You’re getting a phone call but for some reason your iPhone won’t ring. You’re certain that the phone is not set to mute and that the volume level isn’t set to the lowest level. What could’ve prevented the phone from ringing when it’s supposed to ring for incoming call alerts? The answer to this question can be found in this post. If you need some help fixing this problem, then I encourage you to read further.
Fix iPhone Won’t Ring Quick Fix: Turn Off Do Not Disturb!
A simple fix if your iPhone will not ring is to turn off Do Not Disturb. iPhone notifications, alerts and incoming calls will not ring if the feature is turned on. Simply turn off Do Not Disturb in settings for the fix.
More Checks to Fix iPhone that Won’t Ring
An iPhone that doesn’t ring is either experiencing some software glitches or some of its audio components like speakers aren’t working. You can use this context to determine whether or not the problem is attributed to software issues or hardware damage.
Before taking a trip to a service center, you can try the following procedures to rule out software-related factors that might have caused your iPhone to stop ringing for incoming call alerts. Be sure to test your device after applying each method to find out whether or not the problem is fixed. Proceed to the next method if needed.
First solution: Toggle the ringer switch off and on again.
The first thing you should check is the physical ringer switch on your iPhone. The Ring/Silent switch is found on the upper-left side of the phone. In this case, try toggling the switch up or down can help. If you see the orange bar, it means that your phone is set to mute. Thus, your iPhone doesn’t ring or play alerts or other sound effects for your apps.
- To enable sound/audio functions on your phone, just flip the switch up to turn it back to Ring mode.
The next thing you should do is to adjust the volume level on your iPhone. It’s possible that the volume level is set to low or lowest level, and so you don’t hear your iPhone ring for incoming calls or notification alerts.
The volume level of your iPhone can be adjusted through the physical volume buttons, using the Control Center and through the volume settings. You can also use Siri to adjust the volume of your phone based in your preferences.
- To adjust the volume using the physical controls, simply press the Volume Up key to increase the sound level and Volume Down key to reduce.
- To adjust the volume through Siri, just say something like “Turn up the volume” or “Turn down the volume” and Siri will be glad to carry it out. Just be sure to speak the words clearly so that Siri won’t be having trouble processing your request.
- To adjust the volume through the Control Center, just open the Control Center, find the Volume icon and then drag the Volume slider left or right. Adjusting the volume level through the Control Center is recommended if your iPhone screen is locked or when you’re using a certain app and you find the need to adjust the sound.
To adjust the volume through settings, simply follow these steps:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap Sounds & Haptics or Sounds (if you’re using older models).
- Then turn Change with Buttons option on or off.
After making adjustments to the volume settings, restart or soft reset your iPhone to apply the recent changes and to refresh its memory. Performing a soft reset also helps clear out minor software glitches that might have caused the audio system or phone app to fail. If your iPhone still not ringing afterwards, then you need to troubleshoot further and rule out other factors that might have prevented it from ringing.
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Second solution: Disconnect your iPhone from any paired Bluetooth device.
One of the possible reasons that your iPhone doesn’t ring for incoming phone calls is that its sound is bypassed or routed to a Bluetooth-enabled speaker or headset. To make sure that this isn’t causing the problem, disconnect your phone from any paired Bluetooth accessory or simply turn off its Bluetooth feature. Here’s what you should do then:
- From your Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select Bluetooth.
- Toggle the switch to turn Bluetooth off, if it’s turned on.
To make sure that your iPhone won’t automatically connect to a Bluetooth-enabled accessory like headsets or speakers, better yet forget these devices from your phone.
To forget Bluetooth devices from your iPhone, simply follow these steps:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select Bluetooth, then turn it on to view the list of available Bluetooth devices in range.
- Then tap the small letter “i” or information icon next to the name of each Bluetooth device that you want to delete or forget.
- Tap Forget This Device then tap the option to confirm that you want to delete the selected Bluetooth device.
Reboot the iPhone to refresh it and then retry placing a phone call using a different phone to test and see if your iPhone is still not ringing.
Third solution: Turn off Do Not Disturb feature on your iPhone.
If you see a crescent moon-like icon on the status bar of your phone, it means that Do Not Disturb is enabled or turned on. When enabled, there is a tendency that it has disabled or blocked notification alerts for incoming calls and thus, your iPhone doesn’t ring. This is when you need to turn off Do Not Disturb on your iPhone. Here’s how it’s done:
- Open the Control Center then tap the crescent moon-like icon to turn Do Not Disturb on or off.
- You can also ask Siri to turn Do Not Disturb on or off. Just launch Siri on your iPhone then say something like “Turn off Do Not Disturb.”
If you prefer to use it through settings menu, then here’s what you should do:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Select Do Not Disturb.
- Then toggle the switch to turn off the feature.
Otherwise, you can keep Do Not Disturb turned on but set some exceptions for incoming calls to ring on your iPhone. If your device is still not ringing after this, then move on to the next procedure.
Fourth solution: Install new updates to fix iPhone won’t ring issue.
Installing the latest iOS version available for your iPhone is also one of the possible solutions, especially if the problem is attributed to some sort of software bug or system glitches. If you haven’t set your device to auto-install new updates, then you will need to implement updates manually. To make sure that the problem isn’t isolated to a certain app, install all pending app updates through the App Store. Here’s how:
- Tap App Store from the Home screen.
- Scroll down then tap Updates. A new screen containing a list of apps with pending updates will then show up.
- Tap the Update button next to the name of the application to update individual apps.
- Or tap the Update All button on the upper part of the screen to update all apps simultaneously.
Keeping the phone’s firmware updated is also recommended. Refer to these steps to check for and install new iOS update for your iPhone:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Select General.
- Tap Software Update.
An update notification should show up shortly if a new iOS version is available. Before updating, make sure that your iPhone has ample of storage space, battery life and stable Internet access. Then follow the onscreen instructions to download and install the update when you’re ready. After installing all updates and your iPhone is still not ringing, then it’s time to reset all settings of your iPhone.
Fifth solution: Reset all settings on your iPhone.
Settings that aren’t properly configured on your phone can also cause its sound output. Automatic update overrides are usually the main culprits. Thus, if the problem started after installing new updates, resetting all settings on your iPhone might be needed. This reset doesn’t affect any saved information on the internal memory, so it won’t result to permanent data loss. Here’s how it’s done:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Select General.
- Scroll down to and then tap on Reset.
- Select the option to Reset all settings.
- Enter your device passcode when asked to proceed.
- Then tap the option to confirm that you want to reset all settings on your iPhone.
Your iPhone will then start erasing all customized settings and then restores the original options and values. After the reset, your phone should reboot itself. By then you can start enabling features that you want to use again on your phone. Try to see if it still not ringing when it gets a call because if so, then move on to the next solution.
Last option: Factory reset/master reset to fix iPhone won’t ring problem.
If nothing else works and you already run out of options, you may opt to resort to a factory reset to erase your iPhone and restore its factory defaults. Any complex system error that caused the phone’s audio system to stop working will likewise be cleared out in the process. But the only downside is that this reset does affect saved data on the phone’s internal memory, hence will result to permanent data loss. That said, creating backups to iCloud or iTunes is recommended. If you wish to proceed, back up all your critical files, then continue with these steps whenever you’re all set:
- Tap Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap General.
- Scroll down to and then tap Reset.
- Choose the option to Erase all content and settings.
- Enter your passcode when asked to continue.
- Tap the option to confirm that you want to factory reset your iPhone.
Allow your device to finish wiping all your iPhone data and then restarts when done. After it boots up, you can use the startup wizard to set up your iPhone as new.
You can also use iTunes to manually erase and restore factory defaults settings on your iPhone. Or you can restore your iPhone to a previous iOS backup through iTunes if the problem started after installing updates and it persisted after exhausting all possible means to fix it.
Should you wish to proceed with an iTunes reset, get a computer ready. That computer must also have the latest iTunes version and stable access to the Internet to allow iTunes to access the Apple server when downloading the software version for your iPhone. Once you’re all set, connect your iPhone to the computer using the Apple-supplied USB cable, open iTunes on the computer and wait for it to sync with your iOS device. Select your iPhone when it appears in iTunes then follow the onscreen commands and controls to start wiping and restoring your device.
What to do if you still have an iPhone won’t ring issue after exhausting all prior methods?
There is a higher chance that you’re dealing with a hardware issue. This is most likely the case if you happened to drop your phone or got it wet before. Some of the audio components might have been damaged and therefore need some repair, otherwise, replacement.
To rule out hardware damage from the underlying cause, you can take your iPhone to the nearest Apple service center and ask an authorized technician to examine the hardware components. If your iPhone is still covered by warranty, then better talk to your carrier first so that they can advise you on how to avail for warranty instead. If this happens to be a persistent post-update issue, then you should report the problem to Apple Support so they can make necessary assessments on their end. A fix patch might also be needed.
I hope that we’ve been able to help you fix the problem with your device. We would appreciate it if you helped us spread the word so please share this post if you found it helpful. Thank you so much for reading!