Galaxy S7 contacts showing duplicates, linking and unlinking not working, other issues

Hello Android community and welcome to another #GalaxyS7 post for the day. We discuss some text- and contacts-related issues in this one so hopefully you’ll find this helpful.

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

Problem 1: Galaxy S7 sending and receiving duplicate texts

My messages have not been sending and if they do, it sends duplicates. Also when receiving, I either do not get them at all or I get duplicates. I have deleted the third party messaging app, cleared the data on the “messages” app, wiped my cache partition and deleted all old messages. Is there any other data I can clear before I factory reset my phone completely. I also cleared the data from my third party keyboard app. — Isaac Reyes

Solution: Hi Isaac. Since clearing an app’s data didn’t help, the next step is to see if a third party app or service is responsible. You can do that by restarting the phone to safe mode. Here are the steps on how to restart your S7 to safe mode:

  1. Turn your Galaxy S7 off.
  2. Press and hold the Power button.
  3. Once the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7’ logo appears, release the Power key and immediately press and hold the Volume Down button.
  4. Continue holding the button until the phone finishes rebooting.
  5. Once you see the text “Safe mode” at the bottom left corner of the screen, release the Volume Down button.

Once that’s done, you must observe how messaging works for at least 24 hours. While your phone is in safe mode, all third party apps and services will be blocked, only allowing you to use pre-installed apps. Make sure to set the native messaging app as the default app and see if the problem continues. If it does, that’s your hint to go ahead with factory reset.

Now, this problem has a carrier-side component as well so if the issue happens even after you’ve factory reset your S7, it may be caused by something in the network side. Make sure that you contact your carrier so they can take a look at it.

Problem 2: Galaxy S7 not receiving SMS notifications for incoming voicemails

Samsung Galaxy S7. When I get voice messages left I am not receiving a text from my provider to say there is a message left. The internet provider has tested this out and they are being sent to me but not showing in texts. Internet provider couldn’t advise me of how to sort this , so I wonder do you know what I can do? Service provider is BT. — Lindsay Clark

Solution: Hi Lindsay. If your device does not receive notifications for your voicemails, it’s possible that they are being sent to a different number. Make sure that this does not happen by contacting your carrier and getting a confirmation that their system is sending the notifications to your number, not to someone else.

If they’ll confirm that such notifications are being forwarded to your phone number, your device may actually be receiving the text messages but they don’t show in your inbox. That can due to the following:

  • message is forwarded to spam or junk folder
  • you may have set some blocks that affected messages from your carrier. Make sure that you check the folder that keeps blocked messages and to unblock the number of your carrier if needed.
  • Your phone may have incorrect system date and time, causing your text messages to become sorted differently. Usually, if a phone has incorrect date and time, recent messages may be placed at the bottom of the list instead of at the top. Make sure to check that your phone uses the correct date, time, and timezone.

If the issue continues after checking all of the above, do a factory reset. This will ensure that the phone’s settings are set to defaults. Here’s how to do that:

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Factory reset will wipe your personal data so make sure to back your photos, videos, and other important files up before proceeding.

Problem 3: Galaxy S7 contacts showing duplicates, linking and unlinking not working

My contacts are all messed up! They are merging with other and also showing up in duplicates!! My best friends number is showing up as my dad! Help!!! I’ve tried doing the link and unlinking thing and it does not work permanently!! Now it’s saying I have too many things to link! This is driving me crazy! — Cnlwren

Solution: Hi Cnlwren. There’s no easy way to fix this problem. Linking and unlinking contacts together needs to be done manually so we suggest that you set enough time to go over all your contacts to fix the issue. Basically, what you want to do is to create a “master” contacts list that has all the important contacts. Then, you have to individually add details to each contact manually.

This linking and unlinking problem usually occurs when you have too many contacts list all syncing in one device. Most social network sites nowadays allow users to create a list of their contacts and if you link them in your contacts list in your S7, the same names and details may be copied resulting to redundant entries. In creating a master contacts list, try to scratch from scratch and avoid the lazy way out by simply syncing accounts or contacts. For example, linking some contacts from your Google account to another contacts list from, say, Facebook or Twitter may lead to confusion and duplicates. We suggest that you stick with one account and make it as a master contacts list. For instance, if you have a Google account, you can use Google contacts as the main list of your contacts. Then, you can just manually go over each contact and link or unlink whatever is necessary. This is definitely not efficient, especially if you have hundreds or thousands of contacts but the fault is due to poor organization of your contacts in the first place. If you tend to just add contacts left and right using multiple accounts, this problem can occur. Again, use one master list everytime you add a contact and you’ll have easier time managing your contacts in the future.

Since you have an Android phone, we recommend that you use Google’s contacts feature as the master list so you can easily sync it even if you switch devices in the future. Your contacts will be backed up in the cloud, if you allow Google to do it, so you can access them even in a computer. Adding in more details for every contact is also simpler since you already signed in to your account in your phone all the time.

Problem 4: Galaxy S7 group messaging issue, can’t tell if SMS has been sent to multiple contacts

I am wondering why I can’t sometimes tell when a text message that I receive has been sent to multiple people. I only see the name of the originator of the message. Then, if I try to reply, only the originator gets the message. This also happened when I texted two people. They each got my message, but separately???Rosanne

Solution: Hi Rosanne. This usually happens when you are part of a group that uses iOS devices. The messages will be sent to them as a group message while you will receive regular text message from the creator of the group message only. Try to convince your friends to avoid using iMessage when you are part of a group messaging. There are many alternatives in place that can work seamlessly across devices. An example is Facebook Messenger or Google Hangouts. Apple’s iMessage is exclusively for iOS devices only so group messaging can be annoying for non-iOS member like you.

Problem 5: Galaxy S7 won’t vibrate when receiving SMS

My S7 will not vibrate when a text comes in when my phone is muted to vibrate only. Calls work (i.e. I get a vibration when a call come in), but notifications won’t cause a vibration. It’s as if I’ve set the phone to full mute. I have looked at every possible place in settings to fix this issue. Very frustrating. Thank you. — Bram

Solution: Hi Bram. To make your S7 vibrate when there’s an incoming SMS notification is simple. Just go under Settings>Vibration intensity and ensure that Vibration feedback is set all the way to the right.

Once you’ve done that, go to Settings>Apps>Select the messaging app you’re using>Notifications and make sure that Allow notifications is enabled. You then want to ensure that Show silently option is OFF.

If you’ve already done the steps before contacting us, then there might be an operating system glitch causing the trouble. Do a factory reset to fix it. Refer to the steps above on how to do it.

 


TheDroidGuy Mailbag

🛠️If you have questions, check our Help section for details on how to submit your questions.💡


Posts You Might Like

Leave a Comment