2

When exporting contacts from the standard contacts application to the disk and importing them to Thunderbird - the pictures are missing.

I'd like to export all contacts with pictures though.

Is there a way to get a 100% backup of my contacts? Where are they stored and how can I back them up?

|improve this question
  • 1
    That's strange. When I use menu → Export from the contacts app, pictures are contained in the created 00001.vcf. Could you check the exported file for a string like PHOTO;ENCODING=BASE64;JPEG (one example from mine, followed by the base64 encoded pic)? Really nothing? What is the source of the pics (maybe merged in from Facebook or the like)? Also, what's your device? – Izzy♦ Oct 27 '13 at 10:52
  • 1
    @Izzy Thanks for the reply. Your hunch is correct, the 00001.vcf created during the export does contain the encoded photos with the same string that you mention. The source of the pics is mostly .jpg but could also contain some other formats. The device is a Nexus 4 running Cyanogenmod 10.2 . I guess the error has to be then how Thunderbird imports these contacts. – king_julien Oct 27 '13 at 11:08
  • @Izzy I have now imported the contacts file by not using the default way that thunderbird offers, but by using the option that the Thunderbird add-on MoreFunctionsForAddressBook offers. Using its vcard import function I get all the pictures! – king_julien Oct 27 '13 at 11:12
  • Glad it solved – and thanks for answering your question! Don't forget to accept your answer (you can do so in ~2 days) to show your problem has a solution ;) – Izzy♦ Oct 27 '13 at 11:44
2

User @Izzy explained that encoded pictures are actually included in the .vcf created from the export.

This led me to think that the issue is actually with Thunbird's contacts import and not with android's contacts export. As it turns out this is right.

Since the default way for Thunderbird to import vcards appears to be faulty, I used the add-on MoreFunctionsForAddressBook to import the address book. It worked fine and included all the pictures!

|improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.