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Why are there multiple versions of "Phone" installed under ALL apps on my Android Lollipop 5.1.1 phone?

Menu = Settings → Apps → ALL

There are three versions of "Phone":

  • Phone - com.android.server.telecom
  • Phone - com.android.phone
  • Phone/Messaging Storage - com.android.providers.telephony
Richard
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  • There was a mistake in my last (now deleted) comment. Sorry for wrong info. – Firelord Oct 09 '15 at 11:52
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    not a problem - a little research suggests that com.android.server.telecom supercedes com.android.phone but they're both running concurrently on my phone (as "Phone"). com.android.phone is giving me a spurious voicemail message "New Voicemail (255)" everytime I start the phone. And runs as a separate process to the other - so I'd like to delete it, but am nervous over any side effects... – Richard Oct 09 '15 at 11:56
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    Do you have root access? A normal user cannot remove a system app and Disable option is greyed out for them. – Firelord Oct 09 '15 at 12:01
  • I've managed to clear the phantom voicemail (just needed to leave another voicemail and delete). But I'm still interested in why there are two "Phone" apps running concurrently on the phone (notwithstanding that the packages aren't actually the same) - so I'll leave the Q open for a bit – Richard Oct 09 '15 at 12:11

2 Answers2

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These are not different versions, these are different apps. An app can have any name regardless of other apps' names. It is possible to have hundreds of apps with the same name on one phone because the name you see as a user has nothing to do with the name which sees Android (for example the system name for Shazam is com.shazam.android).

I have two "Camera" in my phone. One was pre-installed and the second is Google Camera whose visible name is also "Camera".

Άνδρας
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Phone/Messaging Storage - com.android.providers.telephony

The Telephony provider contains data related to phone operation, specifically SMS and MMS messages and access to the APN list, including the MMSC to use.

Phone - com.android.server.telecom

Phone - com.android.phone

The package name has been changed from "com.android.phone" to "com.android.server.telecom" on some devices ( ex. Nexus 5 with Android 5.0 )

But for some reason you have both the packages. They are probably different apps and should not cause you any trouble.

Anubhav
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  • The point is to find out what's that "some reason". OP already figured most of the stuff, see his comments. Thanks though, for posting the answer here. – Firelord Oct 09 '15 at 17:13
  • @Firelord Most possibly due to an update. but it actually depends on the phone – Anubhav Oct 09 '15 at 17:38