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My iPhone doesn't always ring, why?

I've had my iPhone 4S since it's introduction, I love it, except it doesn't always ring when I get a call. Yes, Airplane mode is off, the ringer is on. Take yesterday for instance, over a period of 5 hours, four calls didn't ring, 3 went to VoiceMail, one showed as a missed call, three other calls came through normally. During this entire time the phone was sitting on my desk, fully charged.


Has anyone else had this problem?

iPhone 4S, iOS 5.1.1

Posted on May 30, 2012 2:44 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 30, 2013 8:20 AM

That means your iPhone is in "Do Not Disturb" mode which will cause you to not be alerted when you get a notification (such as a phone call, message, Facebook/twitter notification).


To turn this on or off, go to:


Settings<Do Not Disturb<"ON" or "OFF"


You can also edit the times you want "Do Not Disturb" to be on by going to


Settings<Notifications<Do Not Disturb


Hope this helps

107 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 30, 2013 8:20 AM in response to jackfrommontague

That means your iPhone is in "Do Not Disturb" mode which will cause you to not be alerted when you get a notification (such as a phone call, message, Facebook/twitter notification).


To turn this on or off, go to:


Settings<Do Not Disturb<"ON" or "OFF"


You can also edit the times you want "Do Not Disturb" to be on by going to


Settings<Notifications<Do Not Disturb


Hope this helps

Aug 4, 2016 10:59 AM in response to jackfrommontague

While many of the responses to this question point to the iPhone as the problem, the real problem may be the provider you use does not having sufficient RF channels to service your location at the time your missed call comes in. Cell towers have a number of channels which are licensed to your carrier by the FCC that they use to communicate with your phone. If the tower is loaded with other calls at the time someone is trying to reach you, the provider may try and reach you though the next closest tower which may or may not be able to "see" your phone. If they are out of local channels and can not see you from the next closest one, the call would go to voice mail. Your provider would then use a data or control channel in your area to report the missed call or report a voice mail if one was left. This tower loading issue can occur just like in the old days when you would try to make a long distance call and get an "all circuits busy" message. Nothing different, there is only so much capacity available and when its all in use your calls will go to voicemail. Ask your provider what the loading is on the tower in your area and that could be the problem and your phone will be free from blame... Sometimes that provider with the most coverage and the most customers also has the most dropped calls due to overloading of their system with voice and data traffic...

Jun 8, 2012 10:55 AM in response to ED3K

Apple says my phone is fine. I went through all the steps with an Apple Rep on line. He claimed it's Verizon's fault. Verizon claims it's Apple's fault. Who to believe? Verizon suggested a "signal booster" for $300. I said "than you admit it's a Verizon problem". He said, "no, but it might help".


Just now my phone didn't ring, but I got a beep, and the call went to VoiceMail. Earlier the phone rang just fine.


😠😕😟

Oct 5, 2012 7:55 AM in response to jackfrommontague

I have been to the Apple store and they informed me it was an AT&T problem. I called AT&T and they told me I was not in coverage area when the call came in. Funny thing is I tested this with two other people with iPhone 4s and they called me one at a time and neither time did it ring. It did go to voice mail and they left me voice mail which I got an alert I recieved a voice mail. I then had them call each other, keep in mind we are all standing less than 5 feet apart, and it rang. I then called their numbers and their phones rang. I do NOT believe this is a cellular strength issue. Someone told me to take off my cover and see if it occurs. I did for a week and I still only get about 80% of the calls and 20% go to voice mail without ringing. I would love for someone to tell me what to do other than find a stronger cell coverage area.

Oct 13, 2012 5:00 AM in response to jackfrommontague

I have just recieved my iphone 5 and i have noticed alot of calls going directly to voicemail and my phone does not ring. I can make calls with the phone standing still, but if i call the phone no ringing on the iphone 5 end. and then voicemail. i do get a voicemail notification rather quick.

what i have found odd when some one calls me they ring several times then it goes to voicemail. few minuites later i get the voicemail notification. now i will not move and all the suddenly incomming calls will work.

Nov 14, 2012 7:06 AM in response to jackfrommontague

I know this sounds obvious but always try the simple stuff first. Toggle the physical mute button on the side of your phone. Some people, like me, accidentally mute our phones and don't realize it. Even if you phone's mute is is not on (muted), toggling it may help. I've experienced similar issues with the iPad. In fact, turning any service off and then back on is a good first step when that service is not working.


I hope this helps.

Nov 14, 2012 9:16 AM in response to Atari

Thanks for the suggestion, but I tried that, in fact I've tried everything. I've been on the phone with Apple support, I took the phone to my closest (50 miles) Apple Store, I've talked with Verizon about 6 times. They each bat the problem back and forth like a ping-pong ball.


The phone is right now sitting on my desk, near a window, showing 4 bars of signal strength on Verizon's 3G network. Ten minutes ago it rang just fine, 5 minutes later it didn't ring, the call went to Voice Mail. This behavior happens all over the place, no matter where the phone is, in my house or on the car or out walking about.


Apple blames Verizon, Verizon blames Apple. This is just plain ridiculous. This is not what Steve meant when he said "Apple wants to *delight* it's customers".


Mr. Cook, get to the bottom of this, and tell your customers why this is happening. Just stop passing the buck. What good is a phone if it won't ring?

Nov 22, 2012 12:08 PM in response to Shortie15

I'm having the same problem: iPhone 5, 32GB, iOS 6.0.1, AT&T in the US. I never had this problem with my iPhone 4. I've missed at least half a dozen calls in recent days while sitting at home where I was able to get calls no problem before this. In fact, this iPhone 5 is a replacement, due to my first one using huge amounts of data while supposedly on wifi (and while I was asleep), and the first iPhone 5 didn't have this problem, either, with the same iOS and same service. I'm very puzzled.

Nov 23, 2012 12:11 PM in response to Sandra Foster

I think this is something we all have to complain about. It's a real problem, and no one (Apple or the carrier) wants to acknowledge it or own it.


Yesterday while in my house, on the drive to my sons home, and on the way back I missed 5 calls. The phone just didn't ring. Three of the calls went to Voice Mail, and I got a beep notifying me of that, yet the phone did not ring.


I'm with Verizon, you are with AT&T, I have an iPhone 4S, you have an iPhone 5, we are both running iOS 6.0.1. I had this problem with iOS 5.x. My son has the same problem with his iPhone 5, and had it with his iPhone 4. My wife has a little cheap PenTech that never misses a call on the Verizon network.


I can't find a common denominator with this issue except I only hear people complaining about it who are using an iPhone.

Nov 23, 2012 12:25 PM in response to jackfrommontague

Jack, yesterday I reset my iPhone 5 (held down Home and on'off buttons until the Apple appeared, then let it reboot), reseated my SIM card, and reset my Network settings (Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings). I did each of these one right after the other. Today I've received a couple of phone calls, though I typically don't get all that many in a single day, especially during the holidays when most of the family is together. As far as I can tell, I haven't missed any, so you may want to try doing what I did, if you hadn't already.

Dec 3, 2012 1:45 PM in response to jackfrommontague

I've had this problem too since iOS 6. I regularly get missed calls but the phone doesn't ring. Then I get a text message saying someone tried calling. This happens even when I'm sat next to them with full bars of service. I have just switched off 3G and roaming data. Since then - no missed calls. Fingers crossed it stays that way. Software problem I think.

My iPhone doesn't always ring, why?

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