Why does Outlook stuff up my Mobile Phone Numbers with Brackets?

I'm sure a few of you have had this very problem.

Problem:

When you type a number into the Mobile field  of Outlook see below....	Outlook changes the number to a (Area Code) Phone number format. see below...

AAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Solution 1:

For many years I have circumvented this seemingly aimless feature of Outlook by placing spaces into the Mobile phone number when I add them into my contacts list.

However if you are a Mobile device user and you wish to synchronise your Outlook contacts with your phone this can cause problems because the Phone doesn't like spaces in the numbers.

Solution 2:
The fix is an easy one and I wish I knew about it many moons ago. 

You change your phone and modem settings in the control panel, edit your location and chose in the country/region list "International Freephone Service". see below....
 

This setting doesn't seem to force you to add any country/area codes to your Outlook contacts.
 

Wow, I hope this helps you all out, cheers.

Matt Rowston

KB Keywords:  Outlook, contacts, mobile number, bugger, Ahhhhhh!