Periodically downloading all your contacts from iCloud to computer can be useful; as it provides you with an extra backup copy of all your contacts in case something goes wrong with your iPhone, iCloud account or the contact syncing process. The advantages and uses of downloading iCloud contacts to computer can be summarized as the following.
- Accidental Deletion: If you accidentally delete contacts, contacts go missing or there is a syncing problem, you can recover contacts from the downloaded copy.
- Move Contacts: Downloaded copy of contacts file in VCF format can be easily imported into another Apple account, phone or a Contacts Management program.
- Local Backup Copy: A copy of all your Contacts stored on the Local Hard Disk of the computer can be useful, if you happen to lose access to your iCloud account.
In addition to above, adding, removing and editing contacts is easy and faster on a downloaded file and the modified file can be easily imported back into iCloud.
Download iCloud Contacts to Computer
You can download all or selected Contacts from iCloud to computer in the form of a vCard or .VCF file, which is considered as a standard file format for sharing and managing Contacts due to its cross-device compatibility. VCF Files are natively supported by Windows, macOS, other operating systems and readily accepted by Apple Contacts, Microsoft Outlook, Google, other email and messaging service providers.
Since, vCards support the use of custom fields, any kind of additional information like preferences or transaction history can be easily added to Contacts for sales, marketing and accounting purposes.
Related: How to Download All Photos From iCloud to PC.
1. Download All iCloud Contacts to Computer
Before going ahead with the steps to download iCloud contacts to computer, you need to be aware that a downloaded copy of contacts is a snapshot of your iCloud Contacts at a given point of time and it needs to be updated by periodically downloading a fresh copy.
1. Open the web browser on your computer and go to iCloud.com.
2. Login to your iCloud Account.
3. On the next screen, make sure All Contacts tab is selected > click on 3-dots icon and select All Contacts option.
4. After all the Contacts are selected, click on the Share Icon and select Export vCard option.
5. On the next screen, select the Download Location for the Contacts .vcf file on your computer and click on Save.
All your iCloud Contacts will be downloaded to the computer in the form of a vCard or .vcf file
2. Download Selected iCloud Contacts to Computer
You can follow the steps below to download selected iCloud Contacts from iCloud to Computer.
1. On your MacBook or Windows computer, go to iCloud.com and Login to your iCloud Account.
2. Click on Apps Icon located at top-right corner of the screen and select Contacts.
3. On the next screen, select the Contacts that you want to download to the computer.
4. After selecting the Contacts, click on the Share icon located at top-right corner of the screen and select Export vCard option.
5. On the next screen, select the Download Location for the selected iCloud Contacts File on your computer.
Note: The downloaded Contacts file contains personal information of your Contacts. Hence, it is important that you protect your computer by using a strong login password and protect the downloaded VCF File by password and encryption (if available).