Message sender not being recognised - Help!

[gcpd68]

Hello.

Both my son and daughter have a Samsung A20 (Android V9, One UI Version 1.1). They have each other's contact info in each other's Google address books.

When my son messages my daughter, his identity information is displayed as you'd expect to see it (just like in my daughter's address book).

When my daughter messages my son, only her phone number (not her name and thumbnail) is displayed despite it being identical to that in his address book.

When my daughter messages me, her identity information is displayed as you'd expect to see it (just like in my address book).

The addresses in their respective address books look fine. I've deleted my daughter's information from my son's address book, had her send a message, add her as a contact but the phone number display does not change into her name as you'd expect.

I've done similar in my sons Google account - deleted my daughter and added her again. Sync'd the new entry to his phone and it still doesn't recognise messages from my daughter's phone.

I suspect it's something weird with my son's phone but I can't fix the issue.

I'd appreciate it if someone could help this frustrated Dad.

Thanks.

-S

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! When you say the phone number is identical to what's in his address book, does that include the presence or absence of a country code?

 

[gcpd68]

Thanks for your reply. The answer is that I've tried both with and without a country code but the displayed number (that shown by the SMS arrival notification) never shows a country code.

For clarity:
1) My daughter sends an SMS to my son, who does not have her as a contact.
2) My son gets notified of the arrived text and sees it's from a phone number (ie, not a contact).
3) My son adds her as a contact. After the add, I'd expect to see my daughters name (just added as a contact) in the list of received SMS but only my daughter's phone number remains.

Then:
4) My son replies to the SMS and my daughter receives it without issue.
5) My daughter replies.
6) My son is notified of an SMS but from my daughter's number, not my daughter (previously added as a contact) as if she wasn't added.

Other thing I tried:
* Deleted my daughter from my son's address book, re-adding manually
* Deleting and re-adding my daughters information in my son's contacts at Google
* Sending my daughters contact card to my son to be added into his address book (nope - defaults back to her number only)

I'm getting close to a KO loss...

 

[gcpd68]

Oh, one last thing I tried...

I added my daughter as a contact in my son's phone (using her international format number), and then choosing the Text icon from the address book entry to start a new text.

The new text does not identify my daughter using her name, just her number.

Repeated the process on my own phone, daughter identified!


* frustrated *

Thanks.

-S

 

[mustang7757]

Oh, one last thing I tried...

I added my daughter as a contact in my son's phone (using her international format number), and then choosing the Text icon from the address book entry to start a new text.

The new text does not identify my daughter using her name, just her number.

Repeated the process on my own phone, daughter identified!


* frustrated *

Thanks.

-S

Hi, welcome !
You try to clear data, cache and force stop the contact app see if maybe a glitch on your son's phone

 

[gcpd68]

Thanks.

I tried that. Cleared data and cache from the 3 contact apps (including system). Went into Contacts and watched the contacts resync from Google. Chose my daughters contact record, pressed the Text icon and she's still not identified in the text (just her phone number).

Incidentally, if I choose to call her from that contact entry, it identifies her fine (shows contact picture and her name).

Weird.

-S

 

[mustang7757]

Thanks.

I tried that. Cleared data and cache from the 3 contact apps (including system). Went into Contacts and watched the contacts resync from Google. Chose my daughters contact record, pressed the Text icon and she's still not identified in the text (just her phone number).

Incidentally, if I choose to call her from that contact entry, it identifies her fine (shows contact picture and her name).

Weird.

-S

Definitely is strange , another thing to try is go to settings the accounts , remove your Gmail account and reinstall again , test that out .

 

[gcpd68]

OK...

Removed Google account from phone.
Observed no contacts on phone.
Observed all text messages become unidentified (that is, only see phone numbers for text messages).

Added the Google account back to the phone.
Observed all contacts (including my daughter).
Observed all text messages become identified (that is, now see contact names and thumbnails) EXCEPT for the message from my daughter.

Go into contacts, choose my daughter, choose Text, get NO thumbnail and NO name on the blank text message.
Send that message to my daughter, she receives it fine (so it's going to the right person).
She replies and my son's phone fails to identify her, despite the conversation being initiated from my daughter's contact card!

Frustrating.

 

[B. Diddy]

I think you already answered this, but just to be sure -- do all other contacts that send texts to our son's phone get identified properly?

 

[mustang7757]

OK...

Removed Google account from phone.
Observed no contacts on phone.
Observed all text messages become unidentified (that is, only see phone numbers for text messages).

Added the Google account back to the phone.
Observed all contacts (including my daughter).
Observed all text messages become identified (that is, now see contact names and thumbnails) EXCEPT for the message from my daughter.

Go into contacts, choose my daughter, choose Text, get NO thumbnail and NO name on the blank text message.
Send that message to my daughter, she receives it fine (so it's going to the right person).
She replies and my son's phone fails to identify her, despite the conversation being initiated from my daughter's contact card!

Frustrating.

This is strange , but something happened.I have 2 more things to try if they don't work possible concentrate on her contact card .

1. Reset app preference / go to settings>apps >3 dots upper right corner tap then scroll to reset app preference..this will undo any restrictions or changes done in any of the apps .

2. Reset settings/ settings>general managment> reset>reset settings ...this will undo any changes with settings in the phone and default to stock .

 

[gcpd68]

@B.Diddy: 68 of 70 work fine. Two are as I've described.

 

[gcpd68]

1. Reset app preference / go to settings>apps >3 dots upper right corner tap then scroll to reset app preference..this will undo any restrictions or changes done in any of the apps .

2. Reset settings/ settings>general managment> reset>reset settings ...this will undo any changes with settings in the phone and default to stock .

Thanks but it didn't work.

Re the Contact Card, I've set that up in Google, and allowed it to sync to my son's phone. Did the same for myself (Samsung J5 Pro) and my wife (Samsung S8) and they have no issue.

 

[mustang7757]

Thanks but it didn't work.

Re the Contact Card, I've set that up in Google, and allowed it to sync to my son's phone. Did the same for myself (Samsung J5 Pro) and my wife (Samsung S8) and they have no issue.

Under her contact card above it says the Google account it's being sync ? And in contact apps setting it shows sync current when u sync?