Unable to Edit SOME Contacts

[jephanie]

All of a sudden, I am unable to edit some of my contacts. I can't find any pattern, rhyme or reason as of yet. I tried to edit my son's contact and that is when I first ran into the force close of Contacts. It did it again when trying to edit my wife's. So after some testing of other contacts, I am suddenly able to edit my wife's. So I can rule out the possibility of it being limited to "family" contacts. I tried to edit assorted contacts and noticed that a handful of them will always force close the Contacts app. Some are friends, some are coworkers, some are people I haven't called/texted ever while others are those I call or text frequently.

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to attempt to fix this? Am I limited to (another) factory reset? Or is there some other trick to wipe the contacts and recover them from Google?

I sincerely appreciate any help anyone can provide!

 

[chuza]

Are they linked to Facebook contacts?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[zkSharks]

This can happen if the contacts are linked to an account that was not 'properly' removed from the phone, or when an application modifies contact entries in an incorrect fashion. Use the display options in the People app to figure out which contacts are linked to which account. If all contacts are linked to your Google account, but only some exhibit the issue, then the problem is related to something else -- i.e. a Facebook account or other application which interacts with your contacts. If not all of the contacts are linked to your Google account, try to find a connection. You can use the tools at Google Contacts to export/backup and otherwise manage your contacts.

Twice in the past, I've done the following:

Export a CSV (comma-seperated value) file from Google Contacts.
Edit the CSV in Excel to remove unnecessary/unwanted fields, correct errors or abnormalities, unify formatting, and add missing contacts.
Delete all contacts on the Google Contacts page, and allow brief period for changes to propagate to devices.
Import the modified CSV file to Google Contacts.​

 

[jephanie]

This can happen if the contacts are linked to an account that was not 'properly' removed from the phone, or when an application modifies contact entries in an incorrect fashion. Use the display options in the People app to figure out which contacts are linked to which account. If all contacts are linked to your Google account, but only some exhibit the issue, then the problem is related to something else -- i.e. a Facebook account or other application which interacts with your contacts. If not all of the contacts are linked to your Google account, try to find a connection. You can use the tools at Google Contacts to export/backup and otherwise manage your contacts.

Twice in the past, I've done the following:

Export a CSV (comma-seperated value) file from Google Contacts.
Edit the CSV in Excel to remove unnecessary/unwanted fields, correct errors or abnormalities, unify formatting, and add missing contacts.
Delete all contacts on the Google Contacts page, and allow brief period for changes to propagate to devices.
Import the modified CSV file to Google Contacts.​

I exported to vcf file and reviewed in Excel and couldn't find anything that appeared to be an anomaly. I'm wondering if it is something Haxsync related or if it is just a corrupt Contact thingy.

I really don't want to deal with the hassle of another reset but I suppose it might be the only "easy" fix. Grrrrr

 

[zkSharks]

I exported to vcf file and reviewed in Excel and couldn't find anything that appeared to be an anomaly. I'm wondering if it is something Haxsync related or if it is just a corrupt Contact thingy.

I really don't want to deal with the hassle of another reset but I suppose it might be the only "easy" fix. Grrrrr

It's certainly possible that Haxsync is involved. Any number of random circumstances could have caused some sort of improper formatting in the contact entry. My advice would be to uninstall Haxsync, and remove all of your Google contacts. This will remove all contacts from the phone. You could do a reset just to be sure. Then re-import your contacts from the file, hoping that the issue does not follow the file you exported. At this point, let the contacts propagate to your phone and then check to see if the issue persists. If it does persist, we'll need to do some more work to get this sorted out. If it does not, install Haxsync and check again.

Are you sure you exported to a VCF file? To the best of my knowledge, Excel does not support VCF files. I use CSV because it's a simple comma-delimited file, and is human-readable. No purpose-made application is required to view or edit it (whereas a CSV can be viewed in a simple text editor).

 

[jephanie]

Are you sure you exported to a VCF file? To the best of my knowledge, Excel does not support VCF files. I use CSV because it's a simple comma-delimited file, and is human-readable. No purpose-made application is required to view or edit it (whereas a CSV can be viewed in a simple text editor).

I found the vcf file in the root directory of the phone after exporting the contacts (export did not specify file type). Excel does not natively support that format but if you run Excel then open (view "all files") you can view and edit from there.

 

[zkSharks]

I found the vcf file in the root directory of the phone after exporting the contacts (export did not specify file type). Excel does not natively support that format but if you run Excel then open (view "all files") you can view and edit from there.

Ah. I was referring to exporting via Google Contacts. If your issue is caused by a third-party app, the problem may or may not have propagated to the Google Contacts system, but if the problem was caused by some sort of accounts conflict, removal, or alteration, then the offending data will have been left on the client side (your phone), and is unlikely to be synchronized to Google Contacts. Because of this, the file you exported on the phone is mirror of all contacts data on the device. It may very well contain the problematic data/contact entries, assuming that's the case here. You'll have better luck getting a clean, issue-free version of your contacts via the Google Contacts online interface.

For the so inclined, here's a link to the ContactsContract provider in Android. It is technical developer documentation, but for those interested in such things, it can provide an enlightening -- though somewhat complex -- understanding of how contact data works in Android.

 

[biggbrother2]

I have seen this issue as well and I am using Haxsync also, I have two contacts in my Starred list that refuse to even open, never mind edit them. When ever I click those particular contacts (my mother and stepmother ironically lol) the Contacts app force closes immediately. So I have to manually dial their numbers. Their contact info still propagates in all other functions of the phone (i.e. sending a sms, showing their photo when dialing, etc).

I have considered just deleting them and re-entering them again to see if that works.

 

[zkSharks]

I have seen this issue as well and I am using Haxsync also, I have two contacts in my Starred list that refuse to even open, never mind edit them. When ever I click those particular contacts (my mother and stepmother ironically lol) the Contacts app force closes immediately. So I have to manually dial their numbers. Their contact info still propagates in all other functions of the phone (i.e. sending a sms, showing their photo when dialing, etc).

I have considered just deleting them and re-entering them again to see if that works.

I'd do that if I were you, but consider downloading the raw data via Google Contacts to see if anything there is out of order. The issue could potentially be in that data.

 

[jephanie]

Okay, so everything fails to work thus far. How can I delete all my contacts on the phone? I can reload them from Google but am unsure of how to delete from the phone to try a fresh load. Do I delete the data in the Apps menu for the Contacts app?

 

[jephanie]

SOLUTION: Out of desperation (before a reset), I deleted the data stored in the Contacts Storage app. I then accessed my Contacts app and everything seemed to work just fine again. A few inconsistencies with contact updates were there but that is a much easier fix than a full phone reset.

I appreciate the suggestions and advice given on this thread!

 

[zkSharks]

SOLUTION: Out of desperation (before a reset), I deleted the data stored in the Contacts Storage app. I then accessed my Contacts app and everything seemed to work just fine again. A few inconsistencies with contact updates were there but that is a much easier fix than a full phone reset.

I appreciate the suggestions and advice given on this thread!

Good to hear, thanks for responding with the fix!

 

[Neale Partington]

I was able to edit my contacts online at your Google Contacts link, thank you. It is a nuisance to have to go there to do that. The inability to edit happened after a recent OS upgrade (I am currently Android 6.0.1 on a Galaxy S6, but it was 2 or more upgrades ago it happened). Even contacts I manually entered on my phone could not be edited after saving. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to which contacts could/couldn't be edited. Most recently it was a contact put into my phone from LinkedIn. I edited it online at contacts.google.com, which immediately showed up on my phone, but still cannot edit on the phone.

A couple of people at work with the S6, same OS version, aren't having the trouble. I wonder if it could be to do with the fact my phone security is enforced by my employer, and they don't use their phones for work. But, again, it did work until a couple of months ago.