then you can manually add them to your iPhone and let it sync with the Gmail app.
However, you won’t be set up an Exchange Account on the iOS version of the Gmail app, as Google doesn’t allow it.
Get Professional Assistance in Transferring Contacts from Exchange to Gmail on iPhone
So if you are an organization that is switching from Exchange Server to Gmail (Google Workspace) then your best partner to make that change is using SysTools Exchange Export Tool with G Suite Import Tool in conjunction.
Exchange Export:
These two tools together will not only manage the contact transfer but also make sure that your other data like email conversations and calendar events switch over to the new platform.
G Suite Import:
Both tools have a simplistic UI platform that gives you a single point of data transfer management across the two platforms of your choosing.
Look at the steps below to see how the tool achieves such advanced functionality so easily.
Step 1. Install the software on your workstation, open it, and then select Exchange, and File System as source and destination respectively.
Step 2. Scroll down to the workload selection area and mark the box next to Contacts, you can also select other workloads like emails, calendars, to do a full transtion.
Step 3. On the source screen, fill in all the details validate, and proceed.
Step 4. Likewise, perform the destination as well
Step 5. Then, map the users using any of the available options, from Fetch, Import, or Download.
Step 6. Finally, check the user list on the preview screen, select, apply a priority mark, validate, and start data transfer.
In the same way do the import steps the only major change you will see is the endpoint selection.
After these steps are done all you need to do from your side is ask the users to enable the sync feature on their
handheld Apple devices. So contacts along with emails and calendars become available on the iPhone that your user uses.
Conclusion
Now readers have a full understanding of how to transfer contacts from Exchange to Gmail on iPhone. Here we went over many diffrent paths including one that is done entirely from your iPhone itself.
If that doesn’t work you can upload the contacts into the browser-based Google Contacts or iCloud app and sync. Moreover, in case there is an organization-wide requirement to add Exchange contacts in the iOS Gmail app it can be made easy with the help of the professional solution we gave here.
It can automate a major chunk of the work for the admins after which a simple device level setting change allows users to view the contacts successfully.