Texting Problems

[MikeC614]

I just got a Chinese smartphone, the THL W1+ (it has the MTK6577 CPU). Everything works fine except for texting. I can reply to texts fine, but if I try to send a text to a contact, I get an "invalid recipient" error (see attached picture). If I type in the number manually, however, it works fine. Other applications, like GO SMS and Handcent only work if I add the contact through their program; if I open up my contacts first, click on their name, and press send with GO SMS or Handcent, I get "invalid recipient."

I'm on AT&T in the US, too, and am using ICS 4.0.4.

Oh, and the phone is rooted, so any solution that requires root access is not a problem.

 

[Digital Controller]

First off Mike, welcome to the forums

I would make sure that the number is properly typed into the contact, containing all the number, plus even the country code for the (assuming United States) +1

Hope this helps

 

[MikeC614]

First off Mike, welcome to the forums

I would make sure that the number is properly typed into the contact, containing all the number, plus even the country code for the (assuming United States) +1

Hope this helps

I changed all my contacts from the format (xxx) xxx-xxxx to +1-xxx-xxx-xxxx, but it didn't fix anything.

 

[Digital Controller]

I changed all my contacts from the format (xxx) xxx-xxxx to +1-xxx-xxx-xxxx, but it didn't fix anything.

Have you rooted the device?

EDIT: Just saw it in the first post, have you tried finding a custom ROM to put on it? The issue could be that it still is on a China ROM.

 

[MikeC614]

Have you rooted the device?

EDIT: Just saw it in the first post, have you tried finding a custom ROM to put on it? The issue could be that it still is on a China ROM.

I haven't found any custom ROMs for this particular model.

 

[MikeC614]

Okay, I found a decent, but not perfect solution.

1) Download MoreLocale 2 from Google Play.
2) Open it, press the menu button, and select "Add Locale"
3) Label it any name you want. For language, keep "en", but for country, use United Kingdom (code "GB")
4) Enable the new locale you created.
5) For every new contact you create, make sure you add a 1 (if it's a US number) to the beginning of each number.

Now, for contacts you already have in your phone:

1) Download and install "Android Contacts Cleanup"
android-contacts-cleanup - A utility for cleaning-up contact data - Google Project Hosting
2) Input your country code and area code, and select the fourth format.
3) Let it redo all of your contacts.

If anyone has an idea how I can get texting to work in the preferred US number format, (xxx) xxx-xxxx, please let me know.

 

[Digital Controller]

So does everything work now? Or like you said, does texting still not work?

 

[MikeC614]

So does everything work now? Or like you said, does texting still not work?

I've tried it with a couple of contacts, and it works. It's just that the new number format (+1-xxxxxxxxxx) looks weird; I prefer (xxx) xxx-xxxx.