Picture this: You’re waiting for an important phone call. You’ve double-checked your iPhone to make sure the ringer is on and you’ve turned the volume all the way up. When the phone rings, you’re going to hear it. 5 minutes go by and you glance at your iPhone, only to find out you’ve missed the important call! Don’t throw your phone at the cat. In this article, I’ll explain why your iPhone won’t ring and I’ll show you exactly how to fix it.
Martha Aron inspired me to write this article when she asked, “My iPhone does not ring on all calls, I miss lots of calls and texts because of this. Can you help me?” Martha, I’m here to help you and everyone else that has missed incoming calls and texts because their iPhone isn’t ringing.
You Probably Know This, But Check Anyway…
If you’re reading this article, you probably already know that for your iPhone to ring, the Ring / Silent switch on the side of your iPhone has to be set to ring.
If the switch is pulled toward the screen, your iPhone’s ringer is turned on. If the switch is pushed toward the back of the iPhone, your iPhone is on silent and you’ll see a small orange stripe next to the switch. You’ll also see the speaker icon on the iPhone display when you flip the switch.
Once you’re sure the Ring / Silent switch is set to ring, make sure your iPhone ringer is turned up so you can hear your iPhone ring when you get a call. You can turn up the ringer volume by pressing the volume up button on the side of your iPhone.
You can also turn up the ringer volume by opening Settings -> Sounds & Haptics. Drag the slider under Ringer And Alerts to the right to turn up the ringer volume on your iPhone. The further you drag the slider to right, the louder the ringer will be.
If your iPhone isn’t making any sound at all, my article about what to do when an iPhone speaker stops working will show you how to fix that problem. If you’ve already done all this, here’s why your iPhone isn’t ringing:
Here’s The Fix: Turn Off Focus Or Do Not Disturb!
Most of the time, the reason an iPhone isn’t ringing for incoming calls is that the user has accidentally turned on Focus (iOS 15 and newer)Â or Do Not Disturb (iOS 14 and older) feature in Settings. Focus and Do Not Disturb silence calls, alerts, and notifications on your iPhone.
How Do I Know If A Focus Or Do Not Disturb Is Turned On?
The easiest way to tell if a Focus or Do Not Disturb is turned on is to open Control Center and look in the upper right-hand corner of your iPhone, just to the left of the battery icon. If a Focus is enabled, you’ll see the corresponding Focus icon there. If Do Not Disturb is enabled, you’ll see a small moon icon there.
You can schedule a Focus to automatically turn on by opening Settings and tapping Focus. Tap the Focus you’d like to schedule, then tap Add Schedule or Automation.
If you’d like to dive deeper into Do Not Disturb and set up an automatic schedule, instance, head to Settings -> Do Not Disturb to see all the options available to you.
How Do I Turn Off A Focus?
Open Control Center by swiping up from the very bottom of the screen (iPhones without Face ID) or down from the upper right-hand corner of the screen (iPhones with Face ID). Tap on the Focus icon to turn it off.
How Do I Turn Off Do Not Disturb?
Ever since Apple released iOS 7, it’s been easy to turn Do Not Disturb on and off. Open Control Center and tap the moon icon to turn Do Not Disturb on or off.
You can also turn off Do Not Disturb or Focus by going to Settings -> Do Not Disturb and turning off the switch next to Do Not Disturb. You’ll know Do Not Disturb is off when the switch is white.
If your iPhone is running iOS 15 or newer, open Settings and tap Focus -> Do Not Disturb and turn off the switch at the top of the screen.
Turn Off “Silence Unknown Callers”
One reason why you have an iPhone ringing problem may be because your block unknown callers feature is turned on. This feature is great for stopping telemarketers and robocalls in their tracks, but unfortunately it also filters out some people that you actually do want to talk to.
To turn this off, head over to Settings -> Phone and turn off the switch next to Silence Unknown Callers. Once you’ve done that, your phone should be able to ring again when someone who isn’t in your contacts tries to call you.
What If My iPhone Still Won’t Ring?
I’ve received a couple of comments from readers who have taken all of the suggestions and whose iPhones still aren’t ringing. If you’ve made it this far and your iPhone isn’t ringing, there’s a good chance you may have a hardware problem.
Often times, when gunk or liquid gets into one of the ports (like the headphone jack or lightning / dock connector), your iPhone thinks there’s something plugged into it, when in fact there isn’t. My article about how to fix an iPhone that’s stuck in headphone mode explains why that happens and how to fix the problem.
It’s a long shot, but you can take an antistatic brush (or toothbrush you’ve never used before) and try to brush out the gunk from your headphone jack or lightning / dock connector port. Antistatic brushes are helpful for cleaning all sorts of electronics, and you can pick up a 3-pack on Amazon for less than $5.
If you’re successful, the issue should resolve itself. Unfortunately, most of the time the damage has already been done. Something has shorted out on the inside of your iPhone, so the only solution is to visit your local Apple Store or use the mail-in options at Apple’s support website to have your iPhone repaired.
Now might also be a good time to upgrade your iPhone. Repairs can be expensive, especially if more than one thing is wrong with your iPhone. Rather than spending hundreds of dollars on a repair, you could use that money to purchase a new phone. Check out UpPhone’s cell phone comparison tool to find a great deal on a new iPhone!
Wrapping It Up
Do Not Disturb is one of those great features that comes in handy if you know how to use it, but it can be really frustrating if you don’t. To Martha and everyone else who has missed important calls or yelled “My iPhone won’t ring!” at an innocent bystander, I hope this article has you to solve your silent iPhone problem. If you have follow-up questions or other experiences to share, post them in the comments section below. I look forward to hearing from you!
very helpful, thanks
thx. going crazy trying to change the settings, didn’t realize there was a poorly placed switch for do not disturb. i mean, it’s right under where most ppl would place their thumb (i guess that’s for convenience, tho)
Great article! Well written, user-friendly, and very helpful. Too many online how-to instructions are put out by people who either dont know what theyre talking about or dont know how to talk to people…making an already frustrating experience worse. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Thank you so much. My iPhone rings now. My problem was my headphone button was on, turned it off and my phone rings.
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!!! Now my daughter-in-law won’t think I hate her because I never answer her calls!
Wow! Excellent!
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You !!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks. It was my do not disturb button was on
Brilliant advice. First thing that worked. Many thanks, you are a star!
Wow, so simple. Thanks very much. my apologies to the cat as well.
I knew about the side button, but I’d forgotten about it and checked everything except that. What’s funny/strange is that whenever my husband called me, my phone would ring. Not for anybody else! Maybe because we’re on the same plan?
Thanks it was the button on the side
Was not able to make or receive calls. I tried all of the tips on my 5c. Plugged in the headphones was able to receive and make calls. Unplugged the headphones and everything worked fine.
my iphone6 doesn’t ring, and I cannot find a reason
Thank you for the fix..that damn slide button ..your site is awesome !!!
Thanks, y’all!
Brilliantly simple!
Iv tried all options except the anti static brush. I purchased it from someone else but now the sound doesnt work for calls. It vibrates, plays music and Netflix with no problem but calls are silent. Is it the hardware?
Thank you so much for making it so simple to fix my ringer. Some sights have made me feel so stupid and talked over my head. 🙂
I had an issue where my calls were not coming in and voicemail wasnt picking up. I was getting no alerts of incoming calls other than sometimes my iPad would ring unless my brother or dad called. I would get random alerts at random times of missed calls from hours before and sometimes voicemail alerts from days before. DND wasnt on and I always have my silence switch on. My issue was actually inside of the DND options even though it was not actually on. Only receive calls from was set to favorites. I changed that to everyone and the… Read more »
Right on! Problem resolved. Thanks a lot.
Omg David, I finally found why I had no sound, it was the tiny button on the side of the phone!!! Thanks for your help!! You are so special helping people like me. I wish I will help you too.
I was able to restore ring function by rocking the silent switch on & off several times!
Thanks for the tips on this page…it’s always a little better knowing it’s not just you.
Thank you!!!
thak you so much…this was an easy fix!
Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!!
I have been loosing my mind about my phone not ringing. Do not Disturb was on & I had no idea!!!
You fixed it!!!! *flails wildly* Thank you!
tnx it worked.. You’re the best
That was it…..total life saver. Thank you.
Thank u sir it definitely helped me
Very helpful info. Thanx!!
thank you
Perfect.
thanx..do not disturb was my problem..
For months, since the update, I have been missing important calls and had rebooted, all that. Somehow my do not disturb was on. Thank you!
Why didnt I look here first??? Thank you so much!
Thank you so much! I have been trying everything and couldn’t figure out why my phone wasn’t ringing! Didn’t even know that switch on the side of my phone was there!
Excellent. My phone has been silent for weeks. I had somehow managed to flip the switch on the side!
Thank you so much My DND was on and I didnt know it! I frequently use the flashlight feature on that screen and must have accidentally tapped the DND button. Id noticed the crescent moon icon but thought it was for the night screen whew, I thought I needed to replace my phone. Thank you!!!!!!
Here’s yet-one-more vote for looking at that critical “SLIDE SWITCH” before monkeying around with the headphone jack and all the rest. Also reminded me that I probably really need to check out one of those manuals for Seniors and/or Dummies that are designed to cover Apple stuff, etc., that is not painfully obvious. Hey, this Apple truly gear is awesome, but not always as “user-friendly” as those-of-us-of-a-certain-age would prefer. Otherwise, this http://www.payetteforward.com blog is one of the best sources of Apple tips I’ve ever seen. And I do not doubt I’ll be back for more helpful tips!
Lovely the side button works. Thanks alot.
I can’t thank you enough! My iphone hasn’t rung in two weeks. It was the “do not disturb” thing that was turned on. I never would’ve thought to check that in a million years. Bless you and have a Merry Christmas!
thank you sooo much
Thanks. I took my phone to an “expert ” who had no answers. All I did is switched to ring switch on and hey presto
Thank you so much!! I thought I was going to murder my phone!!! LOL! It was driving me nuts going in and out of the settings trying to figure out why It’s not ringing!! I havn’t gotten a call yet, but when I here my phone ring again, It will be the happyest sound I’ve heard in a while!!
That little switch was slid to off. Never knew! UR terrific!
Thanks, the little orange line was there, so I switched it up…did the job
omg i feel so dumb, it was just about the switch.. i was freaking out for nothing x)
Thanks for the advice. My wifes iPhone wasnt ringing and she was getting very frustrated. Her iPhone case was covering the side switch so I did not notice it was switched off. As soon as I read the information in your article, I realized the switch was the culprit.