How to Sync Your Phone Contacts to EMAK SMS

If you want your phone’s contact book available in EMAK SMS so you can send messages to people by name, you need to export your contacts from your phone, convert them to a CSV file, and import them into the EMAK SMS web portal. The exact export step depends on whether you are on Android or iPhone; from there the process is identical.

This is for the EMAK SMS web portal at sms.emaktalk.com — see EMAK SMS app if you have not signed in there yet.

Export Contacts From Your Phone

Android

1. Open the Contacts app.
2. Tap the menu (three lines or dots) and choose Settings.
3. Choose Export and export to a .vcf file.
4. Transfer the .vcf file to your computer.
5. Skip ahead to Convert vCard to CSV below.

iPhone — Step 1: Sync Contacts to iCloud

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap your name at the top to open Apple ID settings, then tap iCloud.
3. Make sure the Contacts toggle is on so your contacts sync to iCloud.

iPhone — Step 2: Export Contacts From iCloud

1. On your computer, open a browser and go to iCloud.com.
2. Sign in with your Apple ID and password.
3. Click Contacts.
4. Press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Cmd+A (Mac) to select all contacts.
5. Click the gear icon at the bottom left and choose Export vCard…. A .vcf file containing your contacts will download.

Convert vCard (.vcf) to CSV

1. Open an online vCard-to-CSV converter — for example aconvert.com vcf-to-csv.
2. Click Choose File and select the .vcf you exported.
3. Click Convert Now (or equivalent) and download the converted .csv file.

Import the CSV Into EMAK SMS

1. Sign in to sms.emaktalk.com and go to Contacts.
2. Click Import in the top right of the Contacts page.

   Note: EMAK SMS provides a sample CSV pre-formatted with the right column headers. Match its format before uploading — improperly formatted CSVs cause the whole import to fail.

3. Choose Upload File and select your converted CSV (or paste the CSV content directly).

   Note: If your CSV includes a header row (e.g. “Full Name, Phone, Email”), tick Skip First Line so the header is not imported as a contact.

4. Click Import Contacts. The list is sent to the server for processing — depending on size, your contacts should appear in EMAK SMS within a few minutes.

SMS Contacts FAQ

Why is my import failing?

The most common cause is column mismatch — your CSV has different headers or column order than EMAK SMS expects. Download the sample CSV from the import page first and either follow its layout or copy your data into it. Even a single misnamed column will cause the whole upload to fail.

Are duplicate contacts merged automatically?

EMAK SMS does not deduplicate during import. If you re-import the same CSV, you will end up with duplicate entries. Clean up your CSV first, or remove existing entries before re-importing.

What phone-number formats does EMAK SMS accept?

Use full North American format (e.g. 5145551212 or +15145551212). Numbers without an area code may not match incoming SMS messages correctly. The CSV converter sometimes outputs numbers with extra characters — clean those up if you see odd formatting.

My .vcf has photos and other extra fields. Will those import?

No — EMAK SMS only stores the fields shown in the sample CSV (typically name, phone, email). Photos, addresses, and notes from your phone are dropped during the conversion.

Can I add or edit contacts manually instead?

Yes — for a small number of contacts, the Contacts page in the SMS portal lets you add and edit them one at a time. The CSV import is for bulk uploads.