[Q] Multiple message contacts - Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

My wife's phone has mutilple contacts when she pulls up the list when sending a message. When I go into contacts or thru the dialer there are only one of each. Is there a way to delete the extra ones from the messenger list? Is there a way to tell what contact list they are stored in (phone, card, google)?
Ken

Contacts should have an icon next to them to show where they are stored.
Google will have a g
SIM will have a picture of a SIM
Phone has ???? (nothing stored to my phone)
To change what is shown, press Menu --> More --> Display Options and select your storage location there.
You could show them all and then delete out the extras.

Or link them all together. I just use google for all my contacts. Much easier.

mrhaley30705 said:
Or link them all together. I just use google for all my contacts. Much easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. I use google to store all mine because it restores automatically when I switch roms.
I do keep a copy on my sim for when I use a dumb phone. I don't want to take my cappy on top of the grain bin or in the tractor and chance it getting destroyed.

Related

I want to root but have questions first!

Currently, I keep getting force close errors when sending messages and creating or editing contacts, I really want to fix this so I thought I might as well try and root my phone at the same time.
Here are my questions:
1. Should I fix these force close errors before I root my phone. If so, how?
2. Does rooting my G1 mean I'll lose my messages, contacts, etc?
3. Is there anyway I can save my messages, contacts, etc before I root my phone and reinstate them afterwards? (If they are lost in the process).
I hope my questions aren't too stupid!
Thanks!
Giggity giggity...... don't bother fixing the fc's, they would be fixed in the process. You will lose messages, call log, browser bookmarks, internal save apps, almost everything on your phone when you wipe it. Your contacts are synced with gmail and will auto restore, any apps you purchased will be availible for redownload in my downloads in the market, they are also linked to your gmail. Back-up wise, the only programs that I know back-up on root only or you have to pay for use. So you are **** out of luck there
Gridlock pretty much said it all. But I will add one thing tho, there are apps that will allow you to back up your sms first without root. Just go to the market and look up "backup" and you will see a bunch of apps that you might want.
If you are having FC while sending messages my personal opinion would be to not backup and restore anything that has to do with those messages. Just imo.
Make sure you have data sync turned on and you do a manual sync before you root to ensure you have an up-to-date backup of your contacts.
Menu > Settings > Data Sync > Menu button > Sync Now
Thanks for the answers guys. I've come across another damn problem now that I've been trying to back up my contacts. I have a bunch of numbers on my phone that appear to not be in any 'sync group'...I select all contacts in sync group and then make my contacts sync. I check my g-mail account and its just got all my e-mail addresses but not my phone numbers. When I sync My Contacts it sends only a few numbers. I can view "Contacts With Numbers" but I cant seem to sync them.
Also, when I select 'all contacts' to sync I get that damn red exclaimation mark.
In an attempt to sort this, I selected all my e-mail contacts in 'All Contacts' and sent them to a new group called 'E-mail'. Then I selected to delete 'All Contacts' expecting to retain them in my new 'E-mail' group and it deleted ALL my bloody contacts including 'My Contacts'. I've now lost the few numbers under 'My Contacts' (even on my phone somehow...) and all my damn E-mails!
Can someone please tell me how the hell I can sync "Contacts with numbers" onto my g-mail so I can root my ****ing phone!!!
Are the contacts you lost still on your gmail account if so it will prob just resync them and you still have your contacts on your sim card also well just the ones you had before you started using this phone. The most I ever backup is my app data, bookmarks always give me a fc on the browser when I restore. I don't worry bout contacts though since gmail handles that
Well this is my problem. My g-mail had none of my contacts! When I got this phone it was a fresh sim card with nothing on. I put all my numbers in by hand. My numbers were last (fully) synced on 27th Jan 09. Everytime I sync, I get My Contacts only. All the other numbers fail to sync, I'm guessing because they're not in any group. Even if I select all numbers to sync they don't go to my G-Mail. I had about 15 number sync in My Contacts (before I deleted the buggers). Now I'll have to get those back.
I need a way of putting all my numbers that aren't in My Contacts, into My Contacts to Google will sync them! I'm guessing this is because they were put into my phone because the update where Google made all newly entered numbers go into My Contacts...Hmm
Right, I've sorted it.
Downloaded an app from the the market place called ExportContacts. Worked like a treat. It wrote all my contacts to a .csv. Simply imported them on G-Mail. Added them to contacts, deleted all of them on my phone and re-synced. AT LAST I CAN ROOT!
Giggity said:
Right, I've sorted it.
Downloaded an app from the the market place called ExportContacts. Worked like a treat. It wrote all my contacts to a .csv. Simply imported them on G-Mail. Added them to contacts, deleted all of them on my phone and re-synced. AT LAST I CAN ROOT!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
woot glad you got it to work and this is good info for general use as well

How can i tell where my contacts are saved?

How can i tell where my contacts are saved?
When i first got my phone I synced my phone with my outlook contact on my pc. Now when i want to add a contact using my phone it's asking me if i want to save the contact to either my phone or my sim card. I would like to keep things consistent and save it in the same place as the rest of my contacts. So does anyone know how to find out where my current contacts are saved?
Thanks.
PeePeeHead said:
How can i tell where my contacts are saved?
When i first got my phone I synced my phone with my outlook contact on my pc. Now when i want to add a contact using my phone it's asking me if i want to save the contact to either my phone or my sim card. I would like to keep things consistent and save it in the same place as the rest of my contacts. So does anyone know how to find out where my current contacts are saved?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good questions, I don't have the answer but I'd like to know. I have a similar thread that no one has answered yet.
BTW, when I go to add a new contact I don't get your options!
My choices are:
1. Phone
2. Google mail
That is very strange. I'd like to get SIM card as an option.
If you want to know where your contacts are saved then go to your contacts, click the settings button, go to display options and from there you will be able to select what contacts to view, sim, phone and google. Click on one to view and that way you will know where they are all saved.
No idea why you cant have sim contacts mark, maybe your sim is full??
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Cicinho said:
If you want to know where your contacts are saved then go to your contacts, click the settings button, go to display options and from there you will be able to select what contacts to view, sim, phone and google. Click on one to view and that way you will know where they are all saved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, if you have your phone set up as I do,
Settings/Wireless Networks/Flight mode, 99% of the time, then you won't see SIM card as an option when you go into Contacts/Settings/Display.
This is one of many deficiencies of the SGS. I hope they change this in the next upgrade.
No idea why you cant have sim contacts mark, maybe your sim is full??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See above.
Furthermore, having just experimented with the SIM card setting now, it is quite 'limited'. It will only save the name, tel. number and e-mail address of your contacts, nothing else. You lose pics, home addresses, groups, and any other fields that you added etc.
But back to my original question.
How can you find the folder/files that the contacts are stored in on your phone?
Also, if you export your phone contacts to your SD card and then delete your phone contacts, will importing the contacts from your SD card bring EVERYTHING back faithfully? No lost pics, home addresses, groups etc.?
Has anyone here tried this?
TIA

google contacts on phone??

right now i have Google contacts syncing to my phone. weird thing is, when i log into gmail and look under contacts, there isnt any listed. where does google get list from? I thought logging into gmail and clicking contacts would show me a list of names, but it doesnt. I dont get it.
aonavy said:
right now i have Google contacts syncing to my phone. weird thing is, when i log into gmail and look under contacts, there isnt any listed. where does google get list from? I thought logging into gmail and clicking contacts would show me a list of names, but it doesnt. I dont get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First:
You need to make sure you enter a new contact by saving to Google.
Contacts that are on your "phone" will not transfer to Google automatically.
You can change your default save location by:
Open contacts
Press menu touch key (key on left side of your phone)
Press MORE
Press SETTINGS
Change: Save new Contacts from: Always Ask to GOOGLE
In Google it saves your contacts under the "My Contacts" tag.
Let me know if you need any other help with this.
p.s.:
If you want your contacts on Google and your phone, the easiest way is to enter them through gmail then let sync push them to your phone. Your phone (should) join the duplicates since they will have the same names and telephone #.

Contacts appear three times in messaging.

Certainly others must have this problem. It stems from, I believe, having identical SIM, Google, and Phone contacts.
But that's what I WANT. But I don't want everyone's name to appear three times when I want to send someone a text message. Is there ANY solution to this?
long press one of them, then "join contact"
day one...
I had double names appear for texting that went away by ungrouping them in contacts. I believe all my contacts became "grouped" when I tapped my backup .vcf file twice after a rom install...which may not be the same situation as yours.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Just change the view to only show you contacts from one of the three databases. Either Google, phone, or sim.
From contacts hit the leftmost softkey and then select more. Then select display options
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
long press one of them, then "join contact"
day one...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of my contacts are joined.
I had double names appear for texting that went away by ungrouping them in contacts. I believe all my contacts became "grouped" when I tapped my backup .vcf file twice after a rom install...which may not be the same situation as yours.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My contacts aren't grouped, I don't think. What is grouping, exactly?
Just change the view to only show you contacts from one of the three databases. Either Google, phone, or sim.
From contacts hit the leftmost softkey and then select more. Then select display options
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Contacts only displays my phone contacts. This has no bearing on the following:
1. When I want to send a text, everyone's name appears three times.
2. When I click the call button in a text, it asks me which number I want to call, then lists each number three times.
Something is up.
Open a contact and hit edit. If the contact is grouped there will be a + sign. All my contacts were grouped. After ungrouping them, they showed up twice in contacts, and I had to delete one.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
not grouped, joined... or same crap...
Yes, thanks
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
sailzfast said:
Open a contact and hit edit. If the contact is grouped there will be a + sign. All my contacts were grouped. After ungrouping them, they showed up twice in contacts, and I had to delete one.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That WOULD solve the problem.... except:
1. I do not want to delete my contacts off my SIM. The SIM card carrying your contacts is a great feature.
2. I do not want to delete my contacts off my Phone. The Contacts menu looks a lot sleeker without the icons to the bottom right of each entry, and the pictures I feel load faster when they are stored on the phone.
3. I do not want to delete my contacts off my Google account. It stores my contact pictures as well as makes it easy when I flash over to a new ROM.
I will not delete these entries. They are all important. I want a real solution, and I am pretty sure one doesn't exist.
Edit: There isn't a "plus" sign, but each contact has three separate entries.
it was a little hard to understand at first but this is your poblem
#1 where do you want all your contacts saved to? PICK ONE (phone/sim/google)
open contacts> menu button > more > settings > save contacts to...
(google is better than sim or phone IMO auto backup and restore to net) but pick ONE. (uno, une, 1)
#2
open contacts> menu button > more > display options > choose contacts to display
only check the thing you picked above. UNCHECK the others
FIXED
Trusselo said:
it was a little hard to understand at first but this is your poblem
#1 where do you want all your contacts saved to? PICK ONE (phone/sim/google)
open contacts> menu button > more > settings > save contacts to...
(google is better than sim or phone IMO auto backup and restore to net) but pick ONE. (uno, une, 1)
#2
open contacts> menu button > more > display options > choose contacts to display
only check the thing you picked above. UNCHECK the others
FIXED
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only one thing is checked. In my Contacts, nothing is repeated.
ok then please re-explain what your problem is? maybe some screen shots? 'ShootMe' app is good change settings to jpeg to upload to xda.
cuz just not getting what your problem is then...
Trusselo said:
ok then please re-explain what your problem is? maybe some screen shots? 'ShootMe' app is good change settings to jpeg to upload to xda.
cuz just not getting what your problem is then...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://i.imgur.com/ozXeX.png
http://i.imgur.com/VPDmX.png
There is the problem. And yes, I do see the "Remember this choice" option, but that is also not a solution as 1. I do flash my phone often and I would have to remember it every time, and 2. I would have to remember it for all of my contacts, which would be a pain.
Trusselo's instructions in post #10 are dead on, except in your case, i'll ask that you choose to sync your contacts to a single google account rather than the other 2 options (phone or sim). Unless you often swap your SIM card to a dumb phone, this is your best option anyways.
To ensure we save all your contacts among all your storage locations.. First, adjust 'display options' in Contacts so that ALL your contacts are displayed from all your locations (duplicates are ok).
Next, still in contacts, open up menu, choose 'import/export/', then choose 'export to sd card.'
Now follow Trusselo's instructions in post #10.. Make sure you save contacts to a google account. Also when choosing 'display options', uncheck EVERYTHING, and ONLY check 'my contacts' under the google account you save contacts to.
Go to 'Accounts and sync' in settings and ensure that auto-sync is ON, and that 'sync contacts' is ON for the google account you're saving contacts to.
Now, in contacts, open up menu, choose 'import/export' again, and this time choose 'import from sd card'.
Open up GMail in a web browser, go to Contacts, go to 'my contacts', click on the 'more actions' button, choose 'find & merge duplicates'. Now just give your phone a minute to re-sync all your contacts with google..
This will clean up any duplicate contacts and phone numbers you may have. So you should only see one entry for each contact and number. It will also sync all your contacts regularly to your google account, even for new entries, which imo, is a lot safer than storing them directly on the phone or SIM card.
I've tested this method, and it should work for you if followed exactly. If there's anything that needs to be clarified, let me know.
I want them saved to my SIM card. And I want them saved to my Google Account. But I want them stored on my Phone.
I believe you want me to delete them from my SIM and from my Phone in order for this to work. I simply do not see why I would need to do that. If that is not what you are saying, then what is it? On my Contacts on GMail, there's only one number for each name.
thehyecircus said:
I want them saved to my SIM card. And I want them saved to my Google Account. But I want them stored on my Phone.
I believe you want me to delete them from my SIM and from my Phone in order for this to work. I simply do not see why I would need to do that. If that is not what you are saying, then what is it? On my Contacts on GMail, there's only one number for each name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be clear, this will NOT delete contacts from you SIM card, nor from your phone. What this does is force ALL your contacts from your SIM AND your phone AND your Google account to be synced(copied) to your google account. Once that is done, all your contacts will appear on your google account and will be immediately copied back to your phone (as a locally saved copy).
Then what we're doing is just "hiding" all the duplicate contacts from your SIM card and 'Phone location' (not deleting them), so that we only see the contacts that were synced with your google account.. so its less confusing than viewing the same contact from 3 different locations.
All your old contacts will remain on your SIM card, only now all your old contacts and newly created ones will appear in contacts and be synced (backed-up) to your google account. This is useful because.. say you lose your phone, you will still have a copy of all your contacts in your google account and can be easily synced with a new phone, if they were stored on the SIM card or the 'Phone location' then they would just be.. gone.. lost forever. They will also sync back to the phone (with pics) if you flash a new ROM.
On another note, should you ever want to get a new phone and simply move your contacts, you can sync your contacts via your google account like I said, OR you could just go menu>import/export>export to sim card.
Make sense?
andyondroid said:
To be clear, this will NOT delete contacts from you SIM card, nor from your phone. What this does is force ALL your contacts from your SIM AND your phone AND your Google account to be synced(copied) to your google account. Once that is done, all your contacts will appear on your google account and will be immediately copied back to your phone (as a locally saved copy).
Then what we're doing is just "hiding" the contacts from your SIM card and 'Phone location' (not deleting them), so that we only see the contacts that were synced with your google account.. so its less confusing than viewing the same contact from 3 different locations.
All your old contacts will remain on your SIM card, only now all your old contacts and newly created ones will appear in contacts and be synced (backed-up) to your google account. This is useful because.. say you lose your phone, you will still have a copy of all your contacts in your google account and can be easily synced with a new phone, if they were stored on the SIM card or the 'Phone location' then they would just be.. gone.. lost forever. They will also sync back to the phone (with pics) if you flash a new ROM.
On another note, should you ever want to get a new phone and simply move your contacts, you can sync your contacts via your google account like I said, OR you could just go menu>import/export>export to sim card.
Make sense?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But I mean, if you're asking me to change the display option to only display SIM/Phone/Google contacts, it is already set to do that.
thehyecircus said:
But I mean, if you're asking me to change the display option to only display SIM/Phone/Google contacts, it is already set to do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, i'm asking you to do the opposite. I'm asking you to store all your contacts to Google, and ONLY display Google contacts, and UNCHECK (hide) SIM and PHONE from 'Display Options' so that you do not see any duplicate names or phone numbers.
This will most likely solve your problem with seeing duplicate entries and is a much smarter way of managing your contacts.
andyondroid said:
No, i'm asking you to do the opposite. I'm asking you to store all your contacts to Google, and ONLY display Google contacts, and UNCHECK (hide) SIM and PHONE from 'Display Options' so that you do not see any duplicate names or phone numbers.
This will most likely solve your problem with seeing duplicate entries and is a much smarter way of managing your contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am already doing that.
thehyecircus said:
I am already doing that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, by your own admission, you're not.
"if you're asking me to change the display option to only display SIM/Phone/Google contacts, it is already set to do that."
Right there, you just said that ALL your contact locations are turned ON..which is the cause of you seeing 3 identical phone numbers for each contact. Earlier in the thread it was pointed out you need to ONLY select ONE option; the same location you are storing contacts to.
Let's say you already have all your contacts save to Google, that's great. That means you don't have to go through that entire process i wrote up. All that was meant to do is ensure ALL your contacts from all your locations were saved to google, but if that's already done then there's no need to go through all that.
It really goes back to Post #10.. assuming you have only have no duplicate phone numbers set up in google, then you just need to follow those instructions and you won't see those duplicates anymore.
Sounds like you either didn't follow the directions correctly in post #10 or not at all. The key thing is save your new contacts to google, then change the display options so ONLY, ONLY, JUST ONE, option is checked, and that is the Google account you are saving contacts to. Once this is done, you will not see duplicate entries anymore.

How to back up contacts

YES I am sure this question gets asked a lot of times so I am sure by now people have come up with a GREAT answer for it instead of just telling me to use google.
Trust me I have used Google. I find Apps like
Backup Contacts
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=no.uia.android.backupcontacts&hl=en
which gets bad reviews and doesn't really seem to work.
I find a guide on how to save your contacts to your SIM card but it only seems to work on the Nexus S.
So here is what I want to do:
I use a Galaxy S (i-9000) and I want to save my contacts to my SIM card or a file I can copy on my PC and copy it on other android devices OR save all my PHONE contacts to my google account if that is somehow possible because I want to buy a NEW android phone (that's why I guess Samsung's Kies with the option to back up contacts won't do the trick)
I am looking forward to any help.
Thanks a lot!
I think the simplest way to backup contacts is to go the Contacts, or People on ICS, and press the menu button (bottom left on phone). From there go to import/export contacts, then it asks where you want to import/export them to. It creates a file on your phone storage that you can copy to your PC/new phone.
oxidising said:
I think the simplest way to backup contacts is to go the Contacts, or People on ICS, and press the menu button (bottom left on phone). From there go to import/export contacts, then it asks where you want to import/export them to. It creates a file on your phone storage that you can copy to your PC/new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I go to Contacts - Import/Export - Export to SIM card : it says "No contacts" and "search contacts" so it seems like I would have to export each contact by HAND. I can't find any way to select all and EXPORT all???
original rom?
using Go Contact will do...
oxidising said:
I think the simplest way to backup contacts is to go the Contacts, or People on ICS, and press the menu button (bottom left on phone). From there go to import/export contacts, then it asks where you want to import/export them to. It creates a file on your phone storage that you can copy to your PC/new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It imports all my e-mail contacts from my Google account as well. How do I do it so that only people with phone numbers get imported?
pk1025 said:
It imports all my e-mail contacts from my Google account as well. How do I do it so that only people with phone numbers get imported?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anybody got a solution as to how I can prevent importing contacts from my SIM card whereby all my Google e-mail contacts get sucked in there too?
deleted
Download my phone explorer for android app and the my phone explorer program for your PC, connect by Wifi, USB or Bluetooth and make a backup of all your contacts, sim contacts, calendar entries etc.
I've been using this tool since 2006 (it was originally developed for Sony Ericsson phones) and it allowed me to switch from my Z710i to my W595 and from there to my Desire, back to the Z710i and then to the SGS+.
It saved me so much hassle and I did not hesitate to donate to its developer. It is a superb tool (yes, I really like. He does not pay me for this post).

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