I hate the phone (dialler) app ... or am I using it wrongly? (several related questions)

[rb_stern]

Hi,

I just switched from an Iphone to a Nexus 5, which I love, but ... Here are the issues I hate on the phone (dialler)-

-- When I use the dialler to call a number, a list of possible numbers comes up, not necessarily in the order I most frequently use them (e.g. Joe Blow home, office, mobile, fax are often in the wrong order). I have tried going into People and making the right one the default but it doesn't change anything.

-- When I bring up a number to dial, at the bottom of the page there appears a list of Nearby Places, which are usually irrelevant and not nearby at all. How can I get rid of them.

--- If I dial my own home, (in my own name, under Home), one of the unwanted options is an old office fax number I haven't used for years. It's not listed in any of the options in People, but always appears as one of the options when I search for my home number in the dialler. How do I delete it?

--- I have set widgets for frequently called numbers on my home screen, but surely there should be a short cut to these from within the dialler app?

--- I looked at an alternative dialler app, called ExDialler, in the Play store, to see if it would get around these issues, but I don't see how it differs from the native dialler. Anyone know if it does?

Thanks for any answers

Richard

 

[dancing-bass]

the dialer in 4.4 is certainly different, I'm slowly adjusting -- for me its much less of an issue as I generally receive more calls then I make! Check out Contacts+. it should at least make your dial pad a little more what you're used to from the iPhone. It will also allow you to set speed dials (long press on a number) for contacts you need to phone often.

As for old numbers showing up, make sure they're not saved on your SIM card somehow. Also go into the people app and make sure the number is cleared from there. You can mark certain contacts as "starred" and have these show up above your regular (non-starred) contacts.

It does take some tinkering to get everything set up, but I guess that's the pro/con of Android. The pro is you can have it set pretty much how you want it - it just might take some time to find the right app and settings to get it exactly how you want. The con is exactly that. It takes some setting up and tinkering if you're not happy with how it comes out of the box, and not everyone wants to do that or has the time to play with settings.

Hopefully you can find something that works for you

 

[rb_stern]

the dialer in 4.4 is certainly different, I'm slowly adjusting -- for me its much less of an issue as I generally receive more calls then I make! Check out Contacts+. it should at least make your dial pad a little more what you're used to from the iPhone. It will also allow you to set speed dials (long press on a number) for contacts you need to phone often.

As for old numbers showing up, make sure they're not saved on your SIM card somehow. Also go into the people app and make sure the number is cleared from there. You can mark certain contacts as "starred" and have these show up above your regular (non-starred) contacts.

It does take some tinkering to get everything set up, but I guess that's the pro/con of Android. The pro is you can have it set pretty much how you want it - it just might take some time to find the right app and settings to get it exactly how you want. The con is exactly that. It takes some setting up and tinkering if you're not happy with how it comes out of the box, and not everyone wants to do that or has the time to play with settings.

Hopefully you can find something that works for you

Thanks for the detailed answer. I think I'm just being used to this dialer. I'm still finding that for me the best solution is to have widgets for frequently called numbers on the home screen, or to use the Google voice command.

 

[mrsmumbles]

What surprised me is that there seems to be no way to set speed dial numbers in the N5 dialer. Hmph.

Sent from my LG-LG870 using Tapatalk 2

 

[dancing-bass]

What surprised me is that there seems to be no way to set speed dial numbers in the N5 dialer. Hmph.

Sadly the dialer for stock Android seems far more crippled then almost every dumbphone I've ever owned. I was absolutely shocked that before JB the stock dialer didn't even support T9 dialing, and that speed dial STILL isn't native to the stock dialer. Yes, there are plenty of apps to solve that problem, but it's such a basic thing I'm very surprised Google has overlooked it this long. I mean, it's still a phone.....

 

[mrsmumbles]

Sadly the dialer for stock Android seems far more crippled then almost every dumbphone I've ever owned. I was absolutely shocked that before JB the stock dialer didn't even support T9 dialing, and that speed dial STILL isn't native to the stock dialer. Yes, there are plenty of apps to solve that problem, but it's such a basic thing I'm very surprised Google has overlooked it this long. I mean, it's still a phone.....

I know. It's strange and baffling. I just assumed it could be done until I tried it. I can put the widgets on for frequently called numbers but I'd rather not add another screen. :-/

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 2

 

[MaCline]

I know. It's strange and baffling. I just assumed it could be done until I tried it. I can put the widgets on for frequently called numbers but I'd rather not add another screen. :-/

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 2

 

[MaCline]

Actually, the dialer use to have speed dials before Ice Cream Sandwich. That update did away with the speed dials. I install Speed Dialer Classic which lets you do it just the way you used to by long pressing the number.

 

[mrsmumbles]

Good to know. The KitKat dialer does keep 4 or 5 of my frequently called contacts right on the dialer screen so that's nice.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 2

 

[anon(257429)]

You have to save them as Favorites in people or Starred. Then your contacts will show in Favorites

 

[mrsmumbles]

They save for me right next to the keypad so it's just like speed dial (except without forgetting which number I assigned them). It's pretty good, now that I'm using it.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Carol McG]

I switched from a DroidX and I am having trouble with a 3 step dialing,
The Galaxy s4 requires
Open phone
Choose contact
Choose number
Hit green phone icon
I have 200 contacts that I used on a regular basis so assigning speed dials is not a viable option.

 

[zorak950]

I like the new dialer, but it's a dialer for a new generation of users. People married to ideas about how a phone used to work will find it inconvenient and baffling. You have to go in with an open mind and use it the way it's meant to be used rather than trying to use it like the dial pads of yesteryear.

 

[ChromeJob]

I switched from a DroidX and I am having trouble with a 3 step dialing,
The Galaxy s4 requires
Open phone
Choose contact
Choose number
Hit green phone icon
I have 200 contacts that I used on a regular basis so assigning speed dials is not a viable option.

Well, the search function will bring them up relatively quickly. Another option is perform voice search e.g. "Call [name] [mobile|home|work]."

With Kit Kat's Google Now launcher, "OK Google" fires up voice search immediately. Otherwise, swipe up from home, then say "OK Google" in Google now.

I like the new dialer, but it's a dialer for a new generation of users. People married to ideas about how a phone used to work will find it inconvenient and baffling. You have to go in with an open mind and use it the way it's meant to be used rather than trying to use it like the dial pads of yesteryear.

Not really practical advice for all users. Some users just adapt to the new software UI du jour. Others need things to be relatively consistent, or at least backward-compatible, because we have more important things in life than relearning how to dial a handheld phone.

 

[zorak950]

Not really practical advice for all users. Some users just adapt to the new software UI du jour. Others need things to be relatively consistent, or at least backward-compatible, because we have more important things in life than relearning how to dial a handheld phone.

That's progress. We don't have to like it. Anyway, this is Android we're talking about. You can always use a different dialer if you can't deal with the stock one.

 

[ChromeJob]

Agreed. I liked Dialer One for a year or so, then the new 4.4. dialer appealed to me. OP would probably like Dialer One​.