How to Import Contacts from Hotmail to Gmail: Full Guide

Hotmail vs Gmail

✍ Hotmail, a free email client service that began in the mid-90s, is now owned by the tech giant Microsoft and has over 300 million users. However, Hotmail is no longer available as a service and was rebranded as Outlook, so there may be many users who want to import contacts from Hotmail to Gmail.

✍ Gmail, on the other hand, is a widely recognized brand, with nearly everyone has a Gmail account for their primary usage. It provides a large amount of free storage space, which allows users to store a vast number of emails, attachments, and other data, and integrates with other Google services: such as Google Drive, Google Calendar, and Google Docs, which makes it easy to access and share files and collaborate with others. 

However, several users are unsure or unaware of how to let Hotmail import contacts to Gmail. In this article, we will provide a step-by-step method for doing so. But first, let's examine the reasons for importing contacts from Hotmail to Gmail.

Benefits of importing Hotmail contacts to Gmail

Transferring your Hotmail contacts to Gmail can provide several benefits, including:

• Centralized Management: By importing your Hotmail contacts to Gmail, you can manage all your email contacts from a single location, making it easier to keep track of your contacts.
• Seamless Integration: Gmail provides seamless integration with other Google services, such as Google Drive and Google Calendar. This means that you can easily access your contacts when you are using other Google services.
• Syncing Across Devices: Gmail automatically syncs your contacts across all your devices, ensuring that you always have access to your contacts, no matter which device you are using.
• Search Functionality: Gmail's powerful search functionality makes it easy to find specific contacts quickly, even if you have numerous contacts.
• Backup and Recovery: Importing your Hotmail contacts to Gmail ensures that you have a backup of your contacts, which can be easily recovered in case of any data loss.

As you can see, email migration is a very important thing. Next, we will take a look at how to transfer contacts from Hotmail to Gmail.

How to import contacts from Hotmail to Gmail

To import your Hotmail contacts to Gmail, you must first configure your Hotmail account in Microsoft Outlook. Additionally, it is recommended that you clean up your mailbox to avoid importing unnecessary emails and junk files. Once you have deleted any unwanted messages and files, you can proceed with importing contacts from Hotmail to Gmail.

To begin, log in to your Gmail account and follow these steps:

Step 1. Click on the Gear icon and select See all settings from the drop-down menu.

Step 2. Click on the Accounts and Import tab and click on Import mail and contacts.

Step 3. A new window will appear. Enter your Hotmail email address and password and click on Continue.

Tip: Once you have entered your Hotmail email address and password, a dialog box will appear requesting permission to access your account. Click on the Yes button to grant permission and then close the subsequent Authentication Successful message box.

Step 4. Select the items you want to import, such as contacts, and click on Start Import. The import process will begin, and you will receive a notification once it is complete.

Bonus tip: Backup your Hotmail emails to prevent data loss

Congratulations! You have successfully automated the process of importing Hotmail contacts to Gmail. You can now continue using both Gmail and Microsoft Outlook as the import process will no longer require your assistance.

While this method can solve your queries regarding importing contacts and messages, it can be time-consuming and may require technical expertise. So if you just want to backup your Hotmail contacts, then I recommend you a professional email backup software - AOMEI Backupper Pro.

❅ You can easily backup all your Hotmail data, including emails, contacts, notes, calendars, and tasks, and can also backup Gmail emails and other Gmail data.
❅ You can choose from a variety of backup locations for your Hotmail data, such as external hard drives, local disks, USB flash drives, and NAS devices.
❅ You can schedule your backups to run daily, weekly, monthly, or based on event triggers or USB plug in using the Schedule Backup feature.
❅ It supports various versions of Windows, including Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP, as well as Microsoft 365 and Gmail, Outlook Mail, Yahoo! Mail, iCloud Mail, Zoho Mail, Hush Mail, GMX Mail, Hot Mail, etc.

Download AOMEI Backupper now to experience its comprehensive and user-friendly backup features for your Hotmail data.

Step 1. Open AOMEI Backupper and select the Backup option from the left tab page. Choose Email Backup from the available options.

Step 2. In the Task Name box, assign a name for the backup, such as Email Backup (1), to distinguish it from any previous backups.

Step 3. Click Add Email Data and select the directories you wish to backup, either partially or the entire mailbox, from the displayed mailbox directories such as Inbox, Starred, Sent Mail, and Trash. Then, click OK.

Tip: You can select and backup multiple mailboxes simultaneously if you have added more than one mailbox.

Step 4. Select or manually enter the destination path where you wish to save the backup image file.

Step 5. Click on Start Backup to initiate the backup process, and then click on Finish once the process is complete.

FAQs about importing contacts from Hotmail to Gmail

☪ Do I need any technical knowledge to import my contacts from Hotmail to Gmail?

While the process of importing contacts from Hotmail to Gmail is straightforward, it may require some technical expertise. However, following the step-by-step guides available online can help simplify the process.

☪ Can I import my Hotmail emails to Gmail as well?

Yes, you can import your Hotmail emails to Gmail using third-party software and services.

☪ Will my Hotmail contacts be merged with my existing Gmail contacts?

Yes, when you transfer contacts from Hotmail to Gmail, they will be merged with your existing Gmail contacts.

☪ Can I schedule my Hotmail contacts to be imported to Gmail automatically?

No, there is no automatic scheduling feature available for importing contacts from Hotmail to Gmail. However, you can use third-party software to automate the process.

Summary

Through this article, we got to know about how to import contacts from Hotmail to Gmail. And we also recommend you to use a third-party program - AOMEI Backupper to backup Hotmail data, which is powerful enough to backup not only what we mentioned above, but also backup and restore Gmail emails. I trust that this article has assisted you in importing your contacts into Gmail and addressing all your queries in a technically proficient manner.