As an iPhone owner, I know that it is not an uncommon thing to be in a situation where you are left wondering why my iPhone is not ringing for incoming calls, all of a sudden. You are surprised to find that you have a bunch of missed calls. Having my iPhone not ringing when I get a call is an annoying thing, at the least, and can mean disaster in an emergency.
And the problem does not affect telephone calls only. I have missed text messages as well because my iPhone didn’t ring out. I have a colleague who missed vital text messages from their iPhone 12 not ringing when locked. And that caused a mess at work, because those messages were vital to what we do. You don’t want to be caught in a situation like that just because your iPhone is not ringing for incoming calls.
Why is my phone not ringing when I get a call?
So, why is your iPhone not ringing but saying missed call? There are a number of reasons why this happens, and most of them are simple problems that can be fixed by changing a setting in your phone. It could be a volume setting issue. It could be that you have Do Not Disturb turned on, or perhaps have the Ring / Silent button pushed inadvertently. A hardware fault cannot be ruled out, too, if your iPhone is not ringing for incoming calls.
How do I fix my iPhone not ringing for incoming calls?
Naturally, your first port of call should be your phone’s volume settings. Check the phone to be sure that the volume hasn’t been turned down. If that isn’t where the problem lies, the question you want answered is, “How do I get my iPhone to ring again?” It is time to go through the below checklist, one by one, to resolve the problem.
Check the Ring / Silent switch
There is a Ring / Silent switch on the side of your iPhone. There is a possibility that you accidentally toggled that and put your device on Silent. So, check that button to be sure it is in Ring position. If it is pushed toward the back side, your iPhone is on Silent; push it forward to enable the ringer again.
Check and Turn off Do Not Disturb (or Focus, in newer models)
Do Not Disturb is the settings we enable to keep anyone from distracting us, usually when we are in a meeting, driving, or just needing some personal time. The snag is that many times, we forget to turn it off again, and then go our way. The result is that your iPhone will not ring out when someone calls you.
So, if your iPhone is not ringing for incoming calls, check to make sure that you do not have Do Not Disturb enabled. Open Settings > Do Not Disturb, and toggle the switch off if it is on. Also, you can now schedule Do Not Disturb, so it is automatically turned off after a preset period. This helps with those who forget to turn it off after use.
Turn off Silence Unknown Callers
I am not one to ignore unknown calls, but I know that there are people who do. Blocking unknown callers from reaching you means that your iPhone will not ring out when such unidentified numbers call you. It could be a friend or a family member in an emergency trying to reach you.
To turn off Silence Unknown Callers, go to Settings > Phone Tap > “Silence Unknown Callers”, and turn off the toggle button next to Silence Unknown Callers.
Why is my iPhone not ringing when locked?
Where your iPhone is not ringing for incoming calls when locked, you need to look at your Do Not Disturb settings. This happens when you have Do Not Disturb turned on with certain settings. For example, you likely set DND to kick in Only while iPhone is locked. Go into your iPhone’s DND settings to disable that.
A iOS software update may fix a situation where your iPhone is not ringing for incoming calls
Sometimes, your iPhone is not ringing when you get a call is due to a software bug and Apple releases a fix via a software update. So, be sure to check if there is a software update available for your device, and then run it, Go to Settings > General > Software Update, and if there is one available, install it.
Reset all settings
If iPhone is not ringing for incoming calls, resetting it might be your last resort shy of sending your beloved iPhone to an Apple authorized service centre. Resetting your iPhone to Factory Settings will wipe everything off the device, so be sure you know what you are doing before going down this path. You should have a backup of your files or else you will lose everything.
If your iPhone still won’t ring
There is a chance that the problem could be hardware based if your iPhone is not ringing for incoming calls after trying all the above fixes. In this case, only an authorized service centre will do. It is time to take your iPhone to one to get it fixed.