Sudden unwanted change to SMS & phone number display

[Alex Ethridge]

This has never been this way until today. I looked at my list of recent PHONE calls and numbers were listed that had not called Exploring this, I found that every text message I had received a text message from was listed in my recent phone calls list.

Then I checked my text messages (I don't even use text as a rule, don't like that tiny keyboard) and every phone number listed in my contacts, over 2000, are listed in there the same as my contacts list is in the Phone list. Never before and I did not make any changes.

I do not want to see notices for text messages at all, ever, let alone in my list of recent PHONE calls and I do not want my 2000+ contacts showing in the text message program. Notices for text has never been enabled on my phone. I check them about three or four times a month, too much BS comes in from that service.

Why is all of this and how do I stop it?

 

[AugieTN]

It's hard to understand what you're saying, but it sounds like you have a virus to me.

 

[Alex Ethridge]

No, not a virus, probably some kind of BS update as I saw something about an update to the Messages program when I accessed it today. I also saw a big blue window urging me to start a grout chat.

To be clear, I do not want to see text notices when I access my RECENT CALLS in my phone screen.

I do not want to see my complete list of 2000+ phone numbers (Contacts) in my text messages.

 

[Dannydet]

Well, I'd tell you to do a factory reset, but you've already stated you don't want to go down that path...
Being proactive instead of reactive will help you in the long run.
Fix your Google account, Gmail, in order to get your device back to a shiny and new state.
I'd tell you to back up your contacts, using Google contacts, so you can restore everything and not lose your 2000 contacts.
What messaging app are you using?
Clear the cache for it, along with your Contacts app. Get familiar with your device and the apps you use.
Otherwise your on a slippery slope....

 

[Alex Ethridge]

I don't do gmail on the phone. I don't use the cloud for anything. All the user-created, important data is backed up on my desktop computer except for the blocked text numbers and I don't know if that is even possible to back up. I have a google account but use it only for Play Store.

The messaging app is whatever came on the phone and since I don't text, I don't know anything about it other than that.

 

[Hadron]

When you say all of your phone contacts show in your message app where do they show? If you try to start a new message, as opposed to replying to an existing one, then it should offer you all contacts (unless you have set it to e.g. only show contacts with phone numbers. But if you look at the list of message "conversations" there should only be entries there for people you have exchanged messages with, not thousands of conversations with no messages. So what's going on and whether it's a problem depends on what exactly you are seeing.

For problems with a message app the obvious solution is to use a different one (built-in apps tend not to be very good in my opinion). But you could try clearing data on the message app: the app is just a front-end, SMS and MMS are not stored in it (they are owned by a separate system message storage app) so you can clear data on an SMS app without losing the messages. Note, this is true for SMS and MMS, is not true for other types of messages (WhatsApp, Messenger, Signal, Telegram, etc) which are their own apps and do store their own messages. And I don't know about RCS messages (sometimes called "Chat" by apps that support that) as I don't know anybody who uses that and have never turned it on myself.

Never heard of message appearing in recent calls, and don't have such an option in my s21. But I'd check your phone app's settings as well as your message app's.

 

[Alex Ethridge]

OK, the image is a screen shot of recent PHONE calls. Kenneth Voss is a text message, not a phone call. both the 222669 are text messages, not phone calls. Both AAA are PHONE calls. Both Debbie are phone calls. Until a few hours ago, texts never appeared in the same list with with recent PHONE calls. All text messages have already been deleted, but they still appear in my recent phone calls list.

Oh well, I just now went to make a screen shot illustrating how my entire contacts list started just below the texts I had received and the contacts are no longer there. Let's just hope it stays fixed.

Start a new message? I've never done that but I might some day. I can count on my fingers and toes how many I've ever answered.

I've checked all the settings I know to check and I can't find anything that seems related to show or not show message alerts in my recent calls list. To be clear, the text message itself cannot be accessed directly from the list of recent calls. I have to go to the message program to actually read them.

I'll be back in a few minutes with the image; I just noticed something wrong with it.

 

[Alex Ethridge]

Here's the image

 

[Hadron]

Well at least the most illogical change has gone - fingers crossed!

As for texts in the call log, I can imagine that if they were written to the call log they would show up, so we have to assume that the message app is doing that. A quick glance at Settings > Apps > Messages on my s21 shows that Samsung's Messages app does request call log access. So maybe go there and change the app permissions to deny it access to the call log (I don't use this app, but still denied it that permission anyway). If that is the cause doing this should stop new texts being added to the call log, though those already added will remain.

 

[Alex Ethridge]

Thanks for the info. I looked at permissions and found all allowed. I'm guessing those settings are newly changed and an update is the culprit as the problem just started yesterday. Additionally, I saw something about an update on the first access yesterday to Messages.

I disabled Call Logs, Contacts, Location and Phone.