I have a contract with my cellphone company that provides me besides normal cellphone service, unlimited calls to a group of people in my country, all people in that group are identified with an aditional short phone number, so we have two phone numbers in our SIM, the normal one and the short one.
Happens that we use the short number to call ourserlves in the group (we could also use the normal number, but that'd be charged in my invoice as a normal call), but the normal phone number is always shown in our phones as incoming number when receiving a call from the group or outside, and that's how it is saved in call log.
So, in my contacts list, each contact has the two numbers added (I've set the normal phone number as cell phone number, and the short number as work phone).
Now the problem, the way smartdialer in WinMo5 and later work is to show the last call (made/missed/received) of every contact, then contacts list (if contact not already shown before), and after receiving a call from the group in my case the normal number is shown, and there's no way to use the short number to reply, unless I take the long path and go to contacts list and choose the contact and number manually; usually I'm in a hurry and just forget and call the contact using smartdialing and happens that the normal number is dialed.
I had no problem using smardialing with WinMo2003 as there was an option to choose a default number when there were multiples numbers on a contact, so, no matter what number a contact used to call me, when using smartdialing the default number was always chosen, I see no equivalent in WinMo5 or later.
Now, is there a way to replicate that behavior from WinMo2003? (registry/patch/etc.), thanks for taking the time to read.
P.D. the same can be said when we have multiples numbers in a contact (work/home/etc.) and receive calls from some of them but just want to reply to just one of them.
The following Google Contacts are stored in an Android Phone for ACME Corporation:
Amy Appleseed
John Doe
Pedro Valdez
Amy, John and Pedro all share a work telephone number.
I'm working with Pedro on a project and would like to track the dates and times of our phone conversations using the call log on my Android phone.
However, even though Pedro is manually selected from the contact list, Amy Appleseed appears as the called party because she is the first contact for ACME Corporation, which are listed alphabetically.
This behavior can be consistently duplicated on a Motorola Milestone X2 (Droid X2) running 2.3.6 stock but this has been an issue on every Android phone I have ever owned from Android 2.1 to 2.3.6.
Is there any way that I can call Pedro AND have his name appear in my Call Log using Android?
I think that's just the way it works. i.e. the call log program is unaware of how the call was made--it just knows which number was dialed and at what time and resorts to a reverse look up to get the name. You can sort of see this from the way the numbers pop up...and then the names start filing in. Also, after adding a new contact for a number, the contact name magically appears in the call log.
I know its a hack, but what if you try variations on the number for your contacts with the same phone number? For example:
123-123-1234
123-1234
+1-123-123-1234
1-123-123-1234
Depending on your phone company, these may all dial the same phone number (but, you'll want to confirm that they won't charge you long distance for using 11 digits to dial a local number). With luck, they may fool Android into thinking that they're different phone numbers.
As for incoming calls, though, you may want to make a contact for just the company with a number that matches whatever your call display pops up when either person calls. There's no way it'll know who's on the other end if the call display is the same across your colleagues.
Hope this helps,
- chris
Hi cttttt,
Thanks for the response. The reverse lookup of the first contact listed for a number is understandable for an incoming call, but I would think there should be a way where dialing outbound from a manually selected contact would write the selected contact name to the Call Log.
Is this something that could be accomplished with a third party app? Perhaps a dialer with a contact look-up that rewrites the call log to reflect the selected contact (or keep a call log of its own)?
I'd appreciate the input of a developer or anyone with experience with the OS to suggest whether this can be accomplished programmatically...
Found It!
I was searching for the same thing for my GS3 and found this solution:
[Since I am new, it won't let me post the link...which is the helpful part. here is an attempt to get you the information anyway.]
souvey.com
2009/03/android-advice-shared-home-phone-numbers
Short answer: create a contact on the phone (not google/gmail), it seems to search those first.
The link gives other stuff you can do; I found the above to work quite well.
CDLaurent said:
I was searching for the same thing for my GS3 and found this solution:
[Since I am new, it won't let me post the link...which is the helpful part. here is an attempt to get you the information anyway.]
souvey.com
2009/03/android-advice-shared-home-phone-numbers
Short answer: create a contact on the phone (not google/gmail), it seems to search those first.
The link gives other stuff you can do; I found the above to work quite well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately ,that site no longer exist but I'm curios about same problem ,call log for outgoing calls shows first contact with that number
rain125 said:
Unfortunately, that site no longer exist but I'm curios about same problem, call log for outgoing calls shows first contact with that number
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found it by searching for the url in this web archive: web.archive.org
I am pasting the content here, in case that archive gets lost too:
Android Advice: Shared Home Phone Numbers
One of the things that has always annoyed me with cell phones is that there is no good way to handle multiple people having the same home phone number. Android’s contact manager allows multiple contacts to share the same number (because the database is not indexed by phone number, like on many older phones). This still wasn’t perfect for me, however. When a phone number shared by multiple contacts calls, the first match (sorted alphabetically A-Z) is displayed on the caller ID screen and in the call log. Fortunately, this consistency means we can manipulate the system to display a custom name. The following steps illustrate the technique:
1. Lets say we have a theoretical family: John and Jane Smith. They each have a cell phone, but live together and therefore share a home phone number. They each are added in Android with their mobile number as their primary number, and their home number as their secondary number. Both can be called at either their home or mobile number from the contact list. When a phone call is recieved from their home number, Jane Smith is displayed in the caller id and call logs because she is first alphabetically.
2. For this technique to work cleanly (without any additional clutter), you must have your Android contact manager set only to display “My Contacts” (this settings is under Contacts > Menu > Display Group > My Contacts)
3. Log into Gmail and switch the contacts view
4. Create a new group to put these combined “metacontacts” (I called the group “Metacontacts”)
5. Force your G1 to synchronize contacts (Home Screen > Menu > Settings > Data synchronization > Uncheck and then recheck “Contacts”)
6. Tell your G1 to synchronize this new “Metacontact” group (Contacts > Menu > Edit sync groups > Check “Metacontacts”)
7. On your Gmail Contact Manager, in the “Metacontact” group, press the new contact button (person with a +)
8. Enter the name you want to display when the number calls (ex: “The Smith Family” or “John and Jane Smith”)
9. Add some form of symbol in front of the contact’s name to cause it to be first alphabetically. I used a period because it takes up the least space, and then put a period at the end as well for symmetry ( .The Smith Family. )
10. Add the shared home phone number to this new contact
11. Press the save button
12. Press the “Groups” button and then click “Remove from… My Contacts”. This will prevent the contact from showing up in Android’s contact list, but because we chose to synchronize the “Metacontacts” group, it will still be in Android’s database when it does a caller ID lookup.
13. Repeat steps 7-12 for each custom home phone number contact
14. Force your G1 to synchronize contacts again (Home Screen > Menu > Settings > Data synchronization > Uncheck and then recheck “Contacts”)
15. The new custom contact name will now show up in the call logs and when the number calls, but each individual contact (ex: John and Jane) will still have the number stored, so you can call their home number by clicking their name in contacts.
It works almost perfectly for me, but there are few caveats to this method that you should be aware of:
Every time you change the combined contact (“metacontact”), it automatically readded to the “My Contacts” group and you will have to remove it
The combined contact (“metacontact”) will have the symbol you chose (in my case, a period) in front of their name, so if this bothers you, this isn’t the technique for you
Sometimes I get calls from private numbers or numbers I don't recognize. I don't wan't to bother answering because it could suck me into unpleasant and annoying conversation with snake oil salesmen, scammers or someone I don't want to talk to.
I was thinking of application which could allow me to:
1. Identify questionable number using central database of known numbers if possible
2. Present me with following options:
a) Send to my carrier's voicemail to leave message
b) Send to 3d party voicemail with my custom greeting message recorded asking caller to identify himself and leave number to call back to
It would be great to set by default unfamiliar and private numbers to be transferred to one of above options of my choosing
Sometimes there are legit calls coming from unknown and private numbers that I miss. That's why the idea for application that could do above.
What are your thoughts about this? Is this feasible?
Wondering if any developers here can confirm the following:
I know the native Phone app and other Call apps have the ability to allow you to block numbers in which case the call doesn't ring through.
I thought like a couple years ago I read that's not the case with SMS apps. They can 'hide' the number from your SMS messages list but you'll still get the notification at the time the SMS is received. Is this true for all SMS apps for Android 11 or later or can they actually prevent notifications of received messages from numbers you block?
My second question is, on virtually all Phone / Call apps, you'll see the Caller ID Name for incoming calls (where the name isn't blocked, or the number isn't in your Contact list). I get semi-frequent scam/sales calls and they are all from numbers that no person or company name comes up, only the phone number. Since the Caller ID name is displayed when there is one, I would assume the Android Call apps have access to this data value.
Yet, all call blocking features I've seen in all apps I've tried, only have the ability to manually block the number, or, enable a setting to block all calls from numbers not in your Contact list. I'm just flabbergasted that none of these apps also have the option to "Block all calls with no Caller ID Name that are not in your contact list." If the Caller ID Name value comes across as the phone number itself, the app can easily see that it matches or that there are no letters in the Caller ID Name and block it. The only reason I can think of that this type of blocking feature isn't available in a single call app is that for some reason the Caller ID Name is displayed by the system, not the app, and the app doesn't have the ability to read the Caller ID Name Value? I would be really surprised if that were the case as it doesn't make sense that the app displays it but can't perform any feature based on the Caller ID Name value???
After the most recent updates, all of my families S22U can no longer use the "Quick Decline" option when rejecting any phone call.
If you are unfamiliar with "Quick Decline" it allows you to send a quick text message to those calling you with a either a predefined or custom text message.
I love using this to quickly reject calls from numbers I don't know, telling them to identify themselves first via text before I'll answer. Also to tell people that I'll call them back.
At first I thought the option had dissappeared but its still there and turned on. I see it in my call settings, even my custom text decline.
I just cannot find the option to turn it on for ALL calls.
What I have noticed is that if the person calling is in my contacts list, the "Quick Decline" option presents itself. If the person calling is not in my contacts, then I cannot use the option. Also after more testing last night I discovered that if a person is in my contacts list but blocks there number as a private number the option is no longer present to use the "Quick Decline".
Samsung S22U1, One UI 5.0, Android 13 - Stock