Losing contacts can be a nightmare and it can cause you to lose touch with important business associates, friends, or even family members if you don’t remember their numbers. This is why backing up your contacts is important so you have a safety net in case of accidental deletion, phone damage, or any other data loss.

In this guide, I will explain how to backup contacts on your Galaxy S20 using 4 methods:

1. Backing up to Samsung Cloud, 
2. To Google Drive, 
3. To an SD card, or a Windows computer (desktop/laptop). 

Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, and I will provide an overview of each to help you choose the best one for your needs. Let’s get started!

Note: Methods mentioned in this guide will work on any Samsung Galaxy S20 model (S20, S20 Plus, S20 Fe, and S20 Ultra models.)

Editor’s note: We created these instructions using a Samsung Galaxy S20 running Android 13. Depending on your device’s software version, some steps and menu positions may look slightly different.

Method 01: Backup Contacts to Samsung Cloud

Samsung Cloud is a cloud storage service provided by Samsung for its device users. It allows you to backup, sync, and restore content stored on your device such as contacts, calendar events, photos, and more.

When you back up your contacts to Samsung Cloud, you’re saving a copy of your contacts on Samsung’s servers. If you lose your phone, or if the data on your phone gets deleted or corrupted, you can log in to your Samsung account to retrieve the backup.

Note: You need to be signed in to your Samsung account to use Samsung Cloud. If you don’t have a Samsung account, you can create one from the “Accounts and backup” settings page.

Follow these steps to back up contacts to Samsung Cloud:

1. Open the Settings app on your Galaxy S20
2. Scroll down and tap on “Accounts and backup”.

3. Under “Samsung Cloud”, tap on “Backup data”

1. Select “Contacts”. This will mark your contacts for backup.
2. Tap on “Back up”. This will start the backup process.
3. Wait for the backup to complete.

Method 02: Backup Contacts to Google Drive

Google Drive is a great way to back up contacts for those who use Google services frequently. This method synchronizes your contact list with your Google account, allowing you to access your contacts from any device (Samsung or Non-Samsung) where you can sign in to your Google account.

Note: If you have turned on the “Sync” feature, contacts on your Samsung Galaxy S20 will automatically be uploaded to your Google account (GDrive)

Here are the steps to back up your contacts to Google Drive:

1. Open the settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on “Accounts and backup”.
3. Under “Google Drive”, tap on “Back up data”.

4. Select contacts (if possible) and tap on “Back up data”

Note: If you cannot manually select only contacts to be backed up, you have to back up all the data into the Google Drive. In such cases, move into the next method.

Note: Any changes you make to your contacts on your phone will now automatically sync to your Google account. This means if you remove a contact from your Galaxy S20, it will be automatically deleted from your backup too.

Method 03: Backup Contacts to an SD card or Computer

You can also create a copy of your contact list and store it on a physical device, such as an SD card or a computer. This can be a useful way if you prefer to have a portable backup of your contacts, or if you don’t want to rely on cloud services such as Google Drive or Samsung Cloud.

The easiest way to do this is by exporting contacts from the Phone app on your Samsung Galaxy S20 and then saving the exported file to a computer or SD card. This can be done using a USB cable or Wi-Fi connection.

You can also use tools that can back up your contacts. These are:

1. Samsung Smart Switch: This is an official Samsung tool used to backup your contacts to a computer.
2. Third-party apps: There are many third-party apps available on the Google Play Store that can back up your contacts. Some popular ones include Super Backup & Restore, Contacts Backup & Restore, and Easy Backup.

These are the steps you need to follow to back up contacts to an SD card or computer:

1. Open the “Phone app”.

2. Tap on “Contacts”.

3. Tap on the three dots at the top right corner and select “Manage contacts”.

4. Then tap on “Export contacts”.

5. Select contacts you want to export (or back up).
6. Tap on “Export” and select “VCF” format.
7. Then select the location you want to save the backup.
8. If you want to save this file on a computer, all you have to do is use a USB cable, connect your Galaxy S20 to a computer, and then copy the file to your hard drive.

If you want to use Samsung’s “Smart Switch” to back up contacts, here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Install “Samsung Smart Switch Mobile” app on your Galaxy S20.
2. Install Samsung Smart Switch desktop software on your computer.
3. Download and install Samsung USB driver for the Samsung Galaxy S20 and install it.
4. Plug your Samsung Galaxy S20 into the computer using a USB cable.
5. Unlock the screen of your Galaxy S20 and wait for your computer and Smart switch to detect it.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions to back up contacts to your computer.

How to Restore Contacts to Your Samsung Galaxy S20

As backing up data, you should also know how to restore them in case. And now I am going to teach you how to do that.

The procedure for restoring a backup depends on the method you choose to take that backup. Therefore, I will cover how to restore a backup taken from using one of the 3 methods I discussed before.

How to Restore Contacts From Samsung Cloud

These are the steps you need to follow to restore contacts stored in Samsung Cloud:

1. Go to Settings. Tap on “Accounts and back up”.
2. Select “Restore data” under Samsung Cloud.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions to restore the contacts store on Samsung Cloud.

How to Restore Contacts From Google Drive

The procedure is very similar to how you can restore the backup on Samsung Cloud.

1. Go to Settings > “Accounts and back up”.
2. Tap on “Restore data” under Google Drive.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to restore the contacts store on Google Drive.

How to Restore Contacts On Computer/SD Card

To restore contacts backed up on your computer or SD card, follow the steps below:

1. Insert the SD card/copy the backup file you store on the computer to your Samsung Galaxy S20.
2. Tap on the “Phone” app.
3. Tap on “Contacts”.
4. Tap on three dots at the top right corner.
5. Tap on “Manage contacts”.
6. Tap on “Import contacts” and select the backup file.

7. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the restoration.

If you have chosen the Samsung Smart Switch as the backup tool. Then you can follow the steps below:

1. Connect your Samsung Galaxy S20 to your computer.
2. Open Smart Switch software.
3. Wait for your device to be recognized by the Smart switch.
4. Select Restore data.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the restoration.