S9 Text Messages - How to tell which number for a contact I am texting with - Samsung Galaxy S9 Questions & Answers

Since replacing my S7 with an S9, I can no longer tell what number of a contact I am text messaging with. I have several family members and friends/coworkers where I have them as a contact but with both work and home cell phone numbers. There are times when I need to text them on their work phone and times when I need to only text them on their personal cell number. On my S7 I used to be able to see the phone number (or even email address if I was texting an email address for a reminder or something) underneath the contact's name at the top while in that text messaging exchange, but when moving to the S9, it only displays their name at the top. Tapping on the contact name does no good as it just takes me to the contact card for that person and shows me all of their available contact numbers/addresses. Any idea how to clearly/quickly tell which number that text exchange is with (other than by guessing based on the context of the past messages in that exchange?)
This comes in handy for reminders for myself as well. I have several different text strings going with myself to send reminders to my work email, home email, etc. There is no way to easily tell which number or email I am sending a text to unless I'm missing something.
Thanks for any help!

I had to load up Samsung messages to look at that since i used it 2 minutes before i decided i didn't like it. The only way i can see is when you click on the contact's name their number shows with a > besides it. Click on their number and select the number to text. Inside a text i see no way of identifying the number. I see your problem though. My son works in a high security area where he might text me from his business phone but never from his personal phone while there. If he texts me I alway just reply to wherever the txt comes from. So far it's worked but I can see where it may not if he moves from one area to another.

You can tap the phone icon in a text message and it will pull up the dialer and show you which number it is. Like I have my wife's work cell and her personal numbers and I have them designated as mobile and work. Hope that helps.

Probably easier to create a new contact for each number tbh

*Detection* said:
Probably easier to create a new contact for each number tbh
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If I have contacts with multiple numbers, I just designate what each number is like I did with my wife. On the S9, if she texts me from her work phone, it doesn't add to the currently ongoing text conversation I have, it is a new text thread.

Related

Adding additional email field in contacts?

I've always understood that you could add or change contact fields to accomodate more than 3 email fields. So far I can't seem to figure out how to do that, anyone care to share?
Thanks.
Cyph
I don't think it is possible with Contacts - even Microsoft Outlook supports only 3 email entries.
I wish you could have more than 1 Mobile/Cell Phone number listed for someone. When will M$ change this? Now people do have more than 1 cell phone.
You can use other redundant fields for additional numbers, e.g., I use the Pager field for the 2nd mobile number - not many ppl have a pager where I live these days
i know you can do that, but if you want to text someone, you can only text to numbers listed as mobile (without having to pull up the contact list & manually selecting the number). i type the name of the person i want to text in the "to" field, & only mobile numbers show up when you do that.
Sadly that is a limitation of a lot of the software - they presume you can only text to mobile numbers
I want to text my home number too (where I live you can sms to landlines, provided they have a phone with text capability) but I bypassed the problem using a separate Contacts entry with the home number stored as a mobile number - not convenient I know.
Thanks all.
Someone noted a nice lil work around for convenience, it you add a note to the contact with mailto: in front of it, when you tap on it, it'll launch a new email. Nice.
Cyph

Contact Name not showing for Phone Calls - sometimes

My HTC TP2, WM Prof 6.1 has stopped showing some contact names on phone calls and texts. I think it is only out of area code numbers - although some out of town numbers do show the contact name. I think (sorry for all the "I think") all my area code numbers do show the the contact names. It may have all started when I deleted all my SIM contacts and moved them to Outlook Contacts, or when I turned Touch Flow 3D.
Do I have to add a "1" before the number in my contacts. The incoming out of area code phone numbers do have the "1".
thebrenda said:
My HTC TP2, WM Prof 6.1 has stopped showing some contact names on phone calls and texts. I think it is only out of area code numbers - although some out of town numbers do show the contact name. I think (sorry for all the "I think") all my area code numbers do show the the contact names. It may have all started when I deleted all my SIM contacts and moved them to Outlook Contacts, or when I turned Touch Flow 3D.
Do I have to add a "1" before the number in my contacts. The incoming out of area code phone numbers do have the "1".
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easy test... when you get a phone call from someone who you KNOW is in your contact list but its not showing their photo and name etc when they call at the end of the call use the number they called you on and replace it in your phonebook... the next time they call you'll know what has to be different. If when they call it's in a different format or an extra number at the start etc.
That'd be where I would start!
I know on my set up if the number isn't associated with a contact it will ask me if I want to save the number to my phone book or add to an existing contact. If you dont get that pop up then you'll just have to do it manually.
thebrenda said:
My HTC TP2, WM Prof 6.1 has stopped showing some contact names on phone calls and texts. I think it is only out of area code numbers - although some out of town numbers do show the contact name. I think (sorry for all the "I think") all my area code numbers do show the the contact names. It may have all started when I deleted all my SIM contacts and moved them to Outlook Contacts, or when I turned Touch Flow 3D.
Do I have to add a "1" before the number in my contacts. The incoming out of area code phone numbers do have the "1".
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Click to collapse
You need to update your profile and signature to tell us more about what carrier you use and what version of ROM your phone has.
I'm on T-Mobile, and a "1" is not required for dialing.

another bug in WP7

First off
Samsung Focus 1.3
Mango RTM
I have a contact with a Mobile phone entry under "Mobile" and his Work Cell phone is listed under "Work"
When you go to Messaging and hit the plus sign to create a new Text then start typing the name. The Work number doesn't show in the type ahead.
So for me to create a multi party text I have to hit the plus sign across from the TO: and navigate to the contact and select that number. Very annoying.
That's not a bug, a work number by default is a landline phone for cell phones. You dont often send texts to land lines so they dont have the option there. If it's a mobile number set up a second mobile option.
If you create a second contact entry just for your friend's work cell phone, and then link the two contacts together, both numbers will be available to select from the list when you type the name. It isn't a perfect workaround, but at least it works.
z33dev33l said:
That's not a bug, a work number by default is a landline phone for cell phones. You dont often send texts to land lines so they dont have the option there. If it's a mobile number set up a second mobile option.
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In Windows Phone 7 that may be the case. The reason I feel that it is a bug is because I can select the contact manually and the option is there to text the "Work" number and when creating a blank text I can hit the plus sign and when I go to that contact I can select the "Work" number.
For the type ahead function the "Work" number isn't populating. That to me is a bug when its selectable in other parts of the OS.
Also what Cell Phones are you talking about? Try this on a iOS or Android device and the work number will come up as selectable when using the type ahead.
Right now this is just a minor annoyance(yet extremely irritating) to a platform that I love.
hwalker84 said:
In Windows Phone 7 that may be the case. The reason I feel that it is a bug is because I can select the contact manually and the option is there to text the "Work" number and when creating a blank text I can hit the plus sign and when I go to that contact I can select the "Work" number.
For the type ahead function the "Work" number isn't populating. That to me is a bug when its selectable in other parts of the OS.
Also what Cell Phones are you talking about? Try this on a iOS or Android device and the work number will come up as selectable when using the type ahead.
Right now this is just a minor annoyance(yet extremely irritating) to a platform that I love.
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I think the logic is that, the mobile number would be the primary method of communication because generally most people have one cell number they associate for friends and family.
The thing that gets me is that the threaded messages for the same contact with different numbers doesn't get grouped together despite the OS recognizing they belong to the same contact and that you can use the switch button to text to the different number

[Q] Dialing By Name Problems (Update: Google Sync Problem)

Hi all, just a strange issue I am having I hope you can help me. I noticed when dialing by name when new, this phone kept wanting to bring up the home number when I want to dial the mobile by default. So, I headed into the contacts and discovered I could set the "default" number by either long pressing the desired number and selecting "set default" which then puts a blue check mark next to it, or I could be in the contact, press menu, then "mark as default" which opens a window where I can select the default email, phone number, etc which also will put a blue check next to the number.
Now then, all my contacts are stored on Google, nothing on the phone or SIM itself. For some reason, the default number for one of the most frequently called people in my address book will not "stick". I mark it as default, I can dial by name and it shows up correctly, but then the next time I go to do it (sometimes even 5 minutes later), it will be back to having no default number set and gives me the home number instead of mobile.
Oddly enough, the three other numbers I marked with a default number never do this to me and work every time, only the one contact entry doesn't work. I can't think of any other reasons why this is happening. My ONLY thought was that for some reason when syncing, Google keeps over-riding the marked default number. But why would it do it for JUST this one contact and not the other 3?!
Any ideas? Looking forward to thoughts. Kind of an embarrassing problem since it's so simple, but I can't figure it out...
www.google.com/contacts
Do you have more specific of a suggestion than simply giving me the site which I have already been to a couple times? The Google contacts interface doesn't seem to support "default numbers" and there is no way I could find to set a default number via the web interface. I believe the default number is an "on phone" setting. Thus, I am confused why it works on some contacts and not all.
Update: I noticed this same contact also won't upload changes to phone numbers, addresses, etc made on the phone for some reason, so this could be more of a Google sync problem. Again, it's only this one contact.
If I make changes to other contacts, they are reflected on Google's servers correctly. If I make a change to the phone number of this specific contact, after a few minutes, it goes back to what it previously was. It seems it's always pulling down from Google's servers and replacing the changes I made on my phone. It's like somehow only this contact was set to only pull down information, not upload it also. I also could not find any settings for changing the location of the "master" when there are changes or conflicts or anything like that on Google's website.
Anyone else have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Bump to the top, still have this issue.
Not much help here, as I'd love to know how to do this at a higher 'Google' level than just on my phone too. Are you syncing contacts with any other applications? For example, Facebook?
No, it's a stock Galaxy S4. Although you bring up another question I have had. When I have my contacts on Facebook synced "only with existing contacts", friends on Facebook still show up when I try to dial by name even though they do NOT show up in my address book. What's up with that? Is that the fault of Facebook? I seem to remember my HTC phone doing this as well, so I disabled syncing with Facebook contacts completely.
Today I tried removing the Google account, clearing the data and cache for contacts and contact storage, then adding the Google account again and letting contacts sync. I then set default numbers for 5 phone numbers. 10 minutes later, all but the one contact I have had problems with still had the default number set. The one contact cleared the default number - again. I just don't get it...
02CWRX said:
Hi all, just a strange issue I am having I hope you can help me. I noticed when dialing by name when new, this phone kept wanting to bring up the home number when I want to dial the mobile by default. So, I headed into the contacts and discovered I could set the "default" number by either long pressing the desired number and selecting "set default" which then puts a blue check mark next to it, or I could be in the contact, press menu, then "mark as default" which opens a window where I can select the default email, phone number, etc which also will put a blue check next to the number.
Now then, all my contacts are stored on Google, nothing on the phone or SIM itself. For some reason, the default number for one of the most frequently called people in my address book will not "stick". I mark it as default, I can dial by name and it shows up correctly, but then the next time I go to do it (sometimes even 5 minutes later), it will be back to having no default number set and gives me the home number instead of mobile.
Oddly enough, the three other numbers I marked with a default number never do this to me and work every time, only the one contact entry doesn't work. I can't think of any other reasons why this is happening. My ONLY thought was that for some reason when syncing, Google keeps over-riding the marked default number. But why would it do it for JUST this one contact and not the other 3?!
Any ideas? Looking forward to thoughts. Kind of an embarrassing problem since it's so simple, but I can't figure it out...
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Click to collapse
I have the same issue and it ticks me off every time, and it happens with any contact that has multiple numbers. There doesn't seem to be any way to choose the alternate numbers when you do search by name from the dialpad. you have to do it from the favorites or the contacts tab instead.
Does yours clear the default from EVERY contact that has multiple numbers? Mine only clears the set default number from ONE SPECIFIC contact, and I can't figure out what the difference between that contact and any other contact is. Or, if you are saying you can't figure out how to set the default numbers at all, I gave instructions on how to do it two different ways in the post you quoted.
As for selecting an alternate number from the dial pad, I figured that out too. So, let's say you want to call Mike. Dial 6453 (MIKE) and you should see the name pop up. To the right of the name is a down arrow with a number above it. The number is telling you how many contacts what you have dialed matches. Tap the down arrow and you will see a list of people and their numbers under them (or just the one person if that's all that matches). If you tap again on the name, you will in fact be given a choice on which number to dial (assuming the contact has more than one number saved for them).
So basically, it's a long annoying process that shouldn't have to happen, but it is possible to do it. You have to start dialing by name, then make a screen selection, then another selection, then another, then finally the dial pad is pre-filled with the number, but then you have to remember to hit the actual call button at the end of all that crap. I find it's easier to find a text from the person and swipe the screen to dial them that way sometimes (or from within the text tap the call icon), or from the call history tap the call icon. Or of course as you said, favorites or contacts.
My HTC used to just let you dial by name, tap the number you wanted, then it would start calling. Easy peasy.
Bump to the top again... Still trying to figure this out. So annoying.
Bump. I dial this number every day...
Some stupid questions: 1. Do you have more than one contact details of the same person? 2. Did you delete and re-add the contact. Also delete from all other syncs?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
The contact is only listed as a Google contact, and has no other links or connections from other sources. Facebook is not synced, nor is anything else. It's only Google contacts. I haven't tried deleting and re adding yet. I guess that's a simple thing to try, its just that there is a lot of info in there, haha.
Ok, via web browser on the PC I exported the contact, deleted it, and synced my phone. Contact was gone. I then added a contact via web browser, typed in all the same info, synced the phone, and the contact is back. I then selected the mobile number, marked it as default, synced the contacts again, and there was no longer a default check mark next to the mobile number.
I have at least 3 other contacts where I don't have this problem at all. They are all stored on Google, they are all friends on Facebook (even though they aren't linked to FB in the contacts because of the above listed problem where everyone on FB shows up when dialing by name), they are all in circles on Google Plus. I can't figure this out at all. What the heck...

[Q] Can you make text received to Google Voice number display your contacts real #?

So I'm trying to figure out how to make texts I receive to my Google Voice number display my contacts actual number as opposed to the Google number they are assigned. I understand that it was meant to allow you to send a message back to that person that would still display your GV number, however, with Voice+ all my text's are sent from my GV number so it seems unnecessary and has the annoying effect of creating two conversation threads with one person. Even stranger is I will receive the same text from their actual number 10-15 minutes later (I'm assuming from the "receive text messages to this phone option in the web settings) which usually isn't that much of an issue as if I'm texting it's probably not that urgent, but makes text conversations almost impossible. However, this leads me to think that it is entirely possible to force texts sent to a GV number to seem as if they are sent from your friend directly.
If anyone has any solutions, I'm all ears.
I should note that when I do receive text messages that were sent to my GV number that eventually do come through with the senders real number, they all come at once. That is, if I had a 10 text conversation with someone, I will receive all 10 of their responses all at once (and usually two of each) from their actual number. So it seems like its syncing messages on some time interval. Maybe there's a way to decrease that time interval?
Here's a screenshot illustrating what I'm talking about in case I wasn't clear.

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