If you’re phone numbers are all in international format, there might be a time when you receive a call and the display only shows the number that is calling. This would be the case even if you have a name/handle attached to that number entry. But you might also notice that when you are in other parts of the world (or country if different states have different area/regional codes), the phone would be able to match the number to a name.

Why This Happens

The reason for this problem is because your phone needs a certain set of numbers for it be able to match that number to a name in our address book. That default number required is 8 for WM6. So if you have a friend whose number is (123) 456-7890 and you are in that area code of 123, then when your friend calls, chances are only the numbers 456-7890 are transmitted to your phone and thus, only the numbers 456-7890 are shown. However, if you are in another area or country code, the full number (123) 456-7890 will be transmitted to your phone and it will match that number to your contacts.  Your manufacturer might have tweaked it to work with your region but if they have not or the settings they used are not favorable with you, you can change this.

The Solution

To solve this problem, all you need is a registry editor and to change one line of the registry. As usual, I would advice you to backup your registry (or your device) before proceeding, just as a precaution. This would allow you to roll-back your device to an earlier state if something goes wrong. The registry key that you need to change is:

HKCU\ControlPanel\Phone\CallIDMatch 

and you can change the value to any number. If we use the example above, then I would recommend using a value of 7 instead and this will allow your Pocket PC to always match the number to the name, whether you are in the area code or not.

Caution

While it is possible to lower the value so you need less numbers to match, using a low value might cause the phone to not be able to match numbers to contacts if you have contacts with the same few numbers. While this may be rare, I would caution you against using a low value of 1-5.

Does this trick work for you? 

Every Tuesday and Thursday is Tips and Tricks day. In this section, we cover the various tips and tricks that you can apply to your Eten Glofiish (or any PDA using the same Windows Mobile operating system) device. Through this hacks and tweaks, you can solve problems that have been plaguing your device, improve its performance or even add functionality that you never though it had.