Samsung: Mark a Contact as Favorite for Calls and Messages

Marking a contact as a favorite on a Samsung phone adds a flag to that entry. This flag decides whether the contact appears in the pinned row at the top of the Contacts app, and it controls the favorites row in the Phone app too, since both apps read the same flag.

To set it, open the Contacts app: Tap on Contacts ➤ Choose a Contact ➤ Tap on Favorites to mark or unmark the contact. The star fills in once the contact is marked. Tapping it again clears the flag and the contact drops out of both pinned lists right away.

Because this is one flag rather than two separate lists, you never manage favorites twice. Adding a contact from the favorites row in the Phone app sets the same flag as doing it from Contacts, and removing it in either app removes it everywhere.

If a marked contact still does not show up at the top, check whether the same person exists as a duplicate entry synced from a different account. Only the specific entry you flagged gets pinned, not every copy of that contact.