diff --git a/res/values/strings.xml b/res/values/strings.xml
index c861cb9..38d63d0 100644
--- a/res/values/strings.xml
+++ b/res/values/strings.xml
@@ -1111,4 +1111,7 @@
 
     <!-- An option in the 'change photo' or 'pick photo' dialog -->
     <string name="pick_photo">Select photo from Gallery</string>
+
+    <!-- Text shown in the contacts app while the background process updates contacts after a locale change -->
+    <string name="locale_change_in_progress">Contact list is being updated to reflect the change of language.\n\nPlease wait...</string>
 </resources>
diff --git a/src/com/android/contacts/ContactsListActivity.java b/src/com/android/contacts/ContactsListActivity.java
index f5ed2d7..a9da8bc 100644
--- a/src/com/android/contacts/ContactsListActivity.java
+++ b/src/com/android/contacts/ContactsListActivity.java
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 import android.content.res.ColorStateList;
 import android.content.res.Resources;
 import android.database.CharArrayBuffer;
+import android.database.ContentObserver;
 import android.database.Cursor;
 import android.database.MatrixCursor;
 import android.graphics.Bitmap;
@@ -57,6 +58,7 @@
 import android.net.Uri;
 import android.net.Uri.Builder;
 import android.os.Bundle;
+import android.os.Handler;
 import android.os.Parcelable;
 import android.preference.PreferenceManager;
 import android.provider.ContactsContract;
@@ -70,6 +72,7 @@
 import android.provider.ContactsContract.Data;
 import android.provider.ContactsContract.Intents;
 import android.provider.ContactsContract.Presence;
+import android.provider.ContactsContract.ProviderStatus;
 import android.provider.ContactsContract.RawContacts;
 import android.provider.ContactsContract.SearchSnippetColumns;
 import android.provider.ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Email;
@@ -539,6 +542,8 @@
     protected void onCreate(Bundle icicle) {
         super.onCreate(icicle);
 
+        registerProviderStatusObserver();
+
         mIconSize = getResources().getDimensionPixelSize(android.R.dimen.app_icon_size);
         mContactsPrefs = new ContactsPreferences(this);
         mPhotoLoader = new ContactPhotoLoader(this, R.drawable.ic_contact_list_picture);
@@ -824,6 +829,21 @@
 //        }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Register an observer for provider status changes - we will need to
+     * reflect them in the UI.
+     */
+    private void registerProviderStatusObserver() {
+        getContentResolver().registerContentObserver(ProviderStatus.CONTENT_URI,
+                false, new ContentObserver(new Handler()){
+
+            @Override
+            public void onChange(boolean selfChange) {
+                checkProviderState(true);
+            }
+        });
+    }
+
     private void setupListView() {
         final ListView list = getListView();
         final LayoutInflater inflater = getLayoutInflater();
@@ -913,11 +933,12 @@
     }
 
     private void setEmptyText() {
-        if (mMode == MODE_JOIN_CONTACT || mSearchMode) {
+        TextView empty = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.emptyText);
+        if (mMode == MODE_JOIN_CONTACT || mSearchMode || mAdapter.getCursor() == null) {
+            empty.setText(null);
             return;
         }
 
-        TextView empty = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.emptyText);
         if (mDisplayOnlyPhones) {
             empty.setText(getText(R.string.noContactsWithPhoneNumbers));
         } else if (mMode == MODE_STREQUENT || mMode == MODE_STARRED) {
@@ -970,6 +991,7 @@
     @Override
     protected void onResume() {
         super.onResume();
+
         mPhotoLoader.resume();
 
         Activity parent = getParent();
@@ -987,6 +1009,10 @@
             mSearchEditText.requestFocus();
         }
 
+        if (!checkProviderState(mJustCreated)) {
+            return;
+        }
+
         if (mJustCreated) {
             // We need to start a query here the first time the activity is launched, as long
             // as we aren't doing a filter.
@@ -995,6 +1021,43 @@
         mJustCreated = false;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Obtains the contacts provider status and configures the UI accordingly.
+     *
+     * @param loadData true if the method needs to start a query when the
+     *            provider is in the normal state
+     * @return true if the provider status is normal
+     */
+    private boolean checkProviderState(boolean loadData) {
+        // This query can be performed on the UI thread because
+        // the API explicitly allows such use.
+        Cursor cursor = getContentResolver().query(ProviderStatus.CONTENT_URI, new String[] {
+                ProviderStatus.STATUS, ProviderStatus.DATA1
+        }, null, null, null);
+        try {
+            if (cursor.moveToFirst()) {
+                int status = cursor.getInt(0);
+                switch (status) {
+                    case ProviderStatus.STATUS_NORMAL:
+                        if (loadData) {
+                            startQuery();
+                        }
+                        return true;
+
+                    case ProviderStatus.STATUS_CHANGING_LOCALE:
+                        TextView empty = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.emptyText);
+                        empty.setText(R.string.locale_change_in_progress);
+                        mAdapter.changeCursor(null);
+                        return false;
+                }
+            }
+        } finally {
+            cursor.close();
+        }
+
+        return true;
+    }
+
     private String getTextFilter() {
         if (mSearchEditText != null) {
             return mSearchEditText.getText().toString();
@@ -1006,6 +1069,10 @@
     protected void onRestart() {
         super.onRestart();
 
+        if (!checkProviderState(false)) {
+            return;
+        }
+
         // The cursor was killed off in onStop(), so we need to get a new one here
         // We do not perform the query if a filter is set on the list because the
         // filter will cause the query to happen anyway
@@ -1013,7 +1080,7 @@
             startQuery();
         } else {
             // Run the filtered query on the adapter
-            ((ContactItemListAdapter) getListAdapter()).onContentChanged();
+            mAdapter.onContentChanged();
         }
     }
 
@@ -2658,6 +2725,10 @@
 
         @Override
         public boolean isEmpty() {
+            if (!mDataValid) {
+                return true;
+            }
+
             if (mSearchMode) {
                 return TextUtils.isEmpty(getTextFilter());
             } else if ((mMode & MODE_MASK_CREATE_NEW) == MODE_MASK_CREATE_NEW) {