How does one export all contacts from iCloud?

How does one export all contacts from iCloud in some sort of standard format? I would prefer to keep a backup in case my sync goes bad and I'm yet to find a way to export all my contacts. I would hate to lose hundreds of contact details if my sync from the iPhone goes bad.

Solution 1:

I just had a massive heart attack after attempting to switch Apple ID accounts...

I originally shared an itunes account with my brother so that we could share apps etc...

But after changing Apple ID's and reconnecting to the cloud, i lost all my contacts...

Luckily they were stored in the Cloud with the old iTunes ID. If you log into iCloud and select all your contacts on the settings button (bottom left) it says Export vCard. Click this and you can Export all your contact information as a .vcf file which you can then back up onto an external harddrive etc...

Hope this helps!!

Solution 2:

There is an Apple Page, iCloud: How to back up iCloud data that describes the various approaches that you can take, depending on what platform you are on.

As far as I can see, they all depend on having access to a computer!

Edit

For Windows PCs, it says:

Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010:

Contacts: Export your contact data via Outlook's Export Wizard. For more information, see this article.

The linked article is on the Microsoft website, and describes standard Outlook functionality for exporting contacts.

So basically, yes, you can save all your iCloud contacts on PCs, and the mechanism is documented, so long as you have Outlook.

Solution 3:

The way that I did this was to use my contacts app, and simply use the file export function to export the contact list. At any point you can always reimport the file that is produced with this. (I did this AFTER connecting my contacts app with icloud)