How to Sync Contacts from iPhone to iPad (and Fix Missing Ones)

To sync contacts from an iPhone to an iPad, sign in to both with the same Apple Account and turn on Contacts for iCloud on each one: go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud, tap See All next to Saved to iCloud, and turn on Contacts. Your contacts upload from the iPhone and appear on the iPad, usually within a few minutes on Wi-Fi.

After that, syncing is automatic. A contact you add, edit or delete on one device changes on the other. The one catch: contacts saved to On My iPhone, a SIM card, or a Gmail or work account don’t travel through iCloud, so check where yours are stored if some are missing.

How to sync contacts between iPhone and iPad with iCloud

Before you start, confirm both devices use the same Apple Account. Open Settings on each and look at the name and email at the top. If the iPad belongs to someone else in your family, don’t sign it in with your account; see the note further down.

On your iPhone

1. Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
2. Tap iCloud.
3. Next to Saved to iCloud, tap See All.

4. Turn on Contacts. The switch turns green.

5. If your iPhone asks what to do with contacts already on the phone, choose Merge. That uploads them to iCloud instead of leaving them behind.

On your iPad

1. Open Settings and tap your name.
2. Tap iCloud, then See All.
3. Turn on Contacts, and choose Merge if asked.
4. Open the Contacts app and wait a minute or two. Your iPhone contacts fill in.

On iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 or earlier, the button reads Show All instead of See All. Apple’s steps for this screen are in Change your iCloud feature settings.

Make new contacts save to iCloud

If your iPhone saves new contacts to another account, they won’t show up on the iPad. Set iCloud as the default so every new contact syncs:

1. Open Settings > Apps > Contacts. On iOS 17 or earlier, go to Settings > Contacts.
2. Tap Default Account.
3. Select iCloud.

The Default Account option only appears when you have more than one contacts account, such as iCloud plus Gmail.

Contacts didn’t sync to the iPad? Check these

1. Refresh the list. In the iPad’s Contacts app, swipe down on the list.
2. Show all iCloud contacts. Tap Lists in the upper-left corner of Contacts and make sure All iCloud is selected, not a single list or another account.
3. Check the Apple Account. A different email at the top of Settings on either device means they’re using separate iCloud accounts, and nothing will sync between them.
4. Check the date and time. Go to Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. A wrong clock can stop iCloud from syncing.
5. Find contacts stored elsewhere. On the iPhone, tap Lists in Contacts. If you see On My iPhone, Gmail or another account, the missing contacts are probably there. See the next section.
6. Restart both devices and give them a few minutes on Wi-Fi.

Apple’s troubleshooting page, If your iCloud Contacts won’t sync, has a few more checks, including importing a vCard file into iCloud.

What if your contacts are in Gmail, Outlook or on a SIM card?

iCloud only syncs iCloud contacts. For the others:

Where the contacts are	How to get them on the iPad
Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo or a work account	Add the same account on the iPad in Settings > Apps > Contacts > Contacts Accounts and turn on Contacts for it. They sync through that service instead of iCloud.
SIM card	On the iPhone, open Settings > Apps > Contacts and tap Import SIM Contacts, then choose iCloud. They then sync to the iPad.
On My iPhone (not in any account)	Turning iCloud Contacts on and choosing Merge normally moves them to iCloud. If some stay behind, share them to the iPad as shown below.

Send just one or two contacts without syncing

If the iPad isn’t yours or uses a different Apple Account, share individual contact cards instead:

1. On the iPhone, open Contacts and tap the person.
2. Scroll down and tap Share Contact.
3. Choose AirDrop and tap the iPad, or send it by Messages or Mail.
4. On the iPad, open the card and tap Save or Create New Contact.

Our AirDrop troubleshooting guide helps if the iPad doesn’t appear. You’ll get duplicates if you later turn on iCloud for both; merging duplicate contacts cleans them up.

Note: Don’t sign a family member’s iPad in with your Apple Account just to share contacts. They’d get your messages, photos and passwords too. Family Sharing lets each person keep their own account.

Syncing more than contacts between iPhone and iPad

The same Saved to iCloud screen controls everything else. Turn on the same items on both devices to keep them matched:

• Photos: turn on iCloud Photos to see the same library on both. Large libraries may need more iCloud storage.
• Messages: texts sync with Messages in iCloud, and SMS needs Text Message Forwarding too. Our guide to syncing messages from iPhone to iPad covers both settings.
• Calendars, Reminders, Notes and Safari: each has its own switch or row on the same screen.
• Passwords: turn on Passwords (iCloud Keychain) so saved logins work on the iPad.

For phone calls on the iPad, a shared hotspot and Handoff, see how to connect an iPad to an iPhone.

Common questions

Can I sync contacts from iPhone to iPad without iCloud?

Yes. Use a Google or Outlook account on both devices, or sync each one with the same Mac or PC over a cable. For a handful of contacts, AirDrop is quicker.

If I delete a contact on the iPad, is it deleted on my iPhone?

Yes. With iCloud Contacts on, deletions sync both ways. You can restore contacts from an earlier date at iCloud.com under Data Recovery if you remove one by mistake.

How do I stop syncing contacts to the iPad?

Turn off Contacts in iCloud on the iPad only, and choose to delete the copies from that iPad when asked. Your iPhone and iCloud keep the contacts.