Ultimate Guide - AirDrop Contacts from iPhone to iPhone in Seconds

Clara Prescott Published on November 11, 2025Transfer Data3-min reading

Tired of fumbling with cables and complicated settings to move your numbers around? Have you asked yourself, Can I simply AirDrop contacts from one iPhone to another? The answer is yes, and it is surprisingly quick. AirDrop is a built-in feature of Apple that lets you send individual contacts in seconds, wirelessly and securely. But what happens when you need your entire address book, not just one card? That is when iCloud, iTunes, or advanced transfer tools come into play. This guide shows you every method to share, sync, and manage contacts smoothly across your iPhones.

In this article:

Part 1. How to AirDrop a Single Contact
Part 2. How to AirDrop All Contacts at Once
Part 3. AirDrop Contacts Settings & Management
Part 4. What if the AirDrop Contact Does Not Show Up

Part 1. How to AirDrop a Single Contact

AirDrop is one of the fastest methods to transfer information between iPhones. If you need to send someone a single contact, this is an efficient method. It is safe, secure, does not require third-party applications, and best of all, excels for quick, one-time transfers.

Step 1

Turn AirDrop on for both iPhones.

Go to the Control Center, and long-press the panel that has the network settings.
You can then tap the AirDrop button and choose either Contacts Only or Everyone.

Step 2

Open the Contacts app on your source iPhone.

Step 3

Locate the contact you wish to send, and tap Share Contact.

Step 4

Tap AirDrop, and select the target iPhone.

Step 5

On the receiving iPhone, tap the Accept button on the pop-up notification.

Step 6

The target iPhone will now have the contact in its Contacts app.

Part 2. How to AirDrop All Contacts at Once

Due to the restriction of sharing contacts one at a time on AirDrop, the alternative for transferring a whole contact list is professional tools such as imyPass iPhone Transfer. It moves your contacts and other personal data quickly, safely, and efficiently without any data loss. For transferring a bulk of contacts or a whole address book between iPhones, this tool works significantly faster and better than AirDrop.

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Step 1

From the official website, download and install the software. Completion of installation would require the implementation of the subsequent instructions after the software has been downloaded.

Step 2

Connecting both iPhones to the computer via USB cables is the next step. You would need to tap Trust on both devices.

Step 3

The program immediately identifies and displays the connected iPhones on the main screen: one as a target phone and the other as a source.

Step 4

To access all contacts on the source iPhone, tap the Contacts section on the main interface. They can be previewed before the transfer.

Step 5

Select all contacts and click the Export to iPhone button to begin the transfer to the target iPhone. Once the transfer is complete, check the receiving iPhone to ensure that the entire Contacts list has been successfully imported.

Part 3. AirDrop Contacts Settings & Management

You might not want to send contacts to someone individually. Instead, you would like to have all your contacts automatically maintained and synced through your various gadgets. Syncing contacts between iPhones can be managed through iCloud or iTunes. Apple makes this super easy.

1. Sync with iCloud

You can have your contacts synced through iCloud. Once you have this activated, any changes you make to a contact on one iPhone will automatically be reflected on all the other iPhones signed into the same Apple ID, whether you add, edit, delete a contact, or restore contacts from iCloud.

Step 1

Make sure both iPhones are on the same Wi-Fi network and signed into the same Apple ID.

Step 2

Search for iCloud in Settings. Select the iPhone and make sure the Contacts button is set to ON in the iCloud settings.

Step 3

Do the same for the other iPhone.

Step 4

Select Merge when prompted to combine contacts.

Step 5

Check the Contacts app to make sure the iPhones have finished syncing.

2. Sync with iTunes

iTunes can be an alternative method in case you do not want to use iCloud. iTunes can be used with a USB connection to transfer contacts between iPhones. This method works when you do not have Wi-Fi access and want to store a local copy of your contacts.

Step 1

Connect your old iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes.

Step 2

Click your iPhone’s name and go to the Info tab.

Step 3

Check the box next to Sync Contacts and click Apply to back up contacts from your old iPhone.

Step 4

Disconnect the old iPhone and connect your new iPhone.

Step 5

Go to the Info tab again, enable Sync Contacts, and under the Advanced section, ensure Contacts is selected before clicking Apply.

Step 6

Go to the new iPhone and open the Contacts app to confirm the contacts have synced and been transferred.

Part 4. What if the AirDrop Contact Does Not Show Up

In some situations, you may have a problem activating the AirDrop feature between iPhones. Issues such as device distance, connectivity settings, restoring deleted contacts, or both devices being near one another can cause this.

Step 1

Make sure both iPhones have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on. Both are essential to initiate AirDrop.

Step 2

To check AirDrop receiving settings, go to the Control Center and tap the AirDrop button. If set to Contacts Only, make sure the Apple ID email or phone number of the sender is saved in your contact card. To avoid restrictions, set it to Everyone.

Step 3

Keep the devices close together. AirDrop may fail if the iPhones are too far apart.

Step 4

Restart both iPhones and try the transfer again to fix temporary glitches.

Step 5

If AirDrop still does not work or you need to send multiple contacts, consider using an alternative like imyPass iPhone Transfer or syncing via iCloud.

Conclusion

Now you know precisely how to AirDrop contacts between iPhones and the different ways to manage or transfer your entire list. AirDrop is perfect for sending single contacts quickly, while iCloud and iTunes keep everything synced automatically. For those who need bulk transfers or extra management features, professional tools like imyPass iPhone Transfer make the process seamless. No matter which method you choose, you can move your contacts securely and conveniently. Start today and keep your connections safe, organized, and always within reach.

Clara Prescott

Clara is an editor from imyPass. She specializes in data recovery. You can find professional tutorials and solutions for recovering lost data from any device. Many users reported that his tutorial is easy and useful.