Contacts app missing "Other" Phone field

[Diabolis]

Hi,

Since the last app or UI update (not sure which but it was relatively recent), the Samsung Contacts app no longer shows the "Other" phone number field. I've noticed this on a number of S22 and S23 phones as well as S9 Tab tablets. It has what are IMO useless field categories like "Home Fax", "Pager", "Car", "MMS" and "Radio" - things that have not been in use for the last 20 years - and yet Samsung mysteriously decided to get rid of the one field that actually did have a meaningful description. This is a problem because many people use "Other" as a meaningful description for someone's phone number that does not fit in any of the other categories that are available.

The much bigger issue here is that I support large enterprise deployments (all of which use Microsoft Exchange for their email), and all contacts that have an "Other" phone number associated are no longer synced to the users' phones. There is no ability to remap fields (so that the "Other" phone numbers in Outlook & Exchange would show up under "Pager" or "Radio" on the phones for example), which in turn leads to users being unable to see or call someone's "Other" number. Manually going through tens of thousands of contacts for hundreds of users is obviously not an option.

Any suggestions? We do like the flexibility of Android, but if this doesn't get resolved ASAP, we will have no choice but to start deploying only iPhones, which as much as I hate, are definitely a lot easier to deploy and manage.

Thanks,
D.

[GaryB82]

In my contacts, I can change to other or make a custom name for the phone number

[Diabolis]

What version of the app and what OS are you running please?

[GaryB82]

6.1 i even have it still on my s22u

[Diabolis]

On the s22+ I am currently looking at, OneUI is at 6.0, Android 14 (Security patch level February 1st, 2024) and the Contacts app version is 15.0.46 . Another Tab S9 exhibiting the same issue that just got updated is running OneUI 6.1, Android 14 (Security patch level April 1st, 2024) and the Contacts app version is 15.1.85. Neither of them show the "Other" phone number field as an option.

[LongHiker]

@Diabolis My devices all show the "Other" field for phone number. 

• S23 Ultra 6.1 Android 14 Contacts 15.1.82
• Fold 5 6.1 Android 14 Contacts 15.1.82
• Tab S9+ 6.1 Android 14 Contacts 15.1.85 

Have you tried booting into safe mode and see if "Other" is available? If so, it points to a 3rd party app which you are running which is causing the issue. 

[Diabolis]

Thanks @GaryB82 and @LongHiker - experimenting with that now. Devices are tied to a MDM so running acommon set of apps and also connecting to an Exchange account... and seeing as both the S22+ and the S9 Tab exhibit exactly the same behaviour with different OneUI, OS security levels and Contact app versions, I am trying to eliminate all other factors one by one. Will post updates. 

[Diabolis]

Another interesting item of note is that going to Setting -> Apps -> Contacts app on all of the affected devices and then selecting "App details in store" results in an error "This content isn't compatible with your phone's operating system" before it redirects to the Galaxy store - so something is definitely wonky. The Contacts app version that I am currently looking at on an affected S22+ is 15.0.46. There is no option to update the Contacts app or even revert back to an older version.

[GaryB82]

This is from my S22U with 15.0.46

[titodedrz1128]

I understand your frustration, D! The removal of the "Other" phone number field in the Samsung Contacts app is causing issues for you and your enterprise deployments. I've summarized the key points:

* The "Other" field was useful for storing phone numbers that didn't fit other categories.
* Its removal has caused syncing issues with Microsoft Exchange, hiding "Other" numbers from users' phones.
* Remapping fields isn't possible, making it difficult to manage tens of thousands of contacts.
* This might lead you to consider deploying iPhones instead of Android devices.

I recommend the following:

1. Reach out to Samsung support and report this issue, providing detailed feedback and the impact on your enterprise deployments.
2. Explore alternative contact management apps that sync with Exchange and offer more customization options, like Google Contacts or Microsoft Outlook for Android.
3. Consider using a third-party app that can sync contacts and offer more flexibility, like Contacts+, Contact Manager, or DejaOffice.
4. If none of the above solutions work, you may want to evaluate other Android manufacturers that offer more customization options or consider iOS devices as a last resort.

Keep me updated on your progress, and I'll be happy to help you explore further solutions!