Phone Link "Messages" shows phone numbers, not names and photos

Anonymous
2022-10-06T15:35:52+00:00

I use Phone Link on my Windows 11 PC to text message through my Samsung S22+ phone. I use the desktop Outlook client on my PC and have my Outlook contacts synchronize with the Samsung Contacts app on my phone. A couple of months ago, I began to notice that the names and photos of some of the people with whom I text were no longer showing up in the Phone Link "Messages" list; just their phone numbers. Also, when I clicked "+ New message" in Phone Link, and typed their name, they never showed up in the list of matching contacts from which to choose. This was very frustrating, especially since those contacts were the ones with whom I text most often.

I tried just about everything I could think of - uninstall/reinstalling Phone Link on the S22+ and my PC, multiple syncing options, etc., all to no avail. Then I noticed that the format of the number that showed up in Phone Link was different than what I had in my Outlook contacts. The numbers in Phone Link all showed up with a leading "+1" and had a dash after the area code without parentheses, like this: "+1 123-555-1212" but the numbers in Outlook Contacts showed up like this "(123) 555-1212". I thought the issue might be a database lookup problem, so I tried to enter the same number format in Outlook that appears in Phone Link: "+1 123-555-1212". But Outlook would NOT let me enter this format! It automatically put parentheses around the area code and removed the first hyphen, like this: "+1 (123) 555-1212".

When the new contacts manager for Outlook.com (Outlook on the web) was launched a short while ago, I used the Contacts editor on those contacts and WAS SUCCESSFUL in entering the phone number in the exact format that appears in Phone Link: "+1 123-555-1212". When I sync'd my contacts to my phone, PRESTO! The names and photos of those contacts reappeared in Phone Link "Messages"! So, if you are having problems seeing a phone number instead of names and photos in the Phone Link "Messages" app, try this!

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Connect Phone and PC

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

68 answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2023-05-16T21:42:47+00:00

    I have my phone and PC connected on the same WiFi network and lose contact names and connection in general all the time. Utterly maddening. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Link uses Bluetooth only for handling voice between the phone and PC, not data. If there is a way to sever the WiFi connection and use Bluetooth exclusively, I'd love to try it, but can't find the option in Search or in the software settings. FWIW, I don't use Phone Link functionality because the audio quality is horrible.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2023-05-16T21:16:53+00:00

    Fixed this problem - This is what worked for me. My phone and PC were connected to different wi-fi network so "no contact names" were showing. Making sure both were on the same network and presto -it works like a charm. And alternative is to connect to your PC via bluetooth. Pulled my hair out for months, reading posts, talking to technicians. Hope this works for anyone stumbling across this thread.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2023-03-18T15:07:14+00:00

    I have experienced the same problem using stock Android (not Samsung). The issue appears to be connected with the phone app "Link to Windows" setting of "Sync contacts" under "Accounts" (from the Link to Windows home screen, click the gear icon in the upper right, then click "Accounts" at the top).

    When "Sync contacts" is ON - only the phone numbers appear in the PC Phone Link app.

    When "Sync contacts" is OFF - contact names appear in the PC Phone Link app.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2023-03-02T14:07:00+00:00

    GO TO CONTACTS>MANAGE CONTACTS>SYNC CONTACTS>SELECT WHICH ACCOUNTS TO SYNC.

    In my case I toggled off and back on my Outlook and gmail accounts to refresh sync dates.

    Then I "x'd" out of phone link on my computer and reopened.

    The number i was texting with the the lost name regained its name on the screen!!!

    This solved my issue
    Thank you

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2023-02-19T15:05:15+00:00

    Hi Michael,

    Below are more detailed steps to try. It does take a few minutes for Phone Link to update once complete.

    1. Close Phone Link on your computer and select disconnect in your phone.
    2. Open the Outlook App stetting's on your phone.
    3. Select your email under Mail Account.
    4. Scroll down to the bottom and select "Reset Account."
    5. Got back to Mail Account and turn Sync Contacts back on.
    6. Relaunch Phone Link on your computer, it will take a few minutes for contact names to change from phone numbers to names.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments