[cyberwolf42]

I’ve always had a very annoying problem with every Blackberry (7100?, 8700c, and now 8320) I’ve owned in the past few years. (That seems to work correctly on every other phone I've had... Nokia, Motorola, etc...)

The problem is that while the incoming caller’s phone number (caller ID) always shows up on my phone, more often than not their name does not. I am referring only to people who are in my address book. For some reason most of the time the phone does not correctly match the incoming number to the number that is stored in my address book. It is probably because of how I store the numbers, but I’ve done some testing and can not figure out the right way to store them.

Should I be using hyphens? (i.e. 234-567-8901)

Do I need a leading “one”? (i.e. 1-234-567-8901)

Do I need a leading “plus one’? Can I use it anyways? (i.e. +1-234-567-8901)

(Note: I like using the +1 because then my address book is correct for when I travel internationally…)

Same above questions go for using “spaces” instead of hyphens? (i.e. 123 456 7890)

Should I be using no special characters? (i.e. 2345678901) (or 12345678901?)

I’ve noticed that when people call me from THE SAME NUMBER, it gets displayed on my phone differently. Sometimes it shows up with hyphens, sometimes without, sometimes with a +1, sometimes without, sometimes with a 1, sometimes without… So it isn’t just a matter of me storing the number as it shows up on my phone, because sometimes it shows up differently. (probably based on which network they’re calling from/through).

So… how do I get the name to show up? What’s the right way to store the numbers in my address book so the lookup works properly? (And so I can still make calls while I'm in a different country without having to put in 001 or +1 on each individual call?)

Thanks in advance!!!

[Prosoundguy]

I am not sure about the 8320 but some of the GSM phones I have dealt with in the past it depends on where the contact is stored i.e. SIM card or Phone. You might be able to tell the phone to use one or the other for in coming calls, or make sure your contacts are synced between the SIM and the Phone.

Just a shot.

[cyberwolf42]

Originally Posted by Prosoundguy

I am not sure about the 8320 but some of the GSM phones I have dealt with in the past it depends on where the contact is stored i.e. SIM card or Phone. You might be able to tell the phone to use one or the other for in coming calls, or make sure your contacts are synced between the SIM and the Phone.

Just a shot.

I don't really want to store everyone twice... And even if I could, I don't believe you can tell the BB to store everyone in both places. Since the BB makes use of a more complicated database than the SIM card supports I believe my contacts are being stored in the BB.

A good thought, however, not a solution that I'm willing to consider. But, thanks again!

Anyone else have any ideas?

[CanuckBB]

I store mine as either +1 (xxx) xxx-xxxx or +1 xxx-xxx-xxxx and I never had a problem with the display.

[JSanders]

The format (1234567890 or 123-456-7890 or (123)456-7890) doesn't matter.

The leading numbers do matter. Don't place the 1+ in the Address Book, place it in the proper place in Smart Dialing (Phone Dialer screen > options Smart Dialing) as well as your area code.

Also make sure Content Protect is disabled on the Address Book (Options > Security Options > General Settings > Content Protection > Include Address Book = NO).

Also further detail here:
My Caller ID name/number do not show when I get a call or SMS - BlackBerryFAQ


Good luck.