How to retrieve a mobile number after editing it?

Hi,

I have a question about retrieving someone's mobile number after they've called you. I met a Chinese girl a few days ago in London, we talked for a bit and exchanged numbers. She suggested that I type my number into her phone, then she called me, her number appeared on my phone, I saved it and went on my merry way.

Problem is, when I saved it, I decided to delete the initial 2-digit prefix and replace it with the usual 0 digit at the front. Then later, when I tried calling her, an English girl with a different voice and name answered, claiming to have no idea of who this Chinese girl was!

I now see it was a mistake to edit that phone number, but I can't remember what the original 2-digit prefix was. Not +44, because I tried that and it was the same result - the English girl again. Should I try the Chinese 2-digit prefix, +86? Or is there some way to retrieve the number that originally appeared on that first day?

Many thanks for any help.

Do you have a call history? The numbers in there can't be edited, and unless you've cleared it, it should still be there.

That sounds like a good idea, but it seems that when I check my "missed calls" history, her name appears in there on the date that we met, but only with the modified version of her number (not the original 2-digit prefix).

To test the theory, I tried to edit some other numbers in that list, which I couldn't do directly from the list, but if I look them up in my phone book and change them, then they appear in their changed form when I look them up in the "missed calls" history.

This is such a tragedy, given that she seemed so interested and we had such a good chemistry. Is there anything else you can possibly advise? Please?

Oh right, I see. I was just having a look at how it worked on my own phone, and assumed it might be similar on yours (I use an iPhone by the way). I suppose if you're sure it's two digits that are missing, then that's a hundred possibilities? Not ideal but you could text all those numbers. You can also check to see who a number is registered to by putting it into Facebook Messenger/WhatsApp/Viber, if it's registered with one of those apps.

Another thing-was it a British number? If so there are various formats for how a phone number should begin. If not then you'll have to look at some sort of telephone directory for the appropriate country.

I had considered typing in every conceivable 2-digit prefix and sending the same text message to all of them, but that would be extremely tedious, not to mention very time consuming. Plus, I'm not sure it would necessarily yield a result... though strict logic suggests that it should, I suppose.

Yeah, I tried typing it into a facebook, first with the British +44 prefix (same result: English girl), and then the Chinese +86 prefix - and can you believe it: the English girl AGAIN! So no luck there, either...

But it's definitely not a fake number; the only issue is that damn prefix. Do you think that if I call my mobile provider, they would have a record of the call when it was originally received, and have retained a record of the original number, which they would agree to give me based on certain security questions? (haha, really starting to feel like a creepy horror story now)