Changing your device from an Android to an iPhone does not mean you have to lose all your data, particularly your contacts. Luckily, iPhone offers its users the ability to import contacts from a SIM to an iPhone. So, how do you import contacts from SIM to iPhone?
You can import contacts from your SIM to an iPhone using the Settings app on your iPhone. In the Settings app, find the “Contact” option and use it to import SIM contacts.
Importing contacts from your SIM to your iPhone is pretty straightforward. Depending on the number of contacts on your SIM, importing your contacts shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes. This guide will explain the steps to follow to import contacts from SIM to iPhone and answer some burning questions you may have.
Step-by-Step Guide To Import Contacts From SIM to iPhone
As long as the SIM is supportive, you can import contacts from it to your iPhone. Be aware that not all iPhones use the same SIM card size; iPhones 5 and later use nano-SIM, while iPhone 4 and 4s use micro-SIM cards.
Follow the steps below to import contacts from a SIM to an iPhone:
Step #1: Insert the SIM Into the iPhone
The first thing you want to do is to ensure the SIM card contains all the contacts you wish to import. Take note that not all SIM cards support SIM storage. You can proceed by inserting the SIM into the iPhone if it supports it.
Before you put the SIM into the iPhone, insert a paperclip or thin wire in the hole next to the SIM tray. This will pop open the SIM tray, and you can carefully insert the SIM card inside and close it.
Step #2: Open Settings on Your iPhone
When you insert the SIM card into your iPhone, it should read and display a network signal. If your iPhone does not detect the SIM card, then try rebooting your iPhone; it should detect the SIM after the reboot. After that, open the Settings app on the homepage of your iPhone.
If the Settings app is not on your home screen, you can always swipe down on your home screen, and in the search dialog, type “Settings” and click on the app that pops up on the result page. Or better still, you can ask Siri to open the Settings app.
Step #3: Select Contacts
Navigate to Settings on your iPhone and look for “Contact”. You should find it towards the bottom of the settings option. So, you may have to scroll down to find it. When you find the “Contact” option, click it to proceed.
Step #4: Import SIM Contacts
In the “Contact” menu, select “Import SIM Contacts”. An on-screen prompt will ask you for a preferred location to import the SIM. To proceed, choose your iPhone since that is where you want to import the contact. It may take a few minutes to complete, so wait and watch as it imports.
Once the import is complete, you can exit the Settings app and open the Contacts app on your iPhone. You should find all the contacts you recently uploaded from the SIM to your iPhone. You can then remove the SIM card from your iPhone if all you needed that SIM card for was the contacts in it.
An iPhone does not store contacts on a SIM card. Hence, to import contacts between iPhone devices, you must use iCloud to back up the contacts before you transfer the contacts between devices.
Conclusion
As you can see from this guide, importing contacts from a SIM to an iPhone is easier than you may have thought. All it takes are a few clicks and a couple of minutes, and you are done importing all your contacts from a SIM to your iPhone.
If you still have any burning questions about importing contacts from SIM to an iPhone, we will address them in the FAQ section below.
Frequently Asked Questions
As you may have already read, an iPhone does not allow you to save contacts on a SIM card. Hence, if you want to transfer contacts from an iPhone elsewhere, you can use iCloud or iTunes. Either way, you must create a backup file of the contacts you want to transfer and restore the backup file on the new device.
Your SIM card is not involved in your contact management on an iPhone. Hence, if you have contacts on your SIM card, it will not display on your iPhone. You must import the SIM card contacts before they can reflect on your iPhone.
