Caller ID problem with incoming international calls on Verizon

[ThomasJL]

There is a major bug in the Verizon iPhone 4:

When someone (whose name and phone number is in my contact list) calls me from overseas, the caller ID only displays their number, without the name I assigned to that number in my contact list. Basically, the person's name that I assigned to them is never displayed. The only thing that is displayed is their country code and phone number.

Also, when their country code and phone number is displayed, there is no "+" displayed. There is no "011" displayed, either. In my contact list, all my international friends' numbers are entered with a "+" before the country code. (For dialing internationally, people have a choice of either using a "+" or "011" immediately before the country code.)

This is a major problem, as the only way one can definitely know who is calling from overseas is if he has the exact number memorized. The person's name is not displayed, even though that number is linked to it.

Keep in mind that on my Verizon iPhone 4, I never manually entered any names and numbers into my contact list, since I transferred all the information over from the backup of my original first generation iPhone. I used my original first generation iPhone with T-Mobile, and whenever someone called me from overseas, if their number was in my contact list, the name I assigned to them would always appear on the caller ID.

Has anyone else here experienced this? If so, please post about your experiences.

 

[franek]

Hi Thomas,

I am not sure if this issue exists only for Verizon iPhones.
I have the same issue here in Europe.
Got the iPhone last friday, upgraded OS to latest release, migrated contacts from Outlook an corporate contacts using SyncML.
Now I am abroad and I have the same issue. Whenever I receive some call, contact name is not displayed but only caller number although I have the same number assigned to existing contact with + and all other digits needed (number displayed when receiving the call is completely the same as the one in my contact list.

 

[franek]

Hi Thomas,

I am not sure if this issue exists only for Verizon iPhones.
I have the same issue here in Europe.
Got the iPhone last friday, upgraded OS to latest release, migrated contacts from Outlook an corporate contacts using SyncML.
Now I am abroad and I have the same issue. Whenever I receive some call, contact name is not displayed but only caller number although I have the same number assigned to existing contact with + and all other digits needed (number displayed when receiving the call is completely the same as the one in my contact list.

just one additional comment....
strange thing is that later when I check recent calls (log), there I can see contact name.
Is this the same on your iPhone??

 

[ThomasJL]

Hi franek,

just one additional comment....
strange thing is that later when I check recent calls (log), there I can see contact name.
Is this the same on your iPhone??

No. After an international caller (whose name and number is in my contact list) has called me, the recent call log just shows the number, excluding a "+" or "011" that should indicate the call is from abroad. No name is displayed.

 

[ThomasJL]

I called AppleCare today, and the woman who helped me out allegedly spoke to one of the engineers, and the engineer did not know how to fix this problem.

If any of you are having the problem described in the OP in this thread, please post about it here. Thanks!

 

[ThomasJL]

Am I the only American who recieves international calls?

So, am I the only Verizon iPhone 4 user who receives international calls???

If you are a Verizon iPhone 4 user who receives international calls, please post to this thread.

 

[Nermal]

Just out of interest, what happens if you change the stored number to have the 011 prefix? With my last CDMA phone I had to use "00" (the international dialling code here) instead of + or I had the same issue, although that wasn't with an iPhone.

 

[ThomasJL]

Just out of interest, what happens if you change the stored number to have the 011 prefix? With my last CDMA phone I had to use "00" (the international dialling code here) instead of + or I had the same issue, although that wasn't with an iPhone.

Even if you change the "+" in the stored number to "011", the exact same problem happens.

 

[ThomasJL]

Do any of you Verizon iPhone users here receive international calls? If so, do you have the same problem as described in the first post in this thread?

 

[ThomasJL]

Only visual voicemail screen displays numbers correctly

International numbers and international contact names both display correctly only on the visual voicemail screen. However, on the caller ID and the "Recents" screen, international numbers display incorrectly as described in the first post in this thread.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Same issue with both AT&T and VZW iPhone 4s...must be something up with iOS.

 

[kaifs]

no problems as such with at&t IOS4.2.1 - in the phone book calls are formatted as 011 xx xxx xxx-xxxx, however I may be get 1 incoming call from a cell or landline in Europe nowdays.... with unlimited data plan+my3G+skype = I have a free international plan on the go considering all my family and friends have skype now too.... since I am the only iphone with international calls coming in here (now that I am typing this, I probably should remove $4mo WoldConnect international plan from my account ), can't comment on IOS 4.3.2. I use ContactsXL for my contacts management, not sure if it makes any difference or not.

 

[blevins321]

Apple Feedback

All of you, submit a report to Apple HERE. It's their bug-reporting site

You could include a link back to this thread, too. That way they can see the many nuances associated with this issue.

 

[ThomasJL]

All of you, submit a report to Apple HERE. It's their bug-reporting site

You could include a link back to this thread, too. That way they can see the many nuances associated with this issue.

Thanks, blevins321. Your advice is good.

I am surprised that so many Americans never receive international calls. That must be the reason that this issue has existed ever since the Verizon iPhone 4 came out and Apple still hasn't fixed it.

 

[ThomasJL]

SMS messages' caller ID works fine

Incoming international SMS messages display the international number fine. If an international number linked to a name in your contact list sends you an SMS, the contact's name will display correctly.

None of the above is true for incoming international calls, though. See the first post in this thread for more details.

 

[Mengels7]

Thanks, blevins321. Your advice is good.

I am surprised that so many Americans never receive international calls. That must be the reason that this issue has existed ever since the Verizon iPhone 4 came out and Apple still hasn't fixed it.

There were a couple people who pointed out it's not a Verizon issue, it's an iOS one, as GSM iPhones do it as well apparently.

 

[ThomasJL]

1st Gen. iPhone on T-Mobile caller ID worked perfectly

There were a couple people who pointed out it's not a Verizon issue, it's an iOS one, as GSM iPhones do it as well apparently.

Prior to buying a Verizon iPhone 4, I used an unlocked first generation GSM iPhone with T-Mobile USA. The first generation GSM iPhone did not have the problem that is being talked about in this thread. The first generation GSM iPhone displayed incoming international numbers perfectly. There was always a "+" preceding the number. If the number was stored under a name in my contacts list, the name would appear on the Caller ID whenever one of them called.

 

[jonmars]

@kaifs: Hi, I am the dev of ContactsXL. I only use the built-in address book and functions.

 

[ThomasJL]

Same issue with both AT&T and VZW iPhone 4s...must be something up with iOS.

Are there any other AT&T iPhone 4 users reading this thread who can confirm whether or not their AT&T iPhone 4 has this same issue?

 

[ThomasJL]

iOS version

The iOS version I am using is 4.2.8 (8E401).

 

[ThomasJL]

iOS version update

The iOS version I am using is 4.2.8 (8E401).

I installed the latest CDMA iOS version 4.2.10 (8E600) and am still experiencing the same Caller ID problem with incoming international calls.

 

[ThomasJL]

Posts about this problem on another forum

Here is a link to a thread on the TechArena forum about the same Caller ID problem with incoming international calls on Verizon:

http://forums.techarena.in/portable-devices/1414608.htm

 

[ThomasJL]

Same problem using a Verizon Samsung phone

There were a couple people who pointed out it's not a Verizon issue, it's an iOS one, as GSM iPhones do it as well apparently.

You are mistaken on all your three points. It is a Verizon issue, it's not an iOS one, and GSM iPhones do not do it as well.

I recently tried an experiment to see if this Caller ID problem with incoming international calls exists on a Verizon phone other than the iPhone. It does:

My mom, who lives in the USA, has a simple Samsung cell phone (i.e., not a smartphone) on Verizon. I borrowed her phone and asked a friend of mine in Japan to call her number. When my friend in Japan called my mom's Samsung cell phone on Verizon, the exact same Caller ID problem happened. (I describe the Caller ID problem in detail in the very first post in this thread.)

So, this seems like a problem with all Verizon phones, not just the Verizon iPhone.

From 2001-2011, when I used GSM cell phones with three different American carriers (Pacific Bell Wireless, Cingular Wireless, and T-Mobile USA) with several different cell phone models, I never experienced this Caller ID problem when receiving international calls. Even 10 years ago, in 2001, I never experienced this Caller ID problem on a GSM carrier.

Folks, I'm not asking too much to have Verizon display an international caller's number properly on the Caller ID. This isn't some new technology. 1900 MHz GSM service has existed in the USA since 1995, and even back then, the GSM carriers did not have problems displaying an incoming international call's Caller ID properly. That's 16 years ago. What the heck is Verizon's problem???

 

[sahilghosh]

Hi,

This is Sahil from India, I don't have idea about Verizon but had faced the same issue with AT&T. Well later I switched the network. I am using Reliance now. Well probably a decent decision! No probs till now! If any one thinks of doin the same they can visit here. hope it helps!

 

[samwise]

I'd concur on the GSM iPhones - I'm in the UK on a 3GS running 4.3.5 and when I receive calls or texts from my fiancee in Utah, it comes up with her name. The same for a friend living in Hong Kong - calls & texts from him come up with his name (as long as the number he's calling from is in my Contacts list, naturally).

Obviously, I can't check how AT&T and Verizon deal with calls from me (my fiancee is on T-Mobile USA on a MyTouch phone, and my friend in HK is on an iPhone 4 on a local cellular provider).