How to Import Outlook Contacts to Android?

E-mail remains the most reliable way of communication today, and Microsoft Outlook is among the most popular tools for e-mails and calendars on your computer, smartphone, tablet, and other devices. Besides managing your inbox and calendar, Outlook stores contacts and related data. After purchasing a new phone, you might want to import Outlook contacts to Android.

This article will show you universal ways to transfer Outlook contacts to Android and import contacts from Hotmail to Android. This guide applies to phones and tablets with Android 4.4 and above.

How to Transfer Contacts From Outlook to Android Without Gmail?

If you store contacts in Outlook locally, you need to export all contacts to a CSV file. If you use a Microsoft Account, Exchange, or Office 365, just log in with your account on your Android phone and ensure it syncs contacts alongside the e-mail.

Open Outlook on your PC or go to the outlook.com website.
Sign in to your Microsoft account.
Click Manage and select Export contacts from the dropdown list.
Select All contacts from the list in the new window and click the Export button. Wait for the system to generate a CSV file and save it on your system drive. The process will take some time depending on how many contacts you want to import from Outlook to Android.

Next, you need to convert the CSV file to vCard:

Download the free CSV to vCard software. The app converts CSV files to vCard format that you can later use to import contacts from Outlook to Android (and iOS).
Click the Browse button and specify the path to the CSV file that contains the contacts from Outlook.
Go to the folder with the previously created file and open it.
Select the vCard file (all contacts in one VCF file) option. The app will save the VCF file to the same folder where the CSV file sits. If needed, change the directory and tap Save as. Specify the patch to the file with the contacts and rename it if necessary.
Select Default from the VCF Encoding list and click on the Convert button. Wait for the “File conversion has been successfully completed” message to appear on the screen and tap OK.
Transfer the file with contacts from your computer to the Android phone or tablet. You can do that via a USB cable or wirelessly.
After saving contacts from Outlook to Android, import them to the Contacts app of your choice.

The second way to convert CSV to vCard is using a mobile app. Do the following steps:

Copy the CSV file with Outlook contacts created on your PC to your phone.
Download the CSV to VCF converter app from the Google Play Store and open it.
Open the CSV file from Outlook and tap Create VCF File. Save the generated VCF file to any folder you want. Do not bury it deep inside the file system, so you can easily find the file later.
Now you need to open your default Contacts app and use its contact import capabilities. Different apps have different user interfaces, but the general idea is that you need to find contact settings and locate the import/export section.

How to Transfer Contacts From Android to Outlook?

Here is how to do the process in reverse when you need to export contacts from Android to Outlook.

Install the Contact to Excel app from the Google Play Store.
Select the CSV option.
The app will ask you for permission to access contacts on your Android device. Grant it so that the app can transfer contacts from Android to Outlook.
Click the Export contacts button.
Now you can transfer the CSV file from your Android smartphone to a computer. Again, you can do it wirelessly or using a USB cable. CSV files are small (unless you have thousands of contacts), so copying will not take much time.
Sign in to Outlook.
Go to the contacts section and click Manage.
Select Import contacts.
Click Browse and specify the path to the CSV file.