You’ve missed several phone calls because you did not hear your iPhone ring when the calls came in. You’ve checked the ringer switch and made sure that it was not set to mute but for some reasons your phone still doesn’t ring. What could have possibly gone wrong and what needs to be done in order to fix your iPhone for good? Before jumping into a conclusion that your iPhone is damaged, you may try to perform some workarounds to rule out the possibility of the problem being triggered by a software malfunction. This post will explicate the possible causes of a pertinent issue on the Apple iPhone 6s Plus that won’t ring along with a few applicable workarounds and potential solutions for you to try on. Read on to learn more.
What could have prevented your iPhone 6s Plus from ringing?
There are only two possibilities as to why your iPhone won’t ring. Considering that your iPhone is not set to silent mode or muted, you can consider the possibility of a software glitch affecting the sound functions on your device. In worst case scenario, your iPhone won’t ring because of faulty hardware like damaged ringer, speaker, or other relevant components. Unfortunately for hardware-related issues, a technician’s aid will already be needed. Either your iPhone needs repair or some components need to be replaced.
But in the case where your iPhone doesn’t ring due to some software issues like when the problem is isolated to an app or corrupted contents, there are some workarounds that can be used to resolve the underlying cause and get your device fixed without having to take a trip to a service center. All you have to do is to try to determine the possible cause as much as possible.
Among the factors that you need to consider looking into are your iPhone’s audio/sound settings including Do Not Disturb, assigned ringtones and volume level.
In the case where your iPhone 6s Plus stopped ringing after installing a new app or iOS update, the problem was likely triggered by a software bug from the new app or software update you have installed on your device.
Potential solutions and applicable workarounds
If you think that the main issue lies within the iPhone software rather than a damaged component, you can try to fix the problem on your end before setting up for service appointment with an iPhone technician. Highlighted below are applicable workarounds and possible solutions to audio problems on an Apple iPhone 6s Plus including not ringing issue. Be sure to test your device after completing each method to find out whether or not the problem has already been resolved. Otherwise, proceed to the next applicable solutions.
First solution: Reboot your device
Many iPhone problems that are software-related including those affecting the iPhone’s audio functions can be dealt with by a soft reset or simple reboot on the device. Minor software glitches including random apps malfunctions are usually rectified by doing so. If you haven’t done it already, then you should try doing it now. Here’s how to properly soft reset your iPhone 6s Plus:
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake (Power button) for a few seconds until the Slide to Power Off screen appears.
- Drag the slider to power off your device completely.
- Wait for at least 30 seconds.
- After the elapsed time, press and hold the Power button again until the Apple logo shows up on the screen.
Your iPhone the reboots. After it boots up completely try to make a test call to see if your iPhone is already ringing for incoming calls. If not, try the next possible solutions.
Second solution: Toggle the ringer switch off and then back on
This trick has done wonders to many people who have encountered similar issues on their respective iOS device. It won’t hurt if you’d give it a try this time and then see what happens. Take a look at the Ring/Silent switch on the left side of your iPhone and then flip the switch away from the screen. You’ll see a small, orange line which indicates that the iPhone is on Silent mode. After a few seconds, pull the switch towards the screen to turn the ringer back on. Typically, you’ll be prompted with a notification screen indicating that you turned the ringer on or off the moment you flip the Ring/Silent switch. Be sure to turn the ringer on.
Third solution: Adjust or increase the volume level on your iPhone
Another possibility as to why you don’t hear your iPhone 6s Plus ring is that the volume level might have been set to low. If you are able to hear other sounds from your iPhone like notification alerts, then this could be the possible trigger. The ringer volume can be set independently from the volume of the other sounds on your iPhone. Follow these steps to check and adjust the volume level on your iPhone 6s Plus:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap Sounds & Haptics.
- Drag the slider all the way to the right. Doing so will turn the ringer volume up.
- Locate the option to Change With Buttons and turn it on so that you can use the buttons to adjust the volume level instead of the Settings menu.
- When enabled, try to press the Volume Up or Volume Down on the left side of your iPhone to see if they’re working as intended.
Fourth solution: Check your iPhone speaker
Your iPhone speaker is responsible for every sound your iPhone makes like playing audio files, videos, ringtones, call and text alerts. If the ringer is turned on but your iPhone still won’t ring, it is possible that the iPhone speaker is not working as intended. To rule this out from the possible causes, try to check the speaker at the bottom of your iPhone. You can try to increase the volume level then play any sound or video file. You can use YouTube videos for this test. If you hear the audio fine, then the speaker is working. But if you don’t hear any sound coming out even when the volume level is set to the highest level, then it is possible that you’re dealing with a broken speaker, which needs fixing.
Fifth solution: Turn off Do Not Disturb on your iPhone 6s Plus
Do Not Disturb (DND) is an iPhone feature that is used to set restrictions or filters to incoming calls. When this feature is enabled, incoming calls, notifications, and alerts will be turned off or silenced unless you have configured it to make some exceptions. To make sure that this is not causing your problem, check your iPhone settings and configure the options if needed. Here’s how:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Scroll to and tap Do Not Disturb.
- Tap the switch next to Manual.
- If Do Not Disturb is turned off or disabled, the switch is gray and green if enabled.
- Tap the switch to turn Do Not Disturb off or disable the feature.
Alternatively, you can access this feature from the Control Center. Here’s how:
- Open the Control Center by swiping up from the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the Do Not Disturb icon. It looks like a crescent moon.
If the icon appears black inside a gray circle, it means that Do Not Disturb is disabled or turned off. If necessary, tap the icon to turn the feature off.
You can also use Siri to access Do Not Disturb and configure it through voice command.
- To do so, open Siri by pressing and holding the Home button on your iPhone 6s Plus then say “Turn Off Do Not Disturb.” Wait for Siri to process your command and respond by disabling the feature.
You will be notified when Do Not Disturb is turned off.
Sixth solution: Make sure that the caller or contact number is not blocked
Calls from phone numbers in the blocked list won’t go through. If the problem is isolated to specific phone numbers of if someone said they called you but you don’t see any sign of their call or missed call on your iPhone, then this could be the reason. To check for phone numbers in the blocked list, navigate to your iPhone Phone app settings. Here’s how to get there:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap Phone to launch the Phone app.
- Tap Call Blocking & Identification. Doing so will prompt you with the screen containing the list of phone numbers you have blocked.
- To unblock a phone number, tap Edit then the red circle on the left side of the number and confirm action by tapping Unblock.
Seventh solution: Change your ringtone
Ringtones can become corrupted and so they failed to work as intended. To eliminate the possibility that your ringtone is not working and the reason why you don’t hear your iPhone ring, try to set a different ringtone. Here’s how:
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Sounds & Haptics.
- Tap Ringtone.
- Select a different ringtone to use.
If you have assigned an individual ringtone to the contact number of the call you’ve missed, try to change it as well. Here’s how:
- Tap Phone to open the app.
- Tap Contacts.
- Look for the contact’s name then tap on it to view contact details.
- Tap Edit on the right side.
- Check the Ringtone line.
- Select a different ringtone to assign to that contact.
You can also try to set a new ringtone for each contact and see what happens. If the problem occurs only to a specific or unique ringtone, all other contacts with the same ringtone assigned will also be affected while others are working perfectly fine.
Eighth solution: Update to the latest iOS version
Software updates also contain bug fixes including those that are affecting the iPhone’s audio functions. Should the problem you have is triggered by a software bug, then installing the latest iOS update will likely get it fixed. To check for available software updates on your iPhone 6s Plus, follow these steps:
- Tap Settings.
- Tap General.
- Tap Software Update.
You will see an update notification if available.
If you are unable to check for update or encounter an error while checking for a software update on your iPhone 6s Plus, try to visit Apple’s system status website and see if services are available. If it shows green on the System Status, the service is up and it should work. Otherwise, it’s currently down or unavailable so you need to try again at a later time. This appears to be among the prevalent issues affecting iPhone users who are trying to update to the latest iOS version over-the-air or wirelessly. As an alternative, you can use iTunes to check for iOS update for your iPhone 6s Plus instead.
Escalate the problem
If none of these methods is able to fix the problem and that your iPhone 6s Plus still won’t ring, then you may escalate the issue to your device carrier or Apple Support for further assistance and recommendations. Otherwise, you can take your iPhone straight to an authorized service center for hardware assessment and/or repair, if necessary.