How to import VCF to Gmail

THE VCF file they are virtual business cards that contain the data of one or more people, such as name, email address and mobile phone number. They are supported by many applications and e-mail services, which can use them for importing and exporting address book contacts. Gmail, the famous webmail service from Google, is no exception.

With today’s guide, I therefore want to explain to you how to import VCF to gmail, acting directly from the web panel of the service (Google Contacts) or from smartphones and tablets, taking advantage of the synchronization functions of the address book with Gmail available in Android and iOS. Contrary to what one might think, I assure you, it is a very simple operation that can be carried out even by those who, a bit like you, do not consider themselves an expert in information technology.

That said, I’d say cut the talk and take action. Carve out five minutes of free time, dedicate yourself to reading the following lines and try to put into practice the indications I am about to give you. I’m sure that, within a few minutes, you will be able to import your contacts into Gmail and easily synchronize your address book on all your devices.

Index

How to import VCF to Gmail

The easiest way to import VCF to Gmail is to open the browser you usually use to surf the Internet from your PC (eg. Chrome), visit the Google Contacts service and, if necessary, sign in to your Gmail account. Are we here yet? Perfect.

Now, if you don’t see the side menu of the service, click on the ☰ button located at the top left. So scroll through the aforementioned menu, expand the item Moreover and click on the option It matters which appears below.

At this point, to import the new contacts into Gmail via VCF files, click on the button Select files that has appeared in the center of the screen and select the file with the contacts to be transferred to the Gmail address book.

Once this step is done, click on the button It matters and wait a few moments for all the names in the file to be added to the Gmail address book.

If at the end of the import Gmail warns you about the presence of duplicate contacts, you can quickly solve the problem by pressing the button View (up). You will then be shown a list with all names for which duplicates have been found in the address book. Double check that they are all actually duplicates (otherwise deselect them) and click on Merge everything to unify them.

Alternatively, you can merge individual duplicate contacts while leaving the others intact by pressing the button Merge relating to them. Easier said than done!

If you want to ignore the duplicate warning, click the button instead Ignore (top) so that it doesn’t appear again.

How to import VCF to Gmail on Android

You have saved some files in VCF format on your smartphone or tablet android and you don’t know how to import all the names they contain into the Gmail application? If, as I believe, you have set up your Google account to synchronize contacts with Android, all you have to do is import the VCF file into the Google Contacts application: by the way, if you haven’t downloaded it yet on your device, open the play store (the default Android store, marked by the icon of the colored ▶︎ symbol), search for it and download it, selecting its icon and pressing the button Install.

If you haven’t set up your Google Account to sync with your smartphone (or tablet) either, open the app Settings (L’gear icon located on the home screen or in the drawer, i.e. the screen with the list of all the apps installed on the device), go to Accounts > Google > [tuo indirizzo Gmail] and move up ON the levers related to the synchronization of contacts, people details, Gmail and other data of your interest (eg. Calendar And Drive).

If you have not configured any Google account on your device, go back to the menu Settings > Accounts of Android and press on the entry Add accounts to set up your Gmail address. In case you have any difficulty completing the procedure, consult my tutorial on how to associate an Android phone with Google.

Once you’ve set up your Google account on your phone/tablet, you’re ready to go: open the app Google contactsselect theGmail account to use (the one you previously set on the device) and press the ☰ button located at the top left.

Then select the item Settings from the menu that appeared on the side, choose the option It matters from the next screen and presses the button .vcf file. Therefore, it indicates theGmail account into which to import the contacts (operation necessary only if there are multiple Google accounts configured on the device), select the VCF file with contacts to import into Gmail and that’s it.

The contacts will be imported into the address book within a few seconds and synchronized with the Google online address book. For more information on the subject, see my guide on how to sync your address book with Gmail.

How to import VCF to Gmail on iPhone

If you have a iPhones (or a iPads) and you want to import VCFs to Gmail using the latter, you must first set up your Google account on the device. If you haven’t already done so, go to the menu Settings of iOS (thegear icon located on the home screen), go to Passwords and accounts (on iOS 14 and later you have to go up Settings > Mail or Settings > Contacts) and press on the item Add accounts to add a new Google account to your device.

At the end of the procedure (which I told you about in detail in my guide on how to set up Gmail on iPhone), make sure that the lever for synchronizing contacts is active. Next, you need to set your Gmail address book as the default iOS address book (so that all new contacts sync with it). Then go to the menu Settings > Contacts > Default account and tick the option for Gmail.

Now all you have to do is send yourself the VCF file with email contacts, to an address you can access from the app Mail of iOS. Then open the app in question, select the message you sent yourself and press the iconattached (i.e. the VCF file with contacts).

A screen will open with the list of names contained in the file and the button Add all x contacts, which allows you to add all the contacts contained in the VCF file to the iOS address book (and, consequently, to that of Gmail, synchronized with the device). Press on the aforementioned button, choose the item for create new contacts from the menu that is proposed to you and that’s it!