You have a spreadsheet of contacts — customers, members, an old backup — and you want it on your phone. Phones don't import spreadsheets; they import vCard (.vcf) files. Here's the fastest route from Excel to your address book.
Step 1: Convert the Spreadsheet
Drop your .xlsx file into the Excel to VCF converter — it reads the workbook directly, so there's no need to save as CSV first. (If your list is already a CSV, use the CSV to VCF converter instead.)
The converter reads the first worksheet and looks for the usual columns — capitalization and punctuation don't matter:
- Names: First Name / Given Name, Last Name / Surname, or a single Name column
- Contact info: Email, Phone / Mobile / Cell
- Work: Company / Organization, Title
- Extras: Birthday, Notes
Every row with at least a name becomes a contact in a single .vcf file. The conversion runs in your browser — a spreadsheet full of other people's personal details never gets uploaded anywhere.
Step 2: Import the VCF File
iPhone
Get the .vcf onto the phone — AirDrop it, save it to Files, or email it to yourself — then open it and tap Add All Contacts. Alternatively, import at icloud.com/contacts via the gear menu, and it syncs to the phone.
Google Contacts / Android
Go to contacts.google.com → Import in the left sidebar → select the file. Contacts sync automatically to any Android device on that account.
Outlook
People → Manage contacts → Import contacts.
Common Problems
- Rows missing after import: rows without any name are skipped — check for contacts stored with only a phone number.
- Contacts on the wrong sheet: the first worksheet is converted; move your contact sheet to the front of the workbook.
- Duplicates after importing: Google Contacts has a built-in "Merge & fix" that cleans these up in one click.
Going the Other Way
To get contacts out of a phone and into a spreadsheet, export a .vcf from Google Contacts or iCloud and run it through the VCF to CSV converter. See all the tools on the contact converters page.