how do i backup contacts on android phone

[FF90]

Have ATT & a samsung S-6. I do not have gmail, what other options are there
Thanks

[glock_this]

They are backed up automaticly even if you don't use Gmail you still have a Google account so if you were to switch android phones, they will pull the contacts to a new phone. How can you not use Gmail BTW? It is the best email out there.

Also, you can manually backup contacts. Phone / contacts / manage contacts and you can export or import contacts. Location of this setting while vary by phone, OS, but the concept is the same and it's usually under Phone.

[ZombieLivesMatter]

If you want to backup directly to a PC or Mac, use the Samsung Smart Switch software, it replaced Keis 3 for Galaxy S6 and onward and is a free software download from Samsung. Go to the below link, scroll down and there'll be a download for "To PC" or "To Mac".

http://www.samsung.com/us/smart-switch/

[the86d]

On an AT&T phone contacts are not necessarily backed up to Gmail contacts...

Try going to contacts, hitting menu (three lines in some cases) and hit export to file or something close to that. Save them to whatever your MicroSD card is (or if you have no card /sdcard/[filename]) and copy them from there.

If you install Astro file manager, you can find out what your External SD card's name is by browsing around. (/ExtScard/ or something close in most of my phones)

[FF90]

Thank all of you for your suggestions, I will probably go with the Samsung Smart Switch software since the S-6 does not have an SD card

[the86d]

You should be able to backup to the internal storage (/sdcard/ in most cases), and put them on some type of secondary storage completely independent of the 1st like another device/drive (such as a computer, just in case).

[sd_shooter]

They are backed up automaticly even if you don't use Gmail you still have a Google account so if you were to switch android phones, they will pull the contacts to a new phone. How can you not use Gmail BTW? It is the best email out there.

Also, you can manually backup contacts. Phone / contacts / manage contacts and you can export or import contacts. Location of this setting while vary by phone, OS, but the concept is the same and it's usually under Phone.

And that's the truth! You should try out gmail. I use my web provider email from cox for spam/amazon etc, but gmail for anything personal. Perfect integration with Android.

And contacts are one of the bonuses of having an Android phone. Buy a new one, pop in your sim and you're GTG right out of the box! Very odd that ATT would have a different system.

[Amendment-II]

They are backed up automaticly even if you don't use Gmail you still have a Google account so if you were to switch android phones, they will pull the contacts to a new phone. How can you not use Gmail BTW? It is the best email out there.

Also, you can manually backup contacts. Phone / contacts / manage contacts and you can export or import contacts. Location of this setting while vary by phone, OS, but the concept is the same and it's usually under Phone.

My family has three Motorola android phones with Republic Wireless, and our contacts are all shared between the phones automatically. I don't think one needs to back them up, but maybe I should. I'm not a fan of google, well, that is giving them all my info, but if you have an android phone I think you have to have a gmail account to download apps from google play, and if you have that gmail account, then your contacts sync between all your phones, plus if you replace a phone your contacts automatically transfer to it. That's my understanding at least, but I haven't had to replace a phone yet.
But if you're on AT&T, that could be different. My dad has a flip phone with AT&T, and he has a heck of a time even updating and managing his contact list.
Speaking of AT&T, is there a good reason you are with them? I know they are "name brand" (I used to use them) but AT&T is expensive for smartphone service. There are a lot of cheaper options these days. I left AT&T for T-Mobile, and then two years ago went to a new company called Republic Wireless. They use the Sprint network, but also work first over wifi if it is available. We are on their $10 a month plan which includes unlimited talk and text (over wifi and/or sprint), and unlimited data over internet (but no cellular data). You can add cellular data, but we do fine with wifi alone. So with Republic Wireless, we've got three smartphones and pay about $34 a month (with tax) total. Really. Most people I know with AT&T or one of the other big four pay a lot more than that for only one phone. If you want to know more about Republic, I wrote a review of our experience so far with them if you want to check it out. I also post any current working Republic Wireless redemption codes here. Why not save as much as you can? You have more cash for ammo and beer that way. Anyway, I just encourage you to look around. There is also Cricket, Boost, SmartTalk, and a bunch of other options. You might be surprised how much you can save.

[glock_this]

You are correct.

Flip phones are not part of this discussion that's a whole different story.

You pretty much cannot have an Android based phone without a Google account. Even if you don't use gmail or like them, you must have a Google account to initiate setup of the phone. SO, if you have a google account that means your data is sync'd even if you do not use gmail or like any google products.

Now, as for exporting contacts... depending on the phone, you could backup to the internal MicroSD card. But, in this case, the S6 does not have one (bad choice on their end in design IMHO). So, you can export to phones memory manually. Then, as is pointed out, you could take those off your phone (USB cable to your computer, put them in Dropbox if you have it, numerous ways).

[FF90]

Thanks everyone,
Stuck with ATT, unfortunately, as am frequently in fringe areas that do not have quality, sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile signals, only other option to have coverage during those times is US cellular.
I have connected the phone to my PC and was unable to locate any folder that I could identify as contacts. I too do not trust google with my contacts
It looks like Samsung smartswitch will only transferr to new device, not back up to the pc.
Any other suggestions