How to restore archived contacts on a Mac

Manually backing up your contacts is a great way to protect against an iCloud sync — or user action! — gone horribly wrong. But having a good backup is only the first step. Next comes restoring it. Hopefully you never have to use your contacts backup but if you do, follow along and we'll show you how to get the back on your Mac, safe and sound.

How to restore Contacts on your Mac using a previously created archive

  1. Launch the Contacts app on your Mac.
  2. In the top menu bar, click on File and then Import...
  3. Navigate to the the place you last saved a contact archive. These are typically a .abbu file type.
  4. Click Open.

That's it. The Contacts app will then restore your contacts to reflect contents of the archive

If you've ever had to restore from an archive file, how did it work for you — and why did you have to use an archive in the first place? Let me know!

Allyson Kazmucha

iMore senior editor from 2011 to 2015.