If you’re iPhone doesn’t ring, there are a few reasons that might be happening — and a few tactics you can try to get things back where they should be. There is probably nothing wrong with your iPhone’s speaker and hardware. However, with so many settings and features, your iPhone may not be ringing due to your settings. For example, you may have set your iPhone to vibrate only or silent mode, or you may have turned on Do Not Disturb. In this article, I’ll explain why your iPhone won’t ring and I’ll show you exactly how to fix it. These tips will help you regardless of the call type, such as regular calls, WhatsApp, Skype, Instagram and so on.
Your iPhone’s mute switch is on
Most of the time, the reason your iPhone isn’t ringing for incoming calls is that mute switch is on. Make sure your iPhone’s mute switch isn’t on. On most iPhones Apple refers to this as the “ring/silent” switch, and on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, mute is one of the possible functions for the Action button. Needless to say though if the mute toggle is on, your phone is only going to vibrate for incoming calls, not ring.
To fix this, put your phone back in Ring mode by pressing the Ring/Silent switch towards the screen. You’ll find this switch on the top-left side of your iPhone, above the volume buttons.
When in Ring mode, the slider will be closer to your iPhone’s screen. In Silent mode, it displays an orange strip.
You can bring an iPhone 15 Pro out of silent mode by going to Settings > Sounds & Haptics, then turning off Silent mode.
The ringer volume level is all the way down
If your ringtone volume is too low, you may not hear a call coming in if your iPhone is in your bag. So, it may appear that your iPhone didn’t ring at all.
If the volume is too low to hear it ringing when a call comes in, you’ll want to make your iPhone louder. Open the Settings app, tap Sound & Haptics, and then drag the Ringtone and Alert Volume slider until it’s loud enough to be heard.
Silence Unknown Callers is turned on
If your iPhone is not ringing for calls made by callers who are not in your contact list (or from a number you have not called), this is the reason.
If you want your iPhone to ring for all calls, open the Settings app and tap Phone. Tap Silence Unknown Callers and then, on the Silence Unknown Callers page, swipe the button to the left to turn it off.
Call Forwarding is turned on
Another possible reason is that you turned on call forwarding on your iPhone. When call forwarding is enabled, your iPhone won’t ring when you receive a call, and the call will be directly sent to the forwarded number.
It’s easy to check to see if you have set up call forwarding on your iPhone and to turn it off. Open the Settings app and tap Phone. Tap Call Forwarding, and then turn off Call Forwarding by swiping the button to the left.
Focus mode is enabled
If Focus Mode is enabled, your iPhone won’t ring when you get a call. Focus feature is designed to silence calls, alerts, and notifications on your iPhone.
To check if you have Do Not Disturb or Focus turned on, swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone’s screen to open the Control Center. There, look at the rectangle next to your brightness controls — if it says Do Not Disturb, Driving, Sleep, or something similar, it’s turned on. Tap this button to disable your Do Not Disturb or Focus mode.
Auto-Answer Calls is turned on
Auto-Answer Calls is an accessibility feature that may cause your iPhone to not ring. Open the Settings app and tap Accessibility. Tap Touch followed by Call Audio Routing and ensure that Auto-Answer Calls is off with the button swiped to the left.
Communication Limits is enabled
One reason why you have an iPhone ringing problem may be because you’ve set up Communication Limits in Screen Time. You can set communication limits based on your contacts.
It’s easy to check to see if you have set up Communication Limits on your iPhone and to turn it off. Open the Settings app and tap Screen Time. Tap Communication Limits and check Everyone for During Screen Time and During Downtime.