iPhone 17 ringtone loud on silent with Bluetooth

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Level 1

6 points

iPhone 17 ringtone loud on silent with Bluetooth

When my phone (iphone 17 ios 26.2) is on silent mode and I'm connected to any bluetooth device - speakers, headphones, car - my ringtone plays at full volume when I get a call. This happens with all incoming calls including the suspected spam calls. It only happens with phone calls, no other types of notifications. It's mostly annoying when I'm wearing headphones because the ringer plays like 10x louder than whatever I'm listening to right into my ears. Is there a setting that I'm missing to stop this from happening, or do I just have to live on DND when I'm using bluetooth?

iPhone 17

Posted on Jan 3, 2026 6:04 PM

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Answer 1

LD150

Level 10

100,865 points

Jan 4, 2026 4:58 AM in response to sabrina127

Try pairing the BT phones then in settings, Sounds & haptics, reduce ringtone volume slider.

It may remember a different volume when on BT like it does on media .

How do the various iPhone volume controls… - Apple Community

If that works come back and I will update the user tip.

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Answer 2

SravanKrA

Level 10

431,278 points

Jan 3, 2026 11:16 PM in response to sabrina127

This user has a solution --> Problem Solved With Too Loud USB-C - Apple Community

If the above did not help then see the two pics (Pic 1 and Pic 2) below to reduce Loud Sound.

Pic 1

Pic 2

Verify if an inadvertent volume limit has been set. Disable it or adjust the limit to a higher value.

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Answer 3

sabrina127 Author

Level 1

6 points

Jan 8, 2026 9:39 AM in response to SravanKrA

Thank you for the response, but this does not solve my problem. I am not looking to reduce the volume of my phone. I am trying to get the phone to correctly apply silent mode while I'm connected to bluetooth. My ringtone should not play through speakers or headphones when my phone is on silent. I still need my phone to ring loudly when it is off of silent mode.

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Answer 4

sabrina127 Author

Level 1

6 points

Jan 8, 2026 9:50 AM in response to LD150

Thank you for the response, this did not solve my problem. The adjustments I made to the ringtone volume while connected to bluetooth remained when I disconnected. I still need my ringtone to be loud when my phone is not on silent. I am trying to understand why my phone can stay silent & vibrate for calls when disconnected from a bluetooth speaker/headphone, but when connected to a device the ringtone plays.

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Answer 5

LD150

Level 10

100,865 points

Jan 8, 2026 11:26 AM in response to sabrina127

Me neither, sorry. Non Apple devices can make up their own rules, Apple Airpods would be OK

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