Cell Phone Contacts Backup Help

[kilogulf59]

I’m posting this query here because I have no idea where else to turn. I have an LG Envoy III UN170 cell “flip” phone. I’d like to backup my contacts list but can’t figure out how. I was hoping to be able to DL them into my laptop. There’s what appears to be a jack receptacle on the side (see pic) but I have no idea what that’s for. Any ideas or suggestions?

Also, I'd like to get a backup battery. Is there a preferred retailer for non-counterfeit batteries?

 

[bmengineer]

Every feature phone is different, but almost all will have an option to either back contacts up to a sim card, back them up to an SD card, or share them to another device via Bluetooth.

Most will not have a way to back them up to a PC without some pretty obscure software.

 

[kilogulf59]

Yeah, I have a feeling mine can't be backed up, at least not by me. Maybe US Cellular has something but I find nothing anywhere in the phone regarding backup, transfer, or download.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

A cell phone repair shop that you trust might be able to help. The phone manufacturers have their own funky utilities that can back up a phone's data using a special cable. I did it once for an old flip phone that I had (I forget the brand). I found a manufacturer's "test" utility somewhere on the 'net, found the cable and it worked. It was a lot of futzing around though. Try searching for your phone's model and the word "utility." You'll probably find some info that will help you back up the contacts to your SIM.

 

[kilogulf59]

This is how I figured out how to do it. Here’s the steps JIC someone else has this problem. They’re a bit involved but it worked.

• Contacts
• Options
• 4. Manage contacts
• 4. Send
• 1. Via message or 2. Via Bluetooth (I chose message)
• Mark (contacts to be sent)
• Done
• (Fill in address)
• Send

Or a somewhat quicker way, or so it seems;

• Message
• New Message
• (Fill in address)
• OK
• Options
• 1. Attach
• 5. Name card
• 2. My contacts
• Mark
• Done
• Send

There's more steps in the last method , however it's quicker because you don't have to scroll up in the message to find and fill in the address. Contacts are sent as individual .vcf file attachments. I then used Google contacts (you can also use Outlook or other programs) and imported each contact. It’s a bit of a PIA but it worked and, even with the help I received here, is the only method I could find that worked.

Thanks for the assistance, I am, as usual, much obliged.

 

[bykfixer]

About 10 years ago I had a Casio flip phone. Man I loved that thing. It was built like a tank.
When it came time to move on I tried all kinds of ways to download my contacts from it. None worked so I wrote them down on a piece of paper.

On 3 occasions I've used that written list after an electronic gadget contacts were stored in failed.

 

[kilogulf59]

Actually, that is one of objectives for snagging the contacts, to make a phone book JIC.

 

[lightfooted]

Too bad you don't have a smart phone. It's as simple as logging into Google and syncing your contacts. I know it's daunting trying to learn how it all works and how to make it do what you want it to do...but there is a reason so many people use them nowadays. They are useful. Anyway, hope the battery replacement goes well.

 

[kilogulf59]

Well I'm done. It was a bit of a task but, now that I know how to do it, I can keep up with it and store them as I add new ones.

I can see the advantages of a smart phone, it's the disadvantages I don't care for. Size for one and the main reason is the eventual enslavement. Technology truly is a double-edged sword.

I found a two-pack of LG LGIP-531A batteries at Walmart for $15.43. Seems like a good deal, my only concern is their authenticity.

 

[lightfooted]

I have never understood this idea that if you are incapable or unwilling to eschew modern conveniences that you are somehow beholden or "enslaved" by them. I'm old enough to recall a time when that was how some people described television and then the desktop computer, followed by gaming consoles and PDAs...and now the Smartphone.

I don't see that authenticity matters unless you are unwilling to return the battery to the store you bought it from if you have a problem. I understand not wanting to take the risk, but unless you can follow the making of the cell through the factory and walk out with it in hand, you're taking a risk. At least with a big name retailer you can get a resolution should you actually have a problem with it versus buying from some eBay listing coming from overseas.

 

[StarHalo]

I can see the advantages of a smart phone, it's the disadvantages I don't care for.

Size for one

Which increases battery life and display for reading size..

and the main reason is the eventual enslavement.

..and how would a smartphone be any more "enslaving" versus a flip phone? You just lost hours of your life trying to figure out how to do something a smart phone would have done automatically and instantly - it could be argued that the limitations of older, outmoded technology is tying you down more than using a modern device that has solved these problems.