Nokia 5800 - Contacts not showing and what to do
By Mike Browne on March 13,
 2009 at 00:00,

So, you’ve bought your Nokia 5800 and are happy as punch with it. You charge the battery, get it up and running and crack on with getting the contacts on to the SIM card into the phone.

But where are they? Seems some people are having trouble importing their Contacts into the 5800. Don’t worry, the solution is a simple one, just read on…

The lack of contacts showing up on the Nokia 5800 was something that was brought to our attention by a few NokNok users but before we could proper look into it, a user calling himself Newby, cracked the code and showed us the answer.

The solution is actually hidden away on the O2 support site but we've put it here in full to make life a little easier.

To add the names and numbers stored on the SIM card to the contacts list in Contacts,

1. Press the 'Menu' key (white key).

2. Tap 'Contacts' and 'Open' (press the Navi key).

* If this is the first time you have used the phone, it will ask you 'Copy new SIM contacts to Contacts?', tap 'Yes' (left soft key). If this doesn't happen then continue with the steps below.

3. Tap 'Options' (left soft key).

4. Tap 'Settings'.

5. Tap 'Contacts to display'.

6. Tap the contacts you wish to have displayed and a tick will appear next to them, then tap 'OK' (left soft key).

7. Tap 'Back' (right soft key).

8. SIM card contacts will now show up on the contacts screen, with a SIM card icon next to them.

To copy contacts from your SIM to your phone,

1. Press the 'Menu' key (white key).

2. Tap 'Contacts' and 'Open' (press the Navi key).

3. Tap 'Options' (left soft key).

4. Tap 'Mark/Unmark', you can now either mark the contact that you have highlighted, or mark all your contacts.

5. Tap 'Options' (left soft key).

6. Tap 'Copy'.

7. Tap 'Phone memory'.

We want to thank NokNok user Newby for cracking this one. Great work fella!

  • Chana

    Just got the Nokia 5800. I tried the above to get my contacts but the contacts never showed up.

    Instead I did as follows:

    Menu
    Settings
    Connectivity
    Data Transfer
    Phone Switch

    And transferred my contacts via bluetooth from my old phone (with the sim still in it). You can also copy texts and other info.

    The contacts are on my phone now – and I will have to put them on the sim – I suppose I can do that when I put the sim in the 5800.

  • Mikey Bee

    Chana – great tip, if a little bit of a weird work around. Anyone tried this one and got simialr results?

  • http://www.findmethatphone.co.uk/Price_Compare/Nokia.htm FindMeThatPhone Nokia

    Chana, are you sure you had the contacts on your sim card in the first place and not saved on your old phone??? :)

  • Alan E

    Thanks Chana – so much easier than NokNok – sorry guys. Having already got the new SIM in the 5800 it is a devil to get out anyway – and as an ex-3 user I have a feeling that trying the 3 SIM in another phone would disable it?

  • Saran

    Great .. Thank you so much….

  • Ralph

    Thanks man, saved us a headache!

  • Rebecca

    Thank you so much, I have been struggling with this on my own and you\’ve solved my problem. Fantastic, this is a great little toy :-)

  • Rog

    Thanks. this method worked fine, the sim transfer just refused to.

    Nice one!

  • ben

    so this didn’t work, as others have commented… I’d try the bluetooth method, but how i do you get the sim card out… wish nokia hadn’t sacked all their usability people!

  • Dan

    Ben – take the battery off and use the stylus through the hole ;)

  • Lis

    The contact number do not show up on the screen when a call comes through, even though that number is already saved in my sim card. what do i do?

  • Alison

    Lisa – im having the same problem – my sim and phone have the number stored (they both show on my contact screen) but when someone calls me the name doesnt show – i followed the procuedure above to resave them and it still doesnt work!

  • JuanChanKane

    About the contact name not showing up when an incoming call; this is because the phone has two entries for the same number (one in the SIM, one stored in the phone) and does not know which one to display.

    If you delete the sim contact you\’d see the issue solved. you can always copy all contacts back in one go if required.

    Else, you might tell the phone not to display SIM contacts, but I\’m not sure if that is going to work, since the contact is duplicated.

  • Peter McCabe

    The 5800 is a good phone BUT in the contacts it does not show you the name and number together you have to go into the name before you get the number

  • Mick

    Chana – Good advice. Thanks. For others be aware as some SIM\’s have a number limit (mine was 200) however my N73 phone held 300 active contacts so the blue tooth connection was a great idea.

  • lora

    Hi, I have the same problem, my sim card has lots of numbers but only one shows so I cannot copy my contacts. I cannot use bluetooth as then I just have to send contacts one by one as my phones are different brands and then I send all contacts it still gets only one. Does anyone know why contacts from sim cars arent showing ?

  • desperate

    Purchasing the phone I asked to transfer all SIM numbers to the phone memory.
    A week after purchasing all contacts data have disappeared completely.
    The company claimed the SIM card is faulty and replaced it – but all numbers are gone
    Any chance of retrieving it from the phone memory?
    The guys at the store are in the dark

  • Britalian

    Excellent. Great help and easy to follow/understand. Got it first time, thanks.

  • http://www.beer-essentials.co.uk MarkG

    Thanks Newby. I had the same problem and that sorted it right out. Top tip. :)

  • Hazel

    thanks so much you have saved my frustration!

  • kelda

    Brilliant – it worked and only took 2mins! Don’t you just love the internet?

  • Recycker

    The only place that explained process in simple and practical terms. Many thanks

  • clive

    i took my sim card out of my 5800 and when i put it back i found all my sim numbers had gone into my phone numbers so they was duplicated, is there any way i can get them back all in one go, and not have to copy and delete them one by one

  • sri

    It worked for me first time. Thanks for the tips.

  • http://youtube.com/lbestudio nokia4ever

    thanks chana.. i tried all kinds things to get the contacts on..
    this is much better way of transfering almost everything including your contacts.. its like moving from one place to another with all your belongings..
    peace ppl…

  • Marina

    Thank you so much for explaining how to see contacts stored in SIM card!

  • Charlotte

    Lis and Alison,
    I know you left your messages nearly a year ago, but I’m having this same problem with my phone and nothing has worked. Its driving me insane!
    Did you find a solution in the end?

  • Neha

    this link helped.. thanks!

  • pew

    thankuu soo much :) it helped

  • http://www.moneyonlinewave.com firdaus

    Great work !!! thanks very much !!

  • Ae

    thx a lot!!! It is very handy :-)

  • http://www.yahoomail.com rupesh rana

    i was very happy by gettin nokia 5800 but now i feel little to sad coz when i open the menu than at the application greed inside nothing is shown can u help me out of these problem??????????????