WhatsApp Contact Sync: Settings and CSV Import on iPhone/Android

Generally, you don’t need to manually sync contacts to WhatsApp. Unlike other social apps, WhatsApp relies on your device's address book to add contacts. So, after you give WhatsApp permission to access your address book, it will scan and add contacts to your WhatsApp contacts list. However, in some cases, you can’t see contacts. Here in this article, I would like to share three methods to sync WhatsApp contacts. You can use them to ensure all the contacts are synced to your WhatsApp contact list.

WhatsApp Contact Sync

Part 1. Best Way to Sync WhatsApp Contacts

When you switch to a new phone, you can restore your WhatsApp contacts and related chats from a suitable backup file. Syncing WhatsApp contacts from Android to Android or iPhone to iPhone is quite simple. However, when it comes to transferring contacts between Android and iPhone, you need to rely on a third-party tool like Aiseesoft WhatsSync. It lets you easily copy all WhatsApp contacts and conversations between phones.

Whatssync Windows

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WhatsSync

  • Selectively choose individual or group chats and transfer them directly to a contact saved in your phone's address book.
  • Transfer your WhatsApp data, including your chats and media associated with your contacts, from an iPhone to an Android device (or vice-versa).
  • Create a complete backup of your WhatsApp data, including your entire chat history with all your contacts, and restore it.
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Step 1.
Download and open WhatsSync on your computer, click WhatsApp, and click the Start button.
Choose Whatsapp
Step 2.
To import WhatsApp contacts from one phone to another, you can use the Transfer option.
Transfer
Step 3.
Connect both your Android phone and iPhone to the computer. Follow the on-screen prompts to help them be recognized successfully. For instance, you need to allow USB debugging on the Android device.
Allow Usb Debugging Android
Step 4.
Before the WhatsApp contact sync, you should set the source and target devices from the dropdown list. After that, you can follow the prompts to easily sync your WhatsApp contacts to the target phone.
Choose Target Source Devices

Part 2. Use WhatsApp Sync Feature to Import and Update WhatsApp Contacts

As I mentioned earlier, WhatsApp can automatically sync contacts from your address book after granting it permission to access these contacts. This part tells you how to use this WhatsApp built-in syncing feature to import and update WhatsApp contacts on iPhone and Android.

Sync WhatsApp Contacts on Android

Step 1.
Go to the “Settings” app on your Android phone and locate “Apps” option.
Step 2.
Browse the list of apps and choose “WhatsApp”.
Step 3.
Tap “Permissions” > “Contacts” > “Allow” to authenticate WhatsApp to access your address book’s contacts information.
Android Whatsapp Contact Sync
Step 4.
In most cases, your synced contacts should now appear in WhatsApp. If not, try refreshing your contact list by going to “CHATS” in WhatsApp, tapping the green chat button at the bottom right, selecting the three-dot menu at the top right, and then tapping“Refresh”. After that, your contacts should be synced to WhatsApp.
Refresh Synced Contacts in Whatsapp

Sync WhatsApp Contacts on iPhone

For iOS 13 or earlier:

Step 1.
Open the Settings app, swipe down to locate the “Apps” option.
Step 2.
Tap the search bar and search “WhatsSync” to see its accessibility to various functions.
Step 3.
Tap “Contacts” to choose “Full Access”. Now, your WhatsApp app can have full access to your contacts' data. You can now open WhatsApp to see if your contacts are synced.
Give Full Contacts Access to Whatsapp on iPhone

For iOS 14 or later:

Step 1.
Go to “Settings” and choose “Privacy & Security”.
Step 2.
Select “Contacts” and then you will see your contacts listed on the screen and all the apps that is related to your contacts. You can choose “WhatsApp” from the app list.
Step 3.
Choose “Full Access” to allow WhatsSync to access your contacts list.
Sync Whatsapp Contacts for Newer iPhone

Part 3. Import WhatsApp Contacts One by One or Sync in Bulk

Import Contacts One at a Time

Step 1.
Open “WhatsApp” on your phone and tap the plus button on the top right corner.
Step 2.
Enter your new contact’s name and phone number. You can also add photos, company, and other mobile phone numbers if needed.
Step 3.
Click “Done”. Now you can see your new contact in “Chats” in WhatsApp.
Add Single Contact in Whatsapp

Import Contacts in a Batch

You should know that WhatsApp doesn't offer a direct way to import contacts from an Excel CSV file. To do that, you can choose to import these contacts to your phone’s address book or Google account. If you already have a prepared CSV file with associated phone numbers and other contact details, you can follow the steps below to sync your WhatsApp contacts from an Excel CSV file.

Import Contacts from a CSV File to Your Phone:

Step 1.
Open your phone's “Contacts” app, locate the menu button, and choose “Import”.
Step 2.
Then choose the Excel CSV file you prepared and where to save the contacts.
Step 3.
Wait for all contacts from the CSV file to import to your phone’s address book.
Step 4.
After these contacts are in the address book, you can see them. in WhatsApp. If not, please follow the steps in our part 2 to give your WhatsApp access to the address book.

Import Contacts to Your Google Account in bulk:

Step 1.
Navigate to the official Google Contacts site and log into your account. You can also access “Contacts” from your Gmail account. .
Step 2.
Click “My Contacts” and then click the “More” button.
Step 3.
Choose “Import“ from the drop-down list.
Step 4.
Add your prepared CSV file to your Google account.
Google Contacts Import from CSV
Step 5.
When these contacts are imported to your Google account, you can sync them to your phone. Go to “Accounts” from the “Settings“ app and choose ”Google“. Then, you can sync these WhatsApp contacts with your phone.
Sync Whatsapp Contacts from Google Account

Part 4. Why WhatsApp Is Not Syncing Contacts

Sometimes, even after enabling WhatsApp contact sync, you may still get some errors, such as contacts not syncing in WhatsApp or contacts not showing up. Various reasons may cause your WhatsApp contacts might not sync properly. This part explains some common reasons and gives related tips to fix them.

Have no permission to access your contacts:

As mentioned above, the problem is more likely caused by the app's permission to access your contacts. You can follow the method above to grant WhatsApp permission to access your contacts.

The contacts haven’t refreshed:

When WhatsApp contact sync is not refreshed, you need to manually refresh. This solution can easily fix the WhatsApp contact name not showing. You can open WhatsApp on your Android phone or iPhone and then go to the Chats tab. On an Android device, you should tap the 3-dot button and then choose Refresh. To refresh on an iPhone, you can swipe down on the Chats screen to do that.

Outdated app or software:

In some cases, an outdated app or software will lead to WhatsApp contact syncing issues. You can try updating WhatsApp and your phone’s system to the latest version. Before you do that, you can try restarting your phone to resolve temporary glitches.

Part 5. FAQs of WhatsApp Contact Sync

How do I refresh my WhatsApp contacts on my phone?

Some WhatsApp users complained that they can’t see contacts, and only the numbers are shown. Actually, this error often happens when you buy a new phone and reinstall the app. To refresh your WhatsApp contacts on an Android phone, you can tap the three dots menu and then choose Refresh. On an iPhone, you can open WhatsApp and swipe down the Chats screen to perform a refresh.

How many backups does WhatsApp keep?

WhatsApp allows you to create backups to cloud storage like Google Drive or iCloud and your phone’s internal storage. If you choose to back up your WhatsApp chats to a cloud service, you will only have one backup file. When you make a new backup, the source one will be overwritten. However, if you choose to back up WhatsApp data to the local storage, you are allowed to create up to seven backups.

Do WhatsApp backups overwrite each other?

Yes. As I mentioned above, your new cloud backup will overwrite the previous one, whether you back up WhatsApp chats to Google Drive or iCloud.

Conclusion

I have mainly talked about the WhatsApp contacts syncing in this post. Whether you use WhatsApp on an Android phone or an iPhone, keeping all your contacts synced is important. You can follow the tips in this article to import and sync your WhatsApp contacts. Whether you choose to import contacts one by one, sync in bulk, rely on WhatsApp’s built-in sync feature, or adopt a professional solution like Aiseesoft WhatsSync, following the steps in this guide will help you maintain an up-to-date and organized contact list.

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WhatsSync Whatssync Windows

An efficient WhatsApp transfer tool that quickly backs up and syncs all WhatsApp chats, video/audio, files, stickers, and more across iOS/Android devices and online cloud services.

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