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How to SAVE existing Contacts to "On the iPhone" from an iPhone Gmail account?

On my iPhone, 157 Contacts are saved with a Gmail account. I want to save them with the default location "On the iPhone." Under Settings>Contacts>, there is no option for a default location "On the iPhone." Under Settings>Contacts>Accounts, if I delete Contacts from the Gmail Internet account, the 157 Contacts are lost.


Is there a way to preserve the 157 Contacts and save them to the iPhone without using iCloud? I want to sever the relationship with Gmail. Thank you in advance for any help.

Posted on Oct 31, 2021 1:27 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 1, 2021 12:12 PM

Hello bettyhills,


Thanks for the post. As we understand it, you want to stop using a third-party account but retain the contacts from that account and store them on your iPhone. Is that right?


Your best bet might be to check into exporting the contacts from that account to a computer. If you have a PC with iTunes, you could then sync your contacts directly to the iPhone with these steps: Sync app info from your PC to devices with iTunes


We hope that helps to get you started. Have a good one.

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 1, 2021 12:12 PM in response to bettyhills

Hello bettyhills,


Thanks for the post. As we understand it, you want to stop using a third-party account but retain the contacts from that account and store them on your iPhone. Is that right?


Your best bet might be to check into exporting the contacts from that account to a computer. If you have a PC with iTunes, you could then sync your contacts directly to the iPhone with these steps: Sync app info from your PC to devices with iTunes


We hope that helps to get you started. Have a good one.

Nov 2, 2021 8:47 AM in response to ryane77

Thank you. "exporting the contacts from that account to a computer" was the answer. Removed Contacts from Gmail Internet Account (so it was no longer the default "host" for Contacts). I exported the 157 gmail contacts to a vcf file and emailed the vcf file to myself in Apple Mail. Clicking on the vcf file in the email imported the 157 gmail contacts flawlessly into the iPhone saved "On My iPhone," the goal. Thank you for your help.

How to SAVE existing Contacts to "On the iPhone" from an iPhone Gmail account?

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