Read time: 10 minutes
Google’s Gmail is a popular email platform that is widely used across the globe. In fact, small and medium-sized businesses prefer to create Google Workspace (G Suite) accounts with their own domain to use all its features and functionalities.
Similar to Gmail, another famous platform for email communication is Outlook from Microsoft 365. The majority of the users and the organization use either Gmail or Outlook. Therefore, scenarios like import Google Contacts to Outlook, import G Suite data to MS Outlook or move Outlook data into Gmail are common.
But due to the completely different environment architecture and lack of integration services between Google and Microsoft, no direct methods are available to transfer Gmail Contacts to MS Outlook. To solve this issue, in this blog, we will discuss a workaround that involves exporting Google’s contacts and then importing them to Outlook.
Download Kernel Google Workspace Backup and Restore tool (formerly Kernel G Suite Backup) to import G Suite contacts to MS Outlook 2019 in secure and simple way.
Method to Import Google Contacts to Outlook
To simplify the process, we will divide the complete importing operation into two sections. In section one, we will export Gmail Contacts to Outlook CSV, and in the second section, we will use the CSV to import Gmail contacts to Outlook. Let’s begin.
Section 1: Export Contacts from Gmail
We will export all the Contacts together using the Google Workspace Contacts application. Follow the steps given below to save your Contacts in a CSV file on your local system.
Step 1: Open your Google Chrome browser and go to https://contacts.google.com/
Step 2: After opening Contacts, click the export icon in the upper-right corner.
Step 3: A pop-up window will appear on the screen; select the type of contacts that you want to export and choose the CSV for Outlook only option as an export format, and then click Export.
The contacts will be exported to your system in Outlook CSV format in the browser’s default download directory. Now we will try to import contacts to Outlook from Gmail.
Note: In case the above method fails, you can try the Google Takeout to export Gmail Contacts to Outlook CSV.
Section 2: Import Google Contacts to Outlook
To import Gmail contacts to Outlook 2013/2016/2019, make sure you have installed the specified MS Outlook on your system. After that, you can follow the below steps:
- Launch MS Outlook on your system and go to the File tab.
- Select the Open/Export option and then click the Import/Export option.
- In the opened tab, click Import from another program or file and click Next.
- Now, select the Comma Separated Values option and click Next.
- From the Import a File section, click Browse and select the CSV file of your Gmail contacts.
- Choose how you want to handle duplicated contacts and click Next.
- In the next step, select the Contacts folder in your Outlook mailbox and click Next and then click Finish.
Next. Then click Finish to import Gmail Contacts to Outlook.
Outlook will import all the contacts from the .CSV file, and you can check the contacts in the mailbox. To view your contacts in MS Outlook, select the Address Book, and click Contacts. It will display all the contacts in your Outlook, including the recently imported contacts.
Common Issues when you Import Gmail Contacts to Outlook
To import contacts to Outlook from Gmail is not a big deal, but there are some challenges that you might face while doing so.
- Importing more than 2000 contacts could result in an unexpected error. In this case, try to split the CSV into smaller .csv files with MS Excel.
- Contacts might not appear after importing them to Outlook. In this case, check whether the CSV file has contacts.
- Sometimes, when you export Google Contacts to Outlook CSV file, there may be information loss. In such scenarios, you can use MS Excel to edit information on the CSV file, such as names and other missing information.
Apart from the above errors, there is one more thing that you need to know. With the above method, you can only export/import contacts from a single Gmail account. However, if you have a G Suite account that holds multiple accounts with multiple contacts, then you need an advanced utility that allows you to export Gmail Contacts to Outlook from multiple accounts at a time.
How to Import Google Contacts to Outlook from Multiple Gmail Accounts – Automated Method
Kernel Google Workspace Backup and Restore (formerly Kernel G Suite Backup) is an advanced tool that is designed to export all your Google Workspace data to Outlook PST format. Besides, Google Workspace backup tool gives you advanced filtering options that allow you to export specific items like contacts from your Google account. It follows a simple working process to move contacts to Outlook PST that makes using the tool very easy, even for users with no technical background.
Step-by-step guide to export Google Contacts to Outlook PST from different Gmail accounts:
Here, we will cover how you can export contacts from multiple Google accounts to Outlook PST.
Step 1: Download, install, and open the software. Under the Backup, select Mailboxes, Groups, Drive Backup option.
Step 2: To add the target Google Workspace account, click on the +Add button.
Step 3: Enter the Account Login Email Id, Service Account Email, and P12 File Path on the G Suite Login page. Select List all Mailboxes using above credentials (Use Super Admin login details) and click on Get User Mailboxes.
Step 4: The tool will display all the currently available mailboxes in your G Suite account, tick the necessary mailboxes, and click Add.
Step 5: Verify the mailboxes and click on Set Filter and Migrate.
Step 6: The tool will list all the folders in the selected mailboxes. Select the Contacts folder for all the mailboxes. You can also select any other folder that you want to back up. Additionally, there are various filters for the selective backup process that you can use. After choosing the filters, click, I am OK, Start Migration.
Step 7: In the Save As window, choose the option PST. If you need, you can tick on the Split Output PST File After option to create multiple PST files based on size. Then, click OK and specify the location where you want to save the contacts PST file.
Step 8: The software will begin to export Google Contacts to Outlook PST. Once the backup process is completed, the software will pop up a process completed message.
With this G Suite backup tool, you can effortlessly export Contacts from as many Google accounts as you want. It is a standalone entity that allows you to import Contacts from Gmail to Outlook, backup Google Photos, Docs, Slides, or any G Suite data with complete data integrity.
Conclusion
Import Google Contacts to Outlook is a two-step process. You first have to export Contacts to a CSV file and then import the CSV file to Outlook. With the method given above, you can easily complete both steps. However, the manual method is not reliable for exporting Contacts from multiple Google accounts. For bulk Contacts export, you must use the robust Kernel Google Workspace Backup tool. The tool even allows you to export G Suite emails to PST while keeping all the metadata intact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Can I directly import Google Contacts into Outlook? Answer: No, Outlook does not have a native method that allows you to directly transfer Google Contacts to MS Outlook. You must first export the contacts from Google and then import them into Outlook. Alternatively, you can also try to sync G Suite Contacts with Outlook.
Q2: What are the common issues with the manual import method? Answer: Common issues include errors when importing more than 2,000 contacts at once, missing contact information after the transfer, or contacts not appearing in Outlook due to CSV file formatting problems.
Q3: How can I import Gmail Contacts to Outlook from multiple Google accounts? Answer: The manual method only works for one account at a time. To import contacts from Gmail to Outlook from multiple accounts simultaneously, you’ll need to use a professional tool that supports bulk migration from various mailboxes.
Answer: No, Outlook does not have a native method that allows you to directly transfer Google Contacts to MS Outlook. You must first export the contacts from Google and then import them into Outlook. Alternatively, you can also try to sync G Suite Contacts with Outlook.
Answer: Common issues include errors when importing more than 2,000 contacts at once, missing contact information after the transfer, or contacts not appearing in Outlook due to CSV file formatting problems.
Answer: The manual method only works for one account at a time. To import contacts from Gmail to Outlook from multiple accounts simultaneously, you’ll need to use a professional tool that supports bulk migration from various mailboxes.
