Android 7 - moving phone contacts
 

Just setting up the wife's new MotoG5 which uses Android 7. We've managed to export her old phone contacts to her Google account and they have appeared in the new phone's contact list. We've subsequently exported them to a .vcf file on the SD card within the phone and the file has been created. However we can't seem to find the option to display or move contacts to/from SD card, the SIM or the Phone's storage (i.e. Phone contacts) which are options available on our other phones.

The only 4 options under 'contacts to display' are:

All,
Messenger,
Google,
Customise

There's no mention of the SIM, SD card or Phone Contacts on the list and we're wondering why we can't copy the contacts to these other locations. Can anyone assist?

TIA as always.

Re: Android 7 - moving phone contacts
 

On the old phone as long as you are signed in to the google account and in settings make sure backup contacts is enabled.

Then on the new phone sign in to the google account again and you should be able to see the contacts without having to imp[ort or export them. .

That is what happens to mine when I change phones.

Re: Android 7 - moving phone contacts
 

Yes as Stephen says, you just need to make sure all your contacts are saved as a google contact in your google account on the old phone, then when you sign into the account on the new phone all your contacts will copy over, same goes for any google chrome bookmarks.

Re: Android 7 - moving phone contacts
 

Thanks guys. Yes it has done that automatically but we wanted to copy some of them onto the SIM card and that option doesn't seem to be available on this phone. I copied the Google contacts into a .vcf file onto the SD card hoping I'd then be able to select the ones to move to the SIM from that but I can't see an option for copying from that either. :confused:

Re: Android 7 - moving phone contacts
 

Why would you want to save them to SIM now anyway?

Re: Android 7 - moving phone contacts
 

As Stephen says....why?

Don't over complicate things all you need is to have everything linked to the google account.

Re: Android 7 - moving phone contacts
 

Because she wants to have business contacts on the SIM separate from the second SIM which she'll be installing at some point just like she has on her old phone. All our phones have allowed us to do that until now and it meaant we could choose which to display easily. Now I'm assuming that facility has been withdrawn. :shrug:

Also, what's the point of being able to copy contacts to an SD card if you can't then display, copy or move them? :confused:

Re: Android 7 - moving phone contacts
 

Why dont you create another google account just for business contacts and use more than 1 account on the phone as you can have as many as you wish? Then it is very very simple to keep things easy, everything is automatically backed up so no need to worry if the SD card or phone go tits up.

I really think you're making things unnecessarily complicated for yourselves. :)

Re: Android 7 - moving phone contacts
 

Lol it's the way we've always done it since we first got Android phones so it's easy for us but I'll accept not the way younger folk might choose to.

The idea isn't to get rid of the Google contacts and rely on SD card, SIM or whatever, just choose which ones we wish to display as we've always done in the past. My phone (A 4.4.2) for example lets me display contacts from Google, the phone, SIM1 or SIM2. It lets me copy to/from my Google account, both SIMs, the SD card and the phone's internal storage. We both like that functionality and don't find it complicated. ;)

What happens if we decide we don't want our contacts stored/backed up via Google? I'm not suggesting that's the case but there must be an alternative surely.

Re: Android 7 - moving phone contacts
 

It's just the newer device put everything on the cloud for ease and also easier to keep your contacts should you get a new phone or loose yours or damage the SIM or SD card.

Keeps everything simpler too. Not just a young person thing lol.

Re: Android 7 - moving phone contacts
 

I've never been called young at 49, thanks! ;)

You can easily change what type your contacts are, in my opinion you should seriously consider the easy way just by using google accounts and if i am not mistaken a google account contact can hold far more information other than just a telephone number?

Re: Android 7 - moving phone contacts
 

lol I can just about remember being your age.

We only use our contacts for phone numbers - never use the phones for email or anything like that so no need for more detail.

Her phone's set up as it is and if we can't find out how to change it she'll leave it like that but we'd prefer to have the choice. Maybe Google doesn't want us to... ;)

---------- Post added at 18:48 ---------- Previous post was at 18:35 ----------

We'd still keep the google backup contacts as well as those copied onto the SIM and SD so there's no difference in terms of backup. She just wanted to be able to put one lot of contacts on SIM1 and the other set on SIM2 which is how we've always done it.

Younger people tend to want to do loads of stuff on their phones (banking, social media, shopping, bills, emails etc. etc.) whereas we don't and the contacts we want to display are only for phone/messaging not email or anything else. The wife also uses her phone quite a lot for viewing videos related to her studies/interests but that's about it.

We're trying hard to resist the pressure to make our entire lives 'mobile'... ;)