SUMMARY
If your iPhone isn’t ringing you should first check it’s not muted and that the ringtone volume is loud enough. It’s also worth restarting your device. You can further diagnose by disabling features like Silence Unknown Callers, Focus, and Airplane Mode. If all else fails, reset your iPhone to factory settings.
Your iPhone will ring audibly on incoming calls if you want. Sometimes your iPhone won’t ring at all or rings but doesn’t make a sound. Let’s look at why your iPhone is not ringing on incoming calls and how to fix it.
Why your iPhone won’t ring
There are a number of reasons why your iPhone ringer isn’t working on incoming phone calls. Here are some of the most common ones:
- The speaker port is clogged.
- Your iPhone is having a hardware damage.
- Your ringer volume is turned all the way down.
- Your iPhone is on Do Not Disturb or Airplane mode.
- Your iPhone is paired with Bluetooth®.
- Your iPhone is having a software glitch.
How to fix an iPhone that won’t ring
If your iPhone isn’t ringing when you receive a call, try these solutions.
Check your iPhone for dust, dirt, and damage
First, look at your device and check for any physical damage such as dents or cracks—these could be a sign that your phone may need to be repaired or replaced, but we’ll hold off until we’ve tried a few other fixes. Next, check the speaker port for any dust or dirt, which you can easily remove by blowing it off or cleaning it with a cotton swab dipped in a drop of rubbing alcohol.
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, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 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.
Make sure the Ring / Silent switch on the side of your iPhone is pulled towards the display. If it’s pushed towards the back, your iPhone is set on silent. Pull the Ring / Silent switch forward to set it to ring. You can bring an iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models out of silent mode by going to Settings > Sounds and Haptics and turning off the switch next to Silent Mode.
Check your volume settings
Sometimes, the simplest solution is the most effective. If you’re not hearing your phone ring, make sure your ringer volume isn’t turned all the way down.
- Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics.
- Make sure that the Ringtone and Alert Volume slider is high enough.
- To turn up the ringer volume, drag the slider towards the right.
To prevent the volume buttons from adjusting the ringer volume, make sure Change with Buttons is switched off.
Restart your iPhone
A simple restart may fix the problem of your iPhone not ringing.
To restart your iPhone X, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 or later:
- Press and hold the side button and either volume button simultaneously until slide to power off appears.
- Slide the red and white power icon from left to right to shut it down.
- After 30–60 seconds, press and the side button until the Apple logo appears on the screen. Your iPhone will turn on shortly after.
To restart your iPhone SE (2nd or 3rd generation), 6, 7, or 8:
- press and hold the power button until slide to power off appears.
- Slide the red and white power icon from left to right to shut it down.
- After 30–60 seconds, press and the power button until the Apple logo appears on the screen. Your iPhone will turn on shortly after.
To restart your iPhone SE (1st generation), 5, or earlier:
- press and hold the top button until slide to power off appears.
- Slide the red and white power icon from left to right to shut it down.
- After 30–60 seconds, press and the top button until the Apple logo appears on the screen. Your iPhone will turn on shortly after.
Turn off Do Not Disturb
With Focus settings in iOS 15 or later, Do Not Disturb can silence incoming calls. When Do Not Disturb is on, a crescent moon icon appears in the status bar and on your Lock Screen. To turn Do Not Disturb off
- Swipe down from the top-right corner of your Home Screen to launch Control Center.
- Tap the Focus button where the Do Not Disturb crescent moon appears. If there is no moon icon, Do Not Disturb is currently turned off.
- Tap Do Not Disturb to turn the feature off.
Switch off Airplane Mode
Your iPhone won’t ring if it’s in Airplane Mode. When Airplane Mode is on, the Airplane Mode icon appears in the status bar. Double-check to make sure it’s off so you can receive calls. Open Control Center, then tap the Airplane Mode Switch button to disable it.
Turn off Silence Unknown Callers
One reason why you have an iPhone ringing problem may be because your Silence Unknown Callers feature is turned on. When this feature is turned on, your iPhone won’t ring if the number isn’t in your contacts. To turn this off, follow these steps:
- Go to Settings > Apps > Phone.
- Scroll down and select Silence Unknown Callers.
- Toggle the feature off. Now your phone should be able to ring again when someone who isn’t in your contacts tries to call you.
Make sure the number isn’t blocked
If your iPhone isn’t ringing when someone calls, you may have blocked the number. Here’s how to unblock a number on your iPhone:
- Go to Settings > Apps > Phone.
- Scroll down and select Blocked Contacts.
- Tap Edit, then tap the minus icon next to the number you want to unblock.
Check your ringtones
If you’re still having a problem, check your default ringtone. You may need to choose a different one. Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone, then select a new ringtone.
If your phone doesn’t ring when only one or several people call, try checking custom ringtones you may have set up:
- Open the Phone app and tap on Contacts tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the name of the person whose calls aren’t ringing, then tap Edit.
- Tap Ringtone, then pick a new ringtone for this contact.
Check whether Bluetooth devices are connected
If you’re not hearing a call, it’s entirely possible your device is ringing during incoming calls but sending the tone to another audio device, like Bluetooth® headphones. No shame in that, it happens. The easiest way to check if audio is going somewhere else is to open Control Center and tap on the AirPlay icon (concentric rings and an arrow) in the music/podcasts pane. Alternately, you can just go to Settings > Bluetooth and see which devices are listed as connected. To temporarily disconnect something, tap the i (info) button next to a device and choose Disconnect.
Install any available iOS updates
Bugs may sometimes break iPhone functions, even something as critical as ringer. You can check for iOS updates by going to Settings > General > Software Update. If an update is available, follow the instructions to update your iPhone. While you’re at it, you should consider turning on Automatic Updates if you’re prone to forgetting about installing updates yourself. On top of eliminating bugs, this can also improve your iPhone’s defenses against security threats.
Complete a factory reset
If you’ve worked through all these options and your iPhone is still not ringing, sometimes your next best step is to try completing a factory reset to restore your device to its original factory settings. But this should only be your last resort.
A factory reset on your iPhone will erase nearly all the data on your device, so be sure to back up your iPhone first.
Learn how to factory reset your iPhone.
Tried these steps and still need help, contact Apple support to check your device for hardware problem.