Tutorial: Importing contacts from previous phones to G1

[ergibson83]

As people are receiving their new G1's, I'm sure people are having trouble importing their contacts from previous phones. Hopefully this tutorial will make the process easier.

Here are a few instructions on importing contacts from the Blackberry, Windows Mobile, and Apple Iphone cellphones courteosy of the guys over at the good ole' T-mobile forums:

BlackBerry Curve / Pearl to G1 (should work for most BB devices)


System setup: Windows XP & Outlook 2007

Steps:
Sync contacts to Outlook using BlackBerry Desktop Manager 4.6:

1. Connect your BlackBerry
2. Open Desktop Manager
3. From Desktop Manager, select Synchronize
4. Select Synchronize

Note: If you are using your BlackBerry with a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) your contacts are likely wirelessly synch'd already. However, if you are not using a BES or your BES is not configured for wireless synch, the above steps should synch your BB to Outlook. You can also use the settings within the Synchronize section of Desktop Manager to configure what items are synch'd.

Note 2: If you need BlackBerry Desktop Manager, you can download it from: http://www.t-mobile.com/bbupgrade or here.


Export Outlook contacts to .CSV:

1. From Outlook, select File
2. Select Import and Export
3. Select Export to a File and hit Next
4. Select Comma Separated Values (DOS) and hit Next
5. Select Contacts from the list of folders and hit Next
6. Use the Browse... button to browse to a save location (I like to use my Desktop) and hit Next
7. Hit Finish

Import .CSV to GMail:

1. From your GMail account select Older Version (extreme top right of page) **Thanks to jjmansell & jehlinger for the tip!**
2. Select Contacts ( link is on the left hand side)
3. Select Import (top right)
4. Select Browse... to find and select your .csv file created above
5. Select Import

Windows Mobile to G1 (Shadow, MDA, SDA, Wing, etc.)

System setup: Windows XP & Outlook 2007

Steps:
Sync contacts to Outlook using ActiveSync 4.2 / 4.5:

1. Connect your device
2. Open ActiveSync
3. From ActiveSync, select Sync

Note: If you are using a T-Mobile Shadow or other Windows Mobile device set up for use with Exchange ActiveSync, you device may already be synch'd to Outlook. However, if your contacts are not already synch'd, You can go to Tools > Options within ActiveSync to configure what is synch'd

Note 2: If you need ActiveSync, you can download it from Microsoft.


Export Outlook contacts to .CSV:

1. From Outlook, select File
2. Select Import and Export
3. Select Export to a File and hit Next
4. Select Comma Separated Values (DOS) and hit Next
5. Select Contacts from the list of folders and hit Next
6. Use the Browse... button to browse to a save location (I like to use my Desktop) and hit Next
7. Hit Finish

Import .CSV to GMail:

1. From your GMail account select Older Version (extreme top right of page) **Thanks to jjmansell & jehlinger for the tip!**
2. Select Contacts ( link is on the left hand side)
3. Select Import (top right)
4. Select Browse... to find and select your .csv file created above
5. Select Import

Apple iPhone to G1

System setup: Mac OSX & Address Book Application
Programs Needed: Address Book, A to G
Websites Needed: "A to G" (http://bborofka.com/atog/) /GMAIL.COM

Steps:
Ensure most recent contacts have been synced to itunes:

1. Connect your iphone
2. Open itunes
3. From the device overview screen, select Sync
4. Select Sync

Note: These steps assume that your contacts are set to auto sync between your iphone device and your address book.

Export Address Book Contacts to a "Gmail Readible Format"

1. From your web browser, navigate to the web page for "A to G" (http://bborofka.com/atog/)
2. install application
3. From the dialogue box, select the Export to Desktop pushbutton
4. Locate the file on your local desktop

Import .txt to GMail:

1. From your GMail account select Older Version (extreme top right of page)*
2. Select Contacts ( link is on the left hand side)
3. Select Import (top right)
4. Select Browse... to find and select your .txt file created above
5. Select Import

[nickbunyun]

you should also do SIMcard to g1 contact list.

[suarezluis]

Great! Thanks

[ergibson83]

Originally Posted by nickbunyun

you should also do SIMcard to g1 contact list.

I'll add it. Thanks!

[1279]

Originally Posted by ergibson83

I'll add it. Thanks!

Thanks. I am trying to figure this out.

[GreenBean]

This may not be the right place, but since you have already worked with contacts, does G1 allow you to add more than one phone#, specify what type it is, home, mobile, work? Most importantly, does it allow you to add a normal, physical address, is it possible to organize them into categories, other information if desired? I've seen enough pics and read enough about the social contact list apps, but nobody gives any details like how many contacts are allowed. Because not everyone's parents, grandparents have plastered themselves all over myspace. Plus, it is a much needed information for business. I really hope it does, otherwise it's an over sized brick, that doesn't play movies
Thanks in advance for info. And great write-up on importing data from other programs. Did the import from Outlook go smoothly?

[ergibson83]

Yes, you can do everything you just mentioned. If you go to your contacts (via gmail) and click on 'contacts' on the left side of the screen, you can add contacts and place them in groups. You can add:

Home phone:
Work phone:
Mobile phone:
Home fax:
Work fax:
Pager:
Other:

Physical address: (can be typed in a message box)
Instant Messaging: (Aim, Gtalk, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Jabber)

There are also fields for adding: Title, Company, Notes, and Other

I hope this helps. The tutorial worked fine for me as I imported my contacts from my T-Mobile MDA.

[Veritas]

Is there a way to get your contacts from the tmobile website to your phone? The other phone I had sync'd with the website, but I don't have a way to export the data from there to my phone, and I didn't save my contacts on my sim card since it didn't have nearly the capacity for it.

Anyone have any suggestions how i'd go about doing that?

[omnibot]

So I just used this method by exporting my CSV from my enV using BitPim, then importing to my Gmail contacts.

I have 100+ "unknowns" in my g1 contacts now because BitPim (i guess) didn't sparse the information properly, and now I have to manually set the info anyways.

Just a warning for anyone who tries this method.