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How do you include an extension with a telephone number in the contacts app

I need to add a phone number to my contacts app on my iPhone that has an extension. How do I add this to the field?

iPhone 4, iOS 4

Posted on Sep 29, 2010 2:11 PM

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18 replies

Sep 29, 2010 3:14 PM in response to Rick Mansfield

1. Tap Edit in the top right corner of the Contact.
2. Pick the phone number for which you want to add extensions.
3. Tap on the "+*#" button on the bottom left of the Dial Pad.
4. Tap Pause to add a comma (,) — or short, silent wait period.
5. Add the numbers for the extension, then tap Save to apply the changes.

That's it you are done. Add more commas for a longer pause.

Sep 29, 2010 3:29 PM in response to Rick Mansfield

I could have given you the answer but I wanted you to learn to use the User's Maanual", which you do have in your iPhone. Click on "Safari"/"Bookmarks"....then scroll down towards the bottom (it should be next to last). I suggest you make an "App" of it. This it what it says regarding extension numbers:

"Enter a pause in a number
Tap{+*#} , then tap Pause. One or more pauses may be required by a phone system before dialing an extension, for example. Pauses appear as commas when the number is saved."

Sep 29, 2010 3:36 PM in response to julieda

Julieda, first, it's not your place to be my teacher.

Second, if you had offered these steps, and then added "By the way, this is in the User's Manual in the bookmarks in Safari on your iPhone," that would have been appreciated.

But your response was curt, rude and lacked total empathy for my request for help. If there was an "Unhelpful" tag, I'd click on it in regard to your initial response.

I hope that if you're ever in need of help, regardless of how small, that someone will respond to you with more kindness and charity than what you show on these forums every time you simply reply with "It's in the manual."

Sep 29, 2010 3:47 PM in response to julieda

It's not a matter of being thin skinned (and ad hominem responses rarely help).

It's a matter of courtesy and treating each other as we would like to be treated (the "Golden Rule"). I'm sorry that you had to learn things through abrasive techniques, but I can assure you that not all people appreciate learning in that manner.

In the future, please ignore my requests for help if you cannot be truly helpful in an initial response.

I'm through here, and I have no doubt the moderators will eventually delete this thread as it is so far off topic.

May 30, 2013 11:20 AM in response to Rick Mansfield

From OSX daily:The easiest way to add an extension to a number is through your iPhone or add a semicolon ";" NOT a comma in Mac Address book 🙂.

Though you’ve long been able to add automatically dialed extensions to contacts on the iPhone, the newest versions of iOS handle extensionsmuch more intelligently, allowing you to create a “Dial Extension” button to any specific contact. That extension dialer can be activated manually, making the navigation of telephony menus infinitely easier, here’s how to quickly add this to a contact:

  • Open Contacts and tap the contact name to add the extension to, then tap the “Edit” button
  • Tap the phone number entry, place the cursor at the end, then tap the “+*#” button to access additional options
  • Choose “wait” then enter the extension afterwards, it will add a semicolon and the extension afterwards to the address appearing like so: 1-888-555-5555;123
  • Tap “Done” and exit out of contacts
  • Now dial the contact to discover a “Dial 123″ button has appeared, tap that whenever you want to dial the extension

The extensions can also be added from a Mac in Contacts (Address Book) by adding a semicolon to numbers followed by an extension, just be sure to sync it through the same iCloud account or it won’t go over to the iPhone.

Anyone who frequently uses extensions to reach specific people at an office, or anyone who has battled an automated phone system knows how useful this can be. You can even set a string of numbers, though the Dial button remains the same.

May 31, 2013 2:26 PM in response to tonefox

Hey I just cut and pasted as none of the replies relating to the question were accurate: it is not a comma which will not achieve the desired effect--- but a semi colon and no comments even mentioned the great feature on the iPhone which gives you other options (such as wait or pause) or enter it (a sem-colon) manually in iCal. I was only looking yesterday as I was adding in yet another extension in calendar, Googled and saw the forums suggesting a comma use which I knew did not work. Within a few minutes, I found the correct answer in OSX daily so I thought I would be kind enough to disseminate the information to the forums which I also signed up for yesterday - hence level O and no points. You should give me points a) for finding the correct information b) doing so within minutes c) signing up solely to relay the accurate information as the information was incorrect for OSX and d) adding it on all unarchived queries so anyone doing a Google search would go to the most current response and actually get accurate information. Maybe that is a new record... in accuracy and speed.

Finally I have to ask- you did not participate or help in this forum so what are you doing- looking at it and replying as such?⚠

How do you include an extension with a telephone number in the contacts app

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