How to use silent mode and allow all calls on iPhone?

Question

Level 1

5 points

How to use silent mode and allow all calls on iPhone?

I am so frustrated. I just upgraded from an iPhone 11 (with manual silent switch) to an iPhone 16 Pro. I have the action button set to silent, because I toggle back and forth between having my ringer on and off all the time. When my ringer is off, I still want the vibration and notification that I am getting a call. Now, I just MISS calls--they go straight to voicemail.

If I wanted calls to go straight to voicemail, I would use focus mode or DND. Why did we lose the silent mode feature? And I do not want to fumble to press the silent button whenever I hear my phone's ringtone.

Why did we get a redundant feature while losing one? Am I missing something? This is extremely frustrating. I now have to keep my ringtone on all the time or never have it on. And I get a lot of calls from people not in my contacts, so it's not as simple as DND and allowing people from my contacts to come through. I've missed so many important calls this week before realizing what was happening.

I'm not just frustrated, actually. I'm pretty angry. Please educate me?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: I want to use Silent Mode but Allow All Calls to come through

iPhone 16 Pro, iOS 18

Posted on Jul 17, 2025 11:55 AM

Reply

Answer 1

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

237,143 points

Jul 17, 2025 12:11 PM in response to lindsey3123

Relax to start with. I have an iPhone 16 Pro Max, and when I put my device into Silent mode and I receive a phone call, it vibrates just the way I want it to with the haptic that i have set for the call.

When you go to Settings>Sounds & Haptics, then scroll down to Ringtone, that is your default ringtone. When you tap on that, it takes you to another page where you can select your ringtone, but you would also select a haptic, or vibration as many of us remember. There is a default and some other selections. Make sure that one is selected. If you tap on it holding the phone, you will feel the haptic, so you know what it is. Back out of there twice and return to the Sounds & Haptics main page. Under Ringtones and Alerts there is a setting titled Haptics, tap on that. It takes you to another page to select when you want to feel the haptics for the Ringtones. Always and you get the haptics even when you get the ringtone. Play in Silent mode has the haptic play when in silent mode and you get no ringtone. The balance are self explanatory. And just under the list, when you tap on the different selections, you will see a short description. Make sure you have it set to either Always or Play in Silent Mode. That should alleviate your issue.

Reply

Answer 2

lindsey3123 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 18, 2025 8:20 AM in response to ChrisJ4203

When I am in silent mode:

Sound/Haptics

I receive no noise (ringtone, text tones, keyboard sounds).
I receive zero haptics. No vibration at all. I used to have vibrations customized for different contacts. I turned that off, seeing if that would help in some magical way—it did not.

Notifications

A text will pop up in Lock Screen or as a banner, etc
In Lock Screen, I will NOT see an incoming call but will suddenly see a missed call and voicemail notification at the same time. Same when it’s unlocked as a banner. Just a missed call notification and voicemail notification if they left one.

Not in Silent

When it’s not in silent, the phone acts normally and rings, text tones come through, all notifications for calls show up, etc.

Reply

Answer 3

lkrupp

Level 7

25,067 points

Jul 18, 2025 12:35 PM in response to lindsey3123

Obviously this behavior is not normal or expected, especially if you have set things up correctly. I would advise you to contact Apple Support for help. Your iPhone 16 Pro is still under warranty. Better yet if you live fairly near an Apple Store make a Genius appointment and let them take a look.

Have you tried force restarting your iPhone yet?

Restart your iPhone - Apple Support

Being frustrated and angry doesn’t solve anything and is not good for your health, physical or mental. Relax.

I don’t think you are going to be able to resolve this yourself.

For what it's worth, I have an iPhone 16 Pro and do not experience this issue. When in silent mode I get haptic notifications as expected.

Reply

Answer 4

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

237,143 points

Jul 18, 2025 12:38 PM in response to lindsey3123

I'm sorry, I'm not aware of anything else to check. I suggest that you contact Apple Support. If you have an Apple Store close by, you can make a Genius Bar appointment and have the device examined by Apple. Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

Reply

Answer 5

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

237,143 points

Jul 18, 2025 8:29 AM in response to lindsey3123

Can you try changing the Haptics setting to Play in Silent Mode? Do the Haptics play when not in silent mode? How did you turn off the customized haptics? Do you happen to have an Apple Watch?

Reply

Answer 6

lindsey3123 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 17, 2025 12:37 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Thank you for the detail, I appreciate it. Unfortunately, all of these settings are already set exactly as you described them. So, I still have the same issue despite having the same settings as you in Sounds & Haptics. Must be something else if you're still getting the experience I'm wanting.

Reply

Answer 7

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

237,143 points

Jul 17, 2025 3:13 PM in response to lindsey3123

So you are saying you are not getting any phone notifications when in silent. Are you getting any other notifications? If you do not have silent mode on, does the phone ring and do you receive haptics?

Reply

Answer 8

lindsey3123 Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 18, 2025 12:26 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Can you try changing the Haptics setting to Play in Silent Mode?

I did that earlier in the thread.

Do the Haptics play when not in silent mode?

As I said, no. They do not.

How did you turn off the customized haptics?

I should have said "deleted" instead of turned off. I just deleted the custom haptics for each contact, knowing I could recreate them later. I would rather that than miss important calls.

Do you happen to have an Apple Watch?

No, I do not.

Reply

Answer 9

lindsey3123 Author

Level 1

5 points

Aug 10, 2025 9:40 AM in response to lindsey3123

Just as an update:

My iPhone began having issues with GPS as well and after multiple support calls/chats and two Genius Bar visits, the "brain" had to be replaced. Working fine now.

As a side note that is unrelated to the issue but related to the discussion, I think it's reasonable to be upset. I had been told by support that this was a normal, new feature, then told by another support agent it was not normal. I was coming from a place where this error caused me to miss important calls that not only halted vital medical treatments--it got me written up at work as well. The reason why my phone switches back and forth to silent is important, and it was not a feature I could just stop switching between to accommodate this error as it was necessary for many reasons related to work, school, and my personal life. You don't know someone's life or what they're going through. Responding with empathy is helpful, even saying "no need to panic or be upset, we'll figure this out"; telling someone to "relax" in what can be construed as a patronizing way is unhelpful.

Reply

Answer 10

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

237,143 points

Aug 10, 2025 10:24 AM in response to lindsey3123

I'm glad you were able to get it sorted out. I'm sorry you felt that way about my post. In no way was I trying to patronize you, but many times running through a number of troubleshooting steps can raise someone's stress level. I was just trying to help and let you take a breath and start working on steps. After spending the amount of time here that I do to help people, I was truly being empathetic.

Reply

How to use silent mode and allow all calls on iPhone?

Similar questions