Dialing a Phone Number in a Calendar Entry

For me the worst thing about this feature-gap is that you cannot even select text in the location field!
It's pretty much industry standard to place phone numbers in the location field when an event does not have a physical meeting.
There is no workaround other than pen and paper. Calendar is so clever as to take the original invite from my Inbox so I cannot even go and find it there and copy the raw text into Phone 😟

I've figured out the tap to dial a number in the Notes field - but is there a format you can use in a Meeting Note to add a number with extension? For example, I used to have a blackberry and when I sent out a meeting notice, I could put the conference bridge and access code in the notes (and subject line) and dial the number with a pause for the conference code. e.g., 1-866-555-1212x12345 where x12345 is the conference ID. Now if I put the number in the note field with the 'x' - I can tap to dial it - but the iPhone drops the 'x' from the dial. I've tried putting in ,,, instead of 'x' but it separates the numbers and will only dial the first one.

The only work around I've found is copying the 1-866-555-1212,,,12345 from the meeting notes and pasting into the phone dialer - but that's a pain when driving.

Any suggestions?

It's a limitation - dialing links are not supported in all event fields in the Calendar app (not in the event name or location, for example - which is usually where the number is in meetings on my calendar). However, you can tap on a phone number _in the Notes field_ of an event to dial that number.

You can submit feedback to Apple: http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html.

I also suffer from this same problem. I shouldn't have to get an App to do this. The phone should do it. Blackberry has been doing this for years. Also I don't want to have to ask my customers to put conference/bridge info in a specific format. The apple engineers are heralded as the best, and they should be able to recognize most popular formats such as:

(800)555-1234 / 123456#
(800)555-1234 passcode 123456#
(800)555-1234,,123456#

Moreso, if the phone number happens to be in the notes field like this:

Conference: (800)555-1234
Passcode: 123456#

I would also expect the iPhone to be smart enough to recognize this and prompt me as well to dial into the bridge line properly.

I have sent a request to Apple about this through this form http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html and I hope others here will do the same. The more people that ask for a feature, the more likely it will get implemented.

but that's a pain when driving.

...and most likely illegal to be messing about pushing buttons on your phone whilst driving. I really hope we're never driving along the same stretch of road at the same time...

Glad you never have to make a work call when driving

I do, but if I can't take or make the call safely and within the law, I pull over and call them back or the call can wait until later. No phone call is more important than the lives of myself and other road users.

Any suggestions that may help make this safer?

A hands-free kit/bluetooth headset with voice control, or pull off the road to take the call.

I have a full bluetooth kit in the car. You're missing the point Julian. If I have the following in a meeting invite note: tel://800-555-1212p12345 I should be able to tap the entry and have the number dial, pause and then put in the conference code. When I tap the tel:// entry, the phone asks if I want to dial, but then does nothing. By putting in the right format and being able to dial directly from a meeting notice (while of course using handsfree bluetooth) it is safer than trying to punch in a phone number and conference code. Even when stopped, I still have to write down the conference code, dial the conference bridge, enter the code, enter the conference, etc. I'm trying to figure out why when the tel:// format is used, and I tap the number with the "p", the phone does nothing.

I am using the latest version of iPhone software.

I will give Apple no excuse whatsoever on this point. Firstly, my Blackberry phones (2 curves and a bold) allowed me to dial from the location field with no problem at all. Others in the organizations I work with invite me to meetings and put dial info in the location field. This is an essential feature that Apple failed on before, and failed again in iOS4. Don't tell me its the carrier, or MS or anything else that Apple can't control. Other phones can do this simple thing. Apple can also. But they have chosen not to. Secondly, dialing the conference line, pauses, meeting ID numbers, etc in a SINGLE STRING from within a calendar notes area, or any other field is again, an essential smart phone feature that people like me are frustrated about. It worked beautifully on my BB phones. The new iOS4 greatly improved the DTMF tones. And the single string thing works in favorites and in contacts. But not in Calendar. Apple - fix these things please!

The new iOS4 now recognizes the full number for a conference call in the notes field of a calendar entry (e.g., 16505551212,,,1,123456#), and underlines the entire number. And you can click on it. It asks if you want to dial the whole number ("Cancel" or "Call" are options). When you touch "call" nothing happens. It seems to behave ok with just phone numbers, but with dial-in numbers it doesn't work.

There's an app for that!

Check out ApptDialer in the App Store. It reads your calendar entry and does pattern matching to find candidate phone numbers and conference codes, let's you select which one and then dials it for you. A life saver, possibly even literally if you do a lot of conference calls from the car!!

Since upgrading my 3GS to iOS4 I notice that the DTMF tones have been changed from long to short tones. As a result, logging into a my company's con-call using the form 866-xxx-xxxx,1234567#,,#,1234# no longer works as it did before. The little robotic lady consistently reports that some digits are pressed twice.

A DTMF test number at (804) 222-1111 doesn't seem to have this problem but our Audix system also has trouble.

Looking for any suggestions or a patch from Apple.

I feel your pain! I'm on conference calls multiple times a day - even on the road. The ability to join them using the calendar invites proved to be very inconsistent. IF you could dial the number you still needed to memorize the conference code. Not easy while driving! Usually I'm forced to write the conference information on (gasp) paper.

To solve this you can modify each and every calendar invite (don't forget you'll need to also re-modify any updates to the invites) and format the number to work at conference call time.

Or, you can get the iPhone app - Join The Call. It will help you create, manage and join all of your conferences.

iTunes app link: http://bit.ly/JoinTheCall

Discloser: I am the developer/creator/owner of this app.

I agree this is frustrating. Here is one thing that is really maddening. In my contacts list, this entry works:

(800)555-1234,123456#

But, if I put it in a calendar entry, and then tap on it, iPhone asks me if I want to call then number, and when I choose "yes," IT DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

I have several telcon conference lines that I use in my business. Being able to put the dial-in credentials to those lines should be child's play for the iPhone. It is embarrassing that all the telcon services even tell their users how to do so, but that their instructions work with most phones except the iPhone.

BTW, I tried the suggestion of downloading Join the Call. So far, it is easily worth the $.99. Good work. Still, we shouldn't need that, and it is no knock on the developer to tell Apple that this app should be unnecessary.

Works fine for me if I put the phone number to be called in the events Notes field.

Glad you never have to make a work call when driving - but I do. Any suggestions that may help make this safer?