Phone Dialer - Where are Contacts and Messaging

[waverider-hawaii]

Just bought a Lumia 1520. Installed the latest Windows Insider Version 10.0.105896.36. I just moved from Android to this new OS and I can't seem to be able to figure out how to access my contacts to place calls or to text from the dialer screen. From the Android dialer, you just hit the contacts or the texting icon. Easy as pie. On Windows.. I can't figure it out. I have to hit search to manually search for a person, but that's now what I want. I want to access all my contacts. Or I have to bounce out to the desktop to access "people" in order to text. Is there any way to access all my contacts or messaging from the dialer screen just like on a normal phone like Andriod or IOS? I hope this isn't what Windows is like. This seems terrible so far.

 

[KimRM]

There's a button at the bottom of the screen for accessing your contacts when you're in the log or speed dial tabs. When you are in the dialer you can just tap the digit with the first letter of the name you want to call (you see there are letters beside the digits in the dialer), and you'll get autosuggestions from your contact list.

If you really just want to access your contacts you should just go in to the Peoples app in the first place.

 

[rhapdog]

Who said Android and iOS are what is "normal?" LOL

Sorry, this is a Windows fan site. Had to say it. Now to answer your question.

There are a LOT of ways to dial a number with Windows 10 Mobile.

From the Phone app, there is History, Speed Dial, Dial Pad, and Voicemail (If you have Visual Voicemail).

From the History, Speed Dial, and Voicemail screens there is a small icon at the bottom to the left of the ellipses in the lower right. It is the Phone Book icon, and tapping this will bring up the phone book.

The phone book is not available in the dial pad, however, it can be configured for dialing by contact name in settings. Settings are accessed by the ellipses. Dialing by name allows you to use the dial pad numbers to "spell out the name" using the numbers on the dial pad. The matches will be narrowed down as you dial in the upper part of the display.

If you want to send a text by pulling up a list of contacts, then you can either send the SMS or MMS from the actual contact in the People app (in your app list and on your start tile), or you can open the Messaging app and tap the + to start a new message. In the To field, tap the plus, and it will bring up your list of contacts. Select your contact from here.

The messaging app in Windows 10 Mobile is integrated with Skype Messaging, you can choose whether to send a message as Skype or SIM Text while setting up a new message.

 

[waverider-hawaii]

(I am the OP. I think I logged in through FB the other day. This account is logged in though my Microsoft account.)

Thanks guys/gals for the big help. When I got this phone it took about a week for T-mobile to send me my new sim. In the mean time I played with it and it was the best phone ever. Awesome camera, great screen, fast, good for gaming; it was absolutely flawless. Then I went to make a phone call and T****F.

I am probably going to return it which is a shame. Nokia made an engineering marvel in the 1520 only to be ruined by incompetence of Microsoft's dialer. 95% of the time I use the phone just to make a phone call or text, and at times it is taking me 3 or 4 times as long just to do so. The slowest Android or IOS ever can text or make phone calls faster than the fastest MS phone ever and that's a shame. My $29 LG L90 literally smokes Microsoft's $700 phone - for my use. I am sad. I have another issue with the phone not being able to hang up from a phone call after you tab out to the desktop, but I am going to make another thread for that.

Just as a disclaimer. I am a Microsoft fan all the way. Literally since DOS and Windows 2 - yes Windows 2 around 1989. To me a phone is a phone and have always gone with the best value. This was my first foray into windows mobile and it's dialer is such junk that it kills it.