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How to Convert Samsung Kies Contacts and Calendar to CSV or vCard

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How to Convert Samsung Kies Contacts and Calendar to CSV or vCardSamsung Kies was once the go-to desktop application for syncing contacts, calendars, and media between Samsung phones and PCs. If you have an older Samsung device or archive containing Kies backup files, you may need to convert those contacts and calendar items into modern, portable formats like CSV (comma-separated values) or vCard (.vcf). This article walks through what Kies stores, how to extract the data, and step‑by‑step methods to convert contacts and calendar entries into CSV or vCard formats for easy import into Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, or other services.

What Kies stores and why conversion matters

Samsung Kies typically stores contacts and calendar information in one of a few formats:

  • Kies desktop backups (often a folder structure or proprietary file types).
  • Exported files: Kies can export contacts as vCard (.vcf) or sometimes as .csv depending on version/settings.
  • Samsung PC Studio / Kies legacy formats: these may use XML or database-like files inside a backup folder.

Why convert:

  • CSV and vCard are widely supported across email providers and mobile platforms.
  • vCard preserves more contact fields (photos, multiple numbers, addresses) while CSV is convenient for spreadsheet editing and bulk import.
  • Calendar events exported to CSV can be edited and then imported to services that accept CSV (Google Calendar) or better exported to iCal/.ics for full fidelity.

Overview of the process

  1. Locate your Kies backup or exported files.
  2. Determine the file format (vcf, csv, .db, .xml, .sbu, or folder structure).
  3. If you already have .vcf or .csv, verify contents and clean up fields as needed.
  4. If you have proprietary/formatted backups, extract contacts/calendar using one of the extraction methods below.
  5. Convert to desired target format (CSV or vCard) using tools or scripts.
  6. Validate and import into your target service (Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, etc.).

Tools you may need

  • Samsung Kies (to attempt direct export) — older versions are available on Samsung support archives.
  • A text editor (Notepad++, VS Code) for inspecting XML/CSV.
  • vCard viewers/editors (e.g., Contacts on macOS, Windows People app, or online vCard tools).
  • CSV-compatible spreadsheet software (Excel, LibreOffice Calc, Google Sheets).
  • Command-line tools: Python (with libraries like vobject, pandas), or PowerShell for Windows.
  • Third-party converters (some apps specialize in converting Kies backups). Use reputable tools and scan for malware.

Step-by-step: If you can open Kies and export directly

  1. Open Samsung Kies on your PC and connect your Samsung device (if still functional).
  2. Go to the Contacts or Calendar section.
  3. Use the Export function: choose vCard (.vcf) for contacts, and choose .ics for calendar if available. If Kies offers CSV, select it for spreadsheet editing.
  4. Save the exported files to a folder.
  5. Verify by opening the .vcf in a text editor or import the CSV into a spreadsheet to ensure fields align.

If Kies successfully exports vCard and .ics, no further conversion is necessary—these are widely supported.

Extracting from Kies backup files (no device available)

If you only have a Kies backup folder or a .sbu/.zip created by Kies:

  1. Make a copy of the backup folder before modifying anything.
  2. Inspect the folder for files with extensions like .vcf, .vcf.txt, .db, .xml, or subfolders named Contacts/Calendar.
  3. If you find .vcf or .vcf.txt files: rename to .vcf if needed, and open them with a vCard viewer. Multiple vCards may be concatenated into one file—many importers handle that directly.
  4. If you find XML files: open them and look for contact/calendar tags. You can pull fields and convert to CSV using a script or by copy/paste into a spreadsheet.
  5. If you find a database file (.db or SQLite format): open with a SQLite browser (DB Browser for SQLite) and export the relevant tables to CSV. Typical tables might be named contacts, phone, email, calendar_events.
  6. If the backup is a single .sbu file, try renaming it to .zip and extract; many Kies backups are zips under a different extension.

Converting vCard (.vcf) to CSV

Method A — Use a spreadsheet program

  1. Open the .vcf in a vCard-aware app (macOS Contacts app can import) and then export to CSV from that app.
  2. Alternatively, use an online vCard to CSV converter (exercise caution with sensitive data).
  3. Or use Python:

Example Python script (requires vobject and pandas):

# save as vcf_to_csv.py import vobject import pandas as pd from pathlib import Path vcf_file = 'contacts.vcf' records = [] for v in vobject.readComponents(open(vcf_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8', errors='ignore').read()):     rec = {}     if hasattr(v, 'fn'):         rec['Full Name'] = v.fn.value     if hasattr(v, 'email'):         rec['Email'] = v.email.value if isinstance(v.email.value, str) else ''     if hasattr(v, 'tel'):         rec['Phone'] = v.tel.value if isinstance(v.tel.value, str) else ''     # add more fields as needed     records.append(rec) df = pd.DataFrame(records) df.to_csv('contacts.csv', index=False)

Method B — Use PowerShell (Windows) to parse .vcf to CSV (simpler for basic fields).

Converting CSV to vCard (.vcf)

If your contacts are in CSV (spreadsheet), map columns to vCard fields then export.

Method A — Use Google Contacts:

  1. Sign in to Google Contacts.
  2. Import the CSV (Google expects a specific column mapping—use Google’s example CSV format).
  3. After import, select contacts and Export as vCard.

Method B — Use Python to generate vCards:

# csv_to_vcf.py import pandas as pd df = pd.read_csv('contacts.csv') with open('contacts.vcf', 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:     for _, row in df.iterrows():         f.write('BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 ')         if 'Full Name' in row and pd.notna(row['Full Name']):             f.write(f'FN:{row["Full Name"]} ')         if 'Phone' in row and pd.notna(row['Phone']):             f.write(f'TEL;TYPE=CELL:{row["Phone"]} ')         if 'Email' in row and pd.notna(row['Email']):             f.write(f'EMAIL;TYPE=INTERNET:{row["Email"]} ')         f.write('END:VCARD ')

Converting calendar data

Best formats: .ics (iCalendar) retains full event details. CSV is supported by Google Calendar but has limited fields.

From Kies export:

  • If you can export .ics directly: import into Google Calendar (Settings > Import), Outlook, or Apple Calendar.
  • If you have calendar entries in CSV or XML: map fields to Google Calendar CSV format (Subject, Start Date, Start Time, End Date, End Time, Description, Location, etc.).

Example: Google Calendar expects a CSV with these column headers: Subject, Start Date, Start Time, End Date, End Time, All Day Event, Description, Location, Private.

If you’re extracting from a database/XML, export to CSV matching the above headers, then import to Google Calendar.

Troubleshooting common issues

  • Broken/unsupported vCard versions: open in a text editor and change VERSION:2.1 to VERSION:3.0 or 4.0 if necessary, then test import.
  • Concatenated vCards without proper separators: ensure each card begins with BEGIN:VCARD and ends with END:VCARD.
  • Character encoding: if names contain non-Latin characters, save files as UTF-8.
  • Duplicates on import: import into a temporary account or use deduplication tools (Google Contacts has merge & fix).
  • Missing photos in vCard: some exports embed photos as BASE64; if missing, you may need to reattach manually.

Example workflows

Workflow A — Quick (if you have Kies + phone):

  1. Export contacts as vCard from Kies.
  2. Import vCard into Google Contacts or Outlook.

Workflow B — From backup folder:

  1. Rename .sbu to .zip and extract.
  2. Find .vcf or database files.
  3. Export to CSV via SQLite browser or convert vcf → csv with script.
  4. Clean CSV in spreadsheet, then import where needed.

Workflow C — For calendar:

  1. Export .ics from Kies or extract events from DB/XML.
  2. Import .ics into Google Calendar or convert to CSV for bulk edits.

Security and privacy tips

  • Work on local copies; keep originals untouched.
  • Avoid uploading sensitive contact files to untrusted online converters.
  • If using third-party tools, scan them and check reviews.
  • When done, securely delete temporary files if needed.

Recap

  • vCard (.vcf) preserves most contact fields and is the preferred target.
  • CSV is useful for bulk editing but has limited field fidelity.
  • If Kies exports directly, prefer vCard/.ics. If you only have backups, inspect folders for .vcf/.xml/.db and extract using a SQLite browser or scripts.
  • Use Google Contacts/Calendar as an intermediate for easy import/export when needed.

If you tell me which specific backup file types you have (for example: a .sbu file, a folder with .db, or an exported .vcf), I can give exact commands/scripts and a step‑by‑step tailored to that format.

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