How to sync your contacts to iCloud and access all of your contacts from any device

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Summary List Placement

When you sync your contacts to iCloud, you'll be able to access them anywhere, regardless of whether you're using your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or even a Windows computer. All of your contacts will be stored on the cloud so that you have access to them anywhere you can sign in. 

An important note — you cannot sync your contacts from iCloud.com or iCloud for Windows. However, if you have already synced them from another device, you can still edit them using these programs.

Before you sync your contacts, you should note that unsyncing them does not automatically delete them from the devices synced to your iCloud — it just means that no new contacts you add will be synced. If you want to delete already synced contacts, you'll have to do it manually.

How to sync contacts from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

1. Open the Settings app on your device.

2. At the top of the Settings menu, tap on your name and Apple ID.

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3. In the Apple ID menu, tap "iCloud."

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4. Under "Apps using iCloud," toggle the "Contacts" switch to the on position.

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5. A pop-up will appear asking if you want to cancel or merge your contacts with your iCloud account — tap "Merge."

How to sync contacts from a Mac computer

1. On the menu at the top of your screen, click the Apple symbol in the left corner.

2. Select "System Preferences" in the dropdown menu.

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3. In the System Preferences window, click "Apple ID" in the top right corner.

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Note: If you are using MacOS Mojave or earlier, you can skip this step.

4. Click "iCloud" from the menu on the left side.

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5. On the iCloud menu, click the checkbox next to "Contacts." This will sync any contacts not specified as "On my Mac."

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If you want to sync contacts specified as "On my Mac," you will have to manually drag them from "On my Mac" to "All iCloud."

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