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Google Contacts

BigRedGonzo

BigRedGonzo

Android Expert
OK guys, put your thinking caps on and lend a hand. This is driving me crazy!!

I have about 340 contacts on my phone, they are all sync'd with Google. I have one contact that "misbehaves". The contact IS a google contact. I have deleted this contact multiple times and re-entered it. I have tried entering the contact as a phone contact. The same thing happens every time. If I send a text to this contact or call them, instead of their name popping up, all I get is their mobile phone number. When filling out their address in the messaging app, I type in the first few letters of their name and the name pops up just like it does for any other contact, but as soon as the addressee field looses focus, it changes the name back to a phone number. Same thing with a phone call, I can start typing out their name with the keypad and voila, the name pops up, but when I hit connect, it turns back into a phone number. When I get a call from them, all I see is a phone number.

I have tested this with several contacts on my list and no other ones do this. I have even texted some people I haven't talked to in ages, just to see if anybody else's name/number exhibit that behavior, but none do.

Like I said, I know for absolute sure, the contact is a google contact. I have deleted it many times and tried again. I have looked at the information online on google, just to see if its any different and I can't see any difference, but every time I use the contact, it displays the number instead of the name. I won't die if I can't fix it, but it could cause mental health issues. Please help.

Thanks in advance,
 
There aren't any special characters in the name?

Just trying to guess what might be different which could cause problems displaying the name. Nothing to base that guess on though, just "what might cause an app to misbehave?".
 
As per what Hadron says, have you 'cut and pasted' the contact or entered it manually, one character at a time? I ask because the 'cut and paste' will keep any dodgy characters about the place ....

If this 'contact' rings your phone, is the number that appears EXACTLY the same as you have stored?

Dave
 
Thanks for the interest guys. I have typed in the contact each time I have tried. There are no special characters in the name. The number displayed when they message me is identical (except punctuation) as the number I have in my contact list. When you enter a number here in the States the format that you see most often is (111) 222-3333. When you enter the number in Google Contacts, you enter 1112223333 and it displays (111) 222-3333. When I get a message from this person, the number shows as 1112223333. This is really starting to bug me since none of my other contacts exhibit this behavior.

If you have any ideas, let me know.
 
It would seem that the dialer isn't seeing the contact when ringing but a 'search' is able to see all of your contacts. That implies to me that this "dodgy" contact is in some grouping that isn't being searched on incoming calls. Can't think of any particular reason but all I can suggest is going over everything again in minute detail.

How does the contact appear within your gmail account (assuming you're sync'ing it)?
 
The contact appear fine in my Google Account. Odd thing is when I search for a contact, I begin typing the name and it pops up as the name, but when I select it and the addressee field loses focus, then it reverts to the phone number. On my S4, I have three options to enter contacts, Google, Phone and SIM. I have checked all of these areas to see if there is another entry for that contact in another area, but there isn't. I am truly at a loss about this. If you can think of anything, let me know.
 
Not in any special contact group?

Have you tried putting the punctuation into the number explicitly, e.g. enter it as 111-222-3333? Really just flailing around for a workaround and latching onto any symptoms here.

(Most of my contacts are punctuated by hand, because bloody Google otherwise splits them up into a US-like format, despite knowing my localisation. Hey Google, one programmer for one day could fix this, you know).
 
Thanks Hadron,

I've tried that also. I am beginning to think that maybe it has something to do with Caller ID and what they are broadcasting from their end. I do have that particular person in a group with about 7 other people, I took them out and got them to send me a text and same old stuff. I'd love to know the answer, but I'm not gonna die if I don't find out. But it just bothers me.
 
higge said:
A real long shot but you might have that Number twice in your contact area. Not the name but the number. Could that be?
Click to expand...

HIGGE, YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I never searched for the number. I sorted the list by first name and last name and looked for Blank entries, but none were there. I never searched for the phone number. Just tried that and there was a contact with nothing in it but that phone number, no name, nothing else, just the phone number. I deleted it and the name is now showing up on all the texts and on all the call logs. I will sleep better tonight. Thank you.

Hadron, et al, thanks also for your help. This forum is great.
 
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