VCF only imports one contact — how to fix
When a contacts app imports only the first entry from a .vcf, it usually means the importer stops parsing after hitting a malformed record.
Step 1: Count your records
Open the file and search for:
BEGIN:VCARDEND:VCARD
In a valid multi-contact file, these counts should match.
Step 2: Fix missing END:VCARD (most common)
Bad pattern:
BEGIN:VCARD
...
BEGIN:VCARD
...
END:VCARD
Correct pattern:
BEGIN:VCARD
...
END:VCARD
BEGIN:VCARD
...
END:VCARD
If any record is missing END:VCARD, some importers will stop after the first record (or reject the entire file).
Step 3: Fix line folding / long lines
If a property wraps to a new line, the continuation line must start with a space. Importers may stop parsing at the first malformed wrapped line.
Step 4: Look for junk between records
Common sources of hidden junk:
- concatenating files that include a UTF‑8 BOM at the start
- copying from a rich text editor
- mixing different newline types
Recommended workflow
- Validate the file.
- Repair structure and re-export as clean UTF‑8.
- Re-import.
If the file is large or messy, generating a repaired .vcf is often faster than hand-editing.
Fix your .vcf file in seconds
Upload a vCard and get a clean, import-ready file for Google Contacts, Outlook, iPhone, Android, and CRMs.