How to Import SIM Contacts on an iPhone

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 29, 2019 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you to transfer contacts from a SIM card to your iPhone. iPhones themselves do not store contacts on the SIM card, so this method will not work for transferring contacts from one iPhone to another.

Steps

1
Make sure your old SIM card contains your contacts. Check your SIM storage or device manufacturer’s documentation to see if it supports SIM storage.
- iPhones do not store contacts on a SIM card and can only pull contacts from the SIM card to its internal storage.^{[1]
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2
Move the SIM card from the old phone into your iPhone. Insert a paperclip or other thin wire into the hole next to the SIM tray. It will pop open and you can place the SIM card inside.^{[2]
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3
Open your iPhone's Settings. This is the grey icon with cogs on one of your home screens.
- This could also be located in the "Utilities" folder on one of your home screens.
4
Scroll down and tap Mail. This is in the fifth set of options.
5
Tap Import SIM Contacts. This will copy any contacts on the SIM card to your iPhone’s Contacts app.
6
Open the “Contacts” app. After the transfer is complete, the contacts from your SIM card will appear listed here.

Community Q&A

Question

Can I transfer contacts from my iPhone to a laptop?

💮Lexi💮

Community Answer

Connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cabled. 2. Click the Device button, then click Info. Press Sync at the bottom of the screen and all your iPhone contacts will be copied to your PC.
Question

Is there any other way I can import my contacts from a sim to an iPhone?

Community Answer

You could export your contacts as a CSV file, transfer it into your iPhone using a file manager (for example, Xender), then open the exported file to save your contacts. Or, once exporting your contacts, you can upload them to your iCloud account using your desktop.
Question

How do you transfer images through the SIM card?

VDubGolf

Community Answer

You can't. The SIM does not have adequate storage capabilities to hold such files — this also goes for videos, music and text files.