• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

SIM with multiple numbers per contact

tigris666

Lurker
Aug 15, 2010
4
0
G'day guys,

On my nokia I had multiple numbers for each contact (e.g. home + mobile), and before transfer I did the standard "copy numbers to sim". However only 1 number shows up on android (htc desire).

I've read that SIM cards have a deficiency that they can only store 1 number per contact. I find it odd that the nokia software wouldn't have warned me of this when doing the copy to sim function. In any case, I believe this to be wrong, as I do a factory reset of my nokia and my old motorola and when I plug the SIM in, I see all the numbers.

This thread in the htc desire section would seem to backup my investigations -> (http://androidforums.com/htc-desire/127698-extracting-contact-multiple-numbers-sim.html)

I don't however see an answer in that thread, so given it's not really a desire specific issue, but seems to be more at the android level, I figured i'd bring it up in a more general forum. Does anyone have any ideas? I know i could install all the nokia crap and do a proper sync to get all my numbers into google or something. But I don't really want all my phone numbers in google, and I don't really want nokia bloatware on my PC either.
 
They are right about SIM cards though. They can only hold one number per contact. I had the same problem when I switched from my RAZR to my Nokia E63 a year or so ago.

If you don't want them going through Google, and you don't want to use the Nokia software, your only option is to enter them manually. I personally just have all my contacts in Gmail, since I use a CDMA phone, so that's the only way to back them up if my phone would ever die.
 
Upvote 0
Upvote 0

From the link you gave:

"A Universal Subscriber Identity Module is an application for UMTS mobile telephony running on a UICC smart card which is inserted in a 3G mobile phone. There is a common misconception to call the UICC itself a USIM, but the USIM is merely a logical entity on the physical card.
It stores user subscriber information, authentication information and provides storage space for text messages and phone book contacts. The phone book on a UICC has been greatly enhanced."

I.e. most people running 3g (and all running 4g) will have a UICC smart card, not a SIM card (although they look the exactly the same). The exception here would be those on the iphone 4 who have a micro SIM.


From a google search:

Smart cards, tokens, security and ... - Google Books

"The UICC therefore allows multi application management, where the USIM can be one of them. The USIM application as another application has an enhanced phonebook supporting one name with multiple numbers assigned."
 
Upvote 0
From the link you gave:

"A Universal Subscriber Identity Module is an application for UMTS mobile telephony running on a UICC smart card which is inserted in a 3G mobile phone. There is a common misconception to call the UICC itself a USIM, but the USIM is merely a logical entity on the physical card.
It stores user subscriber information, authentication information and provides storage space for text messages and phone book contacts. The phone book on a UICC has been greatly enhanced."

I.e. most people running 3g (and all running 4g) will have a UICC smart card, not a SIM card (although they look the exactly the same). The exception here would be those on the iphone 4 who have a micro SIM.


From a google search:

Smart cards, tokens, security and ... - Google Books

"The UICC therefore allows multi application management, where the USIM can be one of them. The USIM application as another application has an enhanced phonebook supporting one name with multiple numbers assigned."
Ah, I see. Didn't read the whole thing. Yeah, my old provider gave us regular plain ol' SIM cards, so they weren't capable of doing this.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones