Convert PBB files to CSV / Copying your SIM contacts onto an iPhone

I've notice the newer iPhone software has an "Import Contacts from SIM" option, rendering this obsolete. I'll leave it up for generic PBB->CSV conversion.

The AT&T support site documents 3 ways to copy your contacts from your old SIM card to your new iPhone. None of them worked for me. I re-worked option #3, and present it here for others who have similar problems.

This documents how to get the contacts and their phone numbers off your current AT&T SIM card onto your new iPhone. Handy if you can't sync them onto your PC, or don't have Outlook/Excel (as the provided utility doesn't work with Outlook Express as advertised), or have a Mac. If you have Windows & Outlook, you can download the "official" program from the AT&T directions that should properly export your contacts (though I don't have Outlook or Excel to know for sure).

  1. Take your phone to the nearest AT&T store. Ask them to copy the contacts onto a USB thumb drive. This will cost $15 for the drive, as they will not use one you give them.
  2. Upload the file on this drive (will be of the name Backup_date_.PBB) here. You will get a .csv file you should save to your hard drive.
  3. Import this .csv file into your Yahoo! Address Book as Yahoo CSV.
  4. Configure iTunes to sync with your Yahoo! Address Book.
  5. Done!
If you're not comfortable uploading your contact list to me (your contacts are deleted from my server immediately after processing), or interested in knowing how this works, the source is here: pbbreader.c (though if that doesn't work, I drop back to a dumber algorithm that just extracts strings, and tries to make the numbers come out sane).

vince@sixpak.org.