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8 Ways to Fix iPhone Not Ringing for Calls

It's frustrating when people call you, but your iPhone is not ringing, and they get your voicemail. Perhaps your good friend tells you, “I called you.” And yet, the iPhone display remains dark and lifeless. Suppose you depend on your cell phone to keep in touch with friends and family.

All the family lives far away, so you talk to them on the iPhone. You are not alone if your iPhone is Not Ringing often, and the issue seems to happen with increasing frequency. Read on from this post to find the causes of the iPhone not ringing and ways to fix the problem.

My iPhone Not Ringing


Causes of the iPhone Not Ringing Problem


1. A Broken Speaker.

A Broken Speaker

If you've dropped your iPhone or been in contact with water, that could be why it doesn't ring anymore. The first thing to do is make sure a case or screen protector doesn't cover the speaker.

It should also have no debris stuck in it. Then try playing a song or ringing another phone from your iPhone to see if the speaker works. If not, there may be an issue with the hardware itself, which will require a repair.


2. Mute is Turned On.

Mute is Turned On

If you turn on the mute option, your iPhone will not ring even if you receive a call or message, and the iPhone will vibrate instead of ringing. You have to make sure that the mute option is off so that your iPhone rings when someone is calling or messaging you.


3. Do Not Disturb (DND) is turned on.

Do Not Disturb (DND) is turned on

Do Not Disturb mode can block calls and messages on your iPhone and prevent them from ringing if enabled on your iPhone. The mode lets you have peace of mind by turning off all notifications, but sometimes it goes off accidentally and turns on Do Not Disturb mode.

This does not allow calls to ring on your device and makes it silent when someone calls or sends you a message. Ensure that Do Not Disturb mode is turned off if this is the reason for the iPhone not ringing issue with your device.


4. You Blocked the Phone Number.

You Blocked the Phone Number

If someone's calling you, but their number is blocked or suppressed, their call will go straight to voicemail. If you don't want to receive calls from this person, it's not a problem. But if you do want to talk to them, you'll need to unblock their number.


5: You Silenced All Unknown Callers.

You Silenced All Unknown Callers

Many people avoid spam by silencing all unknown callers in Settings> Phone> Silence Unknown Callers. If this setting is enabled, then only people already in your contacts will be able to ring through — everyone else will go straight to voicemail. If this setting is enabled and that's what you want, there's nothing wrong with it, but it will prevent certain people from being able to ring through.


6: There's a problem with a Ringtone.

Settings get changed all the time accidentally. There are lots of reasons why this could have happened. But if you find that your iPhone isn't ringing for one particular person and does for everyone else, you've probably set something wrong when customizing your alerts for that contact.


7: You're Stuck in Headphone Mode.

You're Stuck in Headphone Mode

Plugging headphones into your iPhone is a great way to listen to music or watch videos without disturbing anyone around you. But sometimes, headphone mode gets stuck and refuses to disengage even after removing your headphones from the jack (this has happened to me multiple times). If this happens, your iPhone won't ring because it thinks headphones are


1. Turn Off Silent Mode

Turn Off Silent Mode

If your silent mode is on, your iPhone won't ring. To switch off silent mode, open the Settings app and tap Sounds & Haptics (or Sounds on older versions of iOS). Then turn off Silent Mode by moving the switch next to Silent Mode to the left.


2. Confirm Do Not Disturb Disabled

Do Not Disturb (DND) is turned on

Do Not Disturb blocks all calls and notifications on your device. Your iPhone won't ring when you receive calls or text messages if it's enabled. To disable Do Not Disturb, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

The Do Not Disturb icon should look like a crescent moon in a white circle in Control Center. Tap it to enable or disable Do Not Disturb mode.


3. Turn the Volume Up on Your iPhone

If the volume on your iPhone was turned down, you might not hear anything when you receive a phone call. You can turn the volume up by pressing the side button on the right side of your iPhone or using the volume buttons on the left side of your iPhone.


4. Disconnect Bluetooth Audio Devices

If you are connected to a Bluetooth device like headphones or speakers, audio will play through those devices instead of your iPhone's speakers. When this happens, your iPhone won't ring when someone calls you. You can disconnect Bluetooth devices by Swiping Up from the bottom of the home screen and tapping the Bluetooth icon to ensure it's gray instead of blue.


5. Turn Off Silence Unknown Callers

Disconnect Bluetooth Audio Devices

The “Silence Unknown Callers” feature in iOS 13 is designed to silence calls from numbers that aren't saved in your contact list. This can be great if you're trying to avoid telemarketers or other unwanted calls but can also lead to some legitimate callers being silenced.

Bluetooth on app

If you want to make sure all calls are coming through, you can disable this feature by opening up Settings, tapping on Phone, and turning off Silence Unknown Callers.

Autometic Ear Detection app


6. Check Your Ringtone.

Check Your Ringtone

Your ringtone may have been changed, and you're unaware of it. You can easily verify this by having someone else on another phone call yours. If it rings, then there's a problem with the ringtone you've selected, and you'll need to adjust it. If no one has called your iPhone today, we recommend checking out our guide below, where we show you how to set up a custom ringtone for your iPhone.


7. Get Your iPhone Serviced

Get Your iPhone Serviced

If an update doesn't work, you may need to get your iPhone physically serviced. For example, you may have a problem with your microphone or speaker hardware. If that's the case, get it serviced by a professional technician who can repair or replace any damaged components.


8. Restart Your iPhone

One of the simplest fixes that can solve a range of issues with any smartphone is restarting it. Restarting your Phone can help resolve any temporary glitches or bugs causing the problem. To restart your iPhone, follow these steps:

Step 1: Press and hold the lock button until “Slide to Power off” appears.

Step 2: Slide to power it off.

Restart Your iPhone

Step 3: Wait 30 seconds and press and hold the lock button again to turn it back on.


Bottom Line

Most faulty hardware issues usually boil down to a few common problems, like a broken cable or bad dock connector. With the right approach, most hardware issues when charging your Phone should be easy to fix. And it doesn't matter whether you have an iPhone 5 or an older iPhone.