How to Back Up Mobile Phone Contacts Online

Backing up your mobile phone can prevent losing all of your contacts in the case of an accident.

Considering the fragile nature of mobile phones, backing up your phone contacts is an essential part of mobile phone ownership. While backing up your contacts with your mobile phone carrier or on your computer are both viable options, storing your contacts online has the added benefit of giving you access to your contacts from anywhere you can log on to the Internet.

Instructions

MightyBackup

1. Go to MightyBackup's website and make sure they support backup for your specific mobile device.

2. Click on "Get Mighty Backup" and select your phone manufacturer or carrier from the list on the left.

3. From the ensuing drop-down menu, select your specific mobile device.

4. Follow your phone's specific instructions to synchronize your phone with MightyBackup.

5. Launch the application and MightyBackup will automatically sync with your phone and back up your address book online. The cost of MightyBackup is $3/month, which will be charged to your monthly phone bill.

MobileMe

1. For iPhone users, go to the MobileMe section of Apple's website. Click on "Free Trial".

2. Enter your contact and registration information and click "Continue". Enter your billing information, click "Sign Up" and write your registration information down. After your free trial, MobileMe costs $99/year for an individual.

3. Tap settings on the home screen of your mobile phone and press "Mail, Contacts, Calendars".

4. Select "Add Account" and press "MobileMe".

5. Enter your MobileMe registration information and turn on "Contacts". Your contact information will now be saved online and automatically updated when you make changes to your address book.

Google Voice

1. Sign up for a Google Voice account on the service's website.

2. Go to the Google Sync website and click "Read Instructions" for your particular phone device. Google Sync only works with specific phones.

3. Follow the specific directions for your phone, and your device will sync your address book with your Google Voice account.

4. Go to your Google Voice account to make sure all of your phone's contacts have been uploaded.

Tips & Warnings

• If your phone is covered by the first two options, or does not have the capability to sync with Google, you can still manually import your contacts into Google Voice (see Resources).

References

• MobileMe: About
• PC World: Back Up Your Cell Phone's Address Book
• Google Sync: Compatible phones

Resources

• Google Voice: Creating or editing CSV files
• MobileMe: Setup
• MightyBackup: Sign up
• Google Voice: Sign up