Sometimes Smartphone Apps Create Phone Book Conflicts
Smartphone Apps may create a conflict with an in-vehicle technology system, such as Ford Sync. This conflict may impair your ability to access your phone contacts when using voice commands. In this “technology workshop,” we will address some solutions.
Sometimes when you try to use the Ford Sync system to make a hands-free phone call and the hands-free system may reply, “Calling Dot on Cell… ” The Bluetooth system will then go to the first alpha phone contact and begin making the phone call. This can be frustrating, but it seems the issue isn’t caused by the Sync system, it may be caused by your phone and the Apps you are using.
With the growing number of smartphone users, there seems to be more and more “issues” when it comes to using Bluetooth-accessible systems such as the Ford Sync System.
With the growing number of smartphone users, there seems to be a problem of a user not being able to access their phone book contacts. Even though the phone has been paired correctly and the phone book has been “downloaded” into the system, it still cannot make the call.
For example, on the Ford Sync system, when you push the Voice button on the steering wheel and say “Phone.” The system replies, “Phone, state your command.” Then you say, “Call John Smith on cell.” The Sync system may reply with “Calling Dot on Cell.” Then it calls the first name listed in your phone book. What’s up?
One thing to do is to open your contacts list and review that all of the first names are input only on the First Name line. Also, be sure to put the person’s last name on the Last Name line. Then input their phone number into the box that matches the source of the phone, such as Home, Mobile, or Work. Automated systems such as the Ford Sync System cannot “find” the last name if it’s not listed in the right box. So input your information into the right data fields.
This new issue is related to software apps. At least one smartphone App lets you add emoticons (such as smiley faces and so on) to your text messages or to your smartphone contacts. The trouble is that even one emoticon (or for that matter, extraneous punctuation marks and symbols used in phone book data fields) will corrupt your phone book to the point that the Sync system cannot interpret any of your contact names.
Solution: Don’t use this App with your phone book contacts. If you do, then you cannot rely on any Bluetooth hands-free system to “find” the contact name. You would have to manually dial your contact on your phone while driving — and this defeats the entire purpose of hands-free Bluetooth systems. Or, you can delete the App from your phone and go back and edit out any emoticons, logos, artwork, symbols, punctuation marks and so on that you put into your phone book.
Once you have purged the extraneous data from your phone contacts list, you may need to reset your phone. Usually, this is done by completely powering down your phone for a minute or so and then restarting it. For a phone, such as the iPhone, you may wish to do what is called a “soft reset.” Here’s a quick video link on a soft reset for the iPhone.
