Why Is My Phone Not Ringing? Fixes for iPhone and Android

Most of the time, a phone that stays quiet for incoming calls has a setting doing exactly what it was told: Silent mode, a Focus or Do Not Disturb schedule, or a filter that sends unknown numbers to voicemail. Check those first, and only move on to network resets and repairs if the calls still go straight to voicemail.

If you're asking why is my phone not ringing, the answer usually depends on one detail. Does it stay silent for everyone, or only for certain people? Silence for every caller points to volume, Silent mode or Do Not Disturb. Silence for new or unsaved numbers points to call screening or blocking. Calls that never show up at all, not even as missed, point to forwarding or your carrier. The fixes below run from the 10 second checks to the ones that take a few minutes.

Silent Mode or a Low Ringer Is Muting Every Call

Start with the obvious, because it catches a lot of people. On an iPhone, Apple lists turning off Silent mode as the first thing to do before any other troubleshooting. Depending on your model, that's the switch on the side of the phone or the Action button, and newer iPhones also show a Silent mode control in Control Center.

On a Samsung Galaxy, Samsung's own guide starts with the volume. Press the volume up button while no media is playing and make sure the ringer is not at zero or set to vibrate. If you set a custom ringtone, also check Settings > Sounds and Vibration > Ringtone and confirm the sound file still exists on the phone.

Earbuds or a Car Are Taking the Ring

Samsung points out that connected headphones or earbuds redirect audio away from the speaker. The same thing happens with Bluetooth car kits, smartwatches and speakers you forgot were paired. The call rings, just not where you are.

Turn Bluetooth off for a minute and have someone call you. If the phone rings now, go through your paired devices and remove the ones you no longer use.

Do Not Disturb or a Focus Turned On by Itself

This is the most common cause when calls stop ringing at night or during work hours. These modes can switch on by schedule, so you may not remember enabling them.

iPhone. Swipe down from the top right corner to open Control Center. If Do Not Disturb, Sleep, Work or another Focus is highlighted, tap it to turn it off. Apple's support article also suggests checking Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb to make sure it isn't running. If you like using a Focus, edit it to allow calls from the people who matter instead of switching it off entirely.

Android. Google's help page says to swipe down from the top of the screen and tap Do Not Disturb to turn it off. On Android 14 and later, the main controls live under Settings > Modes > Do Not Disturb. Inside a mode, Notification filters let you choose which people can still reach you, and Allow repeat callers lets a second call from the same person within 15 minutes ring through. Google notes the exact wording varies by phone.

Samsung. Swipe down with two fingers to open Quick Settings, then tap and hold the Do Not Disturb icon to turn it off or add exceptions for specific contacts.

Unknown Numbers Are Being Silenced or Screened

If your friends get through but the pharmacy, a new doctor or a delivery driver goes straight to voicemail, call screening is the likely cause. This is also the classic case of a phone not ringing for incoming calls from people who aren't in your contacts.

On iPhone, go to Settings > Apps > Phone. Apple's current guide describes a Screen Unknown Callers setting with three choices:

• Never: calls from unsaved numbers ring like any other call.
• Ask Reason for Calling: the caller is asked why they're calling before your phone rings.
• Silence: the call is silenced and sent to voicemail.

Pick Never if you've been missing important calls. On the same screen, look under Call Filtering and turn off Unknown Callers if you want those calls treated normally. Apple also notes that calls are not screened while you're roaming. Depending on your iOS version, you may see this setting labeled Silence Unknown Callers instead.

Keep in mind that relaxing these filters lets more spam through. If you start getting robocalls again, our guide on how to report a scam covers where to send them.

A Number Is Blocked or Calls Are Being Forwarded

When one specific person says your phone never rings, check whether you blocked them by accident. On iPhone, Apple's path is Settings > Apps > Phone > Blocked Contacts. Swipe left on a number and tap Unblock.

On the same Phone settings screen, tap Call Forwarding and make sure it's off. Forwarding sends calls to another number before your phone ever rings, so they won't show up as missed calls either. On Android, forwarding usually sits in the Phone app's settings under call or supplementary settings, though the label differs by maker. Your carrier can also tell you whether forwarding is active on your line.

Apps, Accessibility or a Glitch Are Interfering

Samsung lists a few less obvious causes. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Enhancements and confirm Mute all sounds is off. If calls come in through WhatsApp or Telegram and those are the ones not ringing, open that app's notification settings, because each app controls its own ringtone.

Then restart the phone. On a Galaxy, swipe down, tap the power icon and choose Restart. A restart clears a stuck audio service more often than you'd expect. If the trouble started right after you installed a new app, Samsung suggests uninstalling it and testing again.

The Problem Is Your Network, Not Your Phone

Calls that don't ring at all and arrive only as voicemail notifications can mean the phone isn't really connected. If your screen shows SOS or no bars, see why your phone says SOS first.

Apple recommends turning Airplane Mode on, waiting five seconds, and turning it off. If that doesn't help, check for a carrier settings update and an iOS update. In places with weak coverage, turning on Wi-Fi Calling (Settings > Apps > Phone, under Calls) can help, though Apple notes not every carrier offers it.

As a bigger step, reset network settings on iPhone with Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings. Apple warns this erases saved Wi-Fi passwords, VPN settings and APN settings, so have your home Wi-Fi password handy. Samsung's equivalent options are under Settings > General Management > Reset.

When to Call Your Carrier or Book a Repair

Contact your carrier if none of the above works. Apple's call troubleshooting page lists the things only the carrier can check: whether your account is set up for your phone, local outages, billing blocks and errors on its own system. A recently ported number or a new SIM or eSIM is a common trigger.

If the phone rings through Bluetooth but never through its own speaker, or plays no sound at all for media and alarms either, the speaker itself may have failed. That's a repair job. A factory reset is the last software step Samsung suggests before that, and it wipes the phone, so back everything up first. For other hardware worries, our phone not charging guide walks through when a repair shop makes sense.

One quick test saves a lot of guessing: ask a friend to call you twice in a row, once from a saved contact and once from a number you don't know. Which call rings tells you which section above to start with. You'll find more phone troubleshooting in our Gadgets section, plus Apple's full guide to calls going straight to voicemail and Google's Do Not Disturb help page.