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Can iPhone ring when locked?

My phone won't ring when locked. Can this be changed? Settings/ Do Not Disturb only gives me two choices under the "Silence" heading: "Always", or "Only while iPhone is locked". I am unable to remove it. Is it possible to elect neither?

iPhone 5, iOS 7.0.4

Posted on Dec 6, 2013 10:42 PM

Reply
109 replies

Mar 2, 2017 4:48 PM in response to MacLady

There are THREE buttons on the left side.

  • The top one is the MUTE switch. When it is set to MUTE it shows red.
  • The one below it is the VOLUME UP button.
  • The bottom one is the VOLUME DOWN button.


If you need to set a ringtone for each user something is seriously mess up on YOUR PHONE, not on iPhones in general. Perhaps you set a "silent" ring tone as the default in Settings/Sounds & Haptics. That's hard to do, but not impossible. But a properly working phone will ring for all incoming calls, whether they are contacts or not, as long as the MUTE switch is not red and the volume is not turned all the way down.

Mar 2, 2017 2:24 PM in response to Johnonline55

Brand-new iPhone 7, no audio port, have tried to fix this problem for three days now and seems that I can only fix it by setting up the individual callers preferences. But what about people that are calling that I don't know will be calling? I want my phone to ring. It's completely open I always manually set it to lock screen It should work as all my other phone since 4 on have worked Very disappointed in how Apple has sort of ignored HIG rules once again Also in the assistive it transferred over with the assistive on because my old phone fell and smashed in the only way I could get it back to the home screen was to use the assistive but I went in and make sure that was all turned off the trouble is the mute button you cant tell whether it's off or on! Whatever happened to ease of use?

Mar 2, 2017 2:31 PM in response to MacLady

Mute switch: It shows red when mute is enabled. It also displays a message on the screen when you switch it either way. And you can tell by feel whether it is towards the back (muted) or front (unmuted). What else would it take to make it clearer? Even if it is in Mute position, the phone will vibrate if you get a call.


Regarding not ringing, most likely you have Do not Disturb enabled. When it is enabled only people on your VIP list will ring if the phone is asleep; others will go to voicemail.

Mar 2, 2017 3:13 PM in response to MacLady

MacLady wrote:


Sorry but the MUTE switch in Accessibility is WHITE. You cannot see the red MUTE switch unless you are actually in a phone call.

The Mute switch has nothing to do with Accessibility. It's a hardware switch on the side of the phone just above the volume buttons.


Also, many people accidentally turn on DND when using the Control Center.

Mar 2, 2017 7:31 PM in response to MacLady

MacLady wrote:


The side button for sound is always on HIGH. And I'm not stupid, I know how to use the control center. The fact that it rang for some and not others made me think the global setting does not work and I had to set it for each caller which is a pain.

Take a deep breath. I did not say or mean that you were stupid. Many perfectly smart people accidentally hit the DND icon when swiping up on the Control Center, particularly if they do it with their right thumb. I would go so far as to say this verges on a design flaw.


You are not stupid. However, you are apparently new to at least some features of the iPhone, including the hardware mute switch. That's ok. We all have to start somewhere. .

Mar 3, 2017 9:04 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Excuse me but I am not 'unfamiliar' with the hardware mute switch, it was on my last phone as well. This is not the first iPhone I've had either... I had a 4 and a 5.


I'm not ruling out the fact that if you don't have a thick case on your phone, it is quite possible that the switch gets moved to the mute position by accident. This cannot happen when you have for example a Griffin Defender encasing the phone as you have to reach into the opening with your fingernail to push it to the mute position.


If you are new to the iPhone 7, you may not yet have a case for it and if so, the mute switch sticks out and is vulnerable to being pushed by accident because the phone is so smooth and slippery.

Mar 3, 2017 2:31 PM in response to MacLady

MacLady wrote:


Excuse me but I am not 'unfamiliar' with the hardware mute switch, it was on my last phone as well. This is not the first iPhone I've had either... I had a 4 and a 5.


That was not at all clear when you got upset with Lawrence when he mentioned the hardware mute switch and insisted that Mute was not enabled in Accessibility. You will have to pardon my confusion.


You apparently have a chip on your shoulder. Why, I'm not interested in guessing. However, as all attempts to help you have been met with defensiveness, I'm going to bow out.


Have a nice day.

May 3, 2017 5:41 PM in response to calaryn

calaryn wrote:


I turned off everything in DND - turned off Manual, scheduled changed to "Allow calls from everyone" turned off repeated calls and left only when phone is locked checked. And now my phone finally rings on lock screen.

If you turn off DND, no other setting on that screen matters. When DND is off, the settings for DND just don't apply.

Jun 6, 2017 10:03 AM in response to Ddarlin2004

Turning off touch ID has helped somewhat.


When calling my iPhone 7 plus from another there is a long delay before it starts to ring. From my wife's mobile there are often call divert messages coming up which does raise the question again of it being all or partly carrier related.


I am not entirely sure that settings under manual in dnd have no effect when turned off on my phone! It was new yesterday and the whole experience has been extremely unpleasant.


To muddy the waters more my phone number was ported just today! I am going to speak to the carrier (Sky UK)tomorrow to see if the fault may lie with them, their predecessors or Apple or.................

We all know the likelihood of them all blaming each other although to be fair Sky were very good with my initial enquiry earlier today.

Mike.

Jun 6, 2017 10:12 AM in response to mikefarnham

mikefarnham wrote:



I am not entirely sure that settings under manual in dnd have no effect when turned off on my phone! It was new yesterday and the whole experience has been extremely unpleasant.

I am as I have tested it extensively both on my phone and on the phones of various clients.


TouchID also has nothing to do with whether or not the phone rings when locked (unless there is something seriously wrong with your phone).


It really sounds as if you're having carrier issues. One thing you might try is going to Settings>General>Reset>Reset Network Settings. Sometimes when you change carriers, those settings don't seem to update properly. The only thing you'll lose are saved WiFi passwords so it's worth trying.

Jun 6, 2017 2:00 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

Thanks Idris. I appreciate your help.


I have tested extensively with my phone too and can confirm it receives calls much more reliably with touch off! I spoke to Albert who reminded me that scientifically the two events may, or may not, be related!! I do not rule out there being something wrong with my phone, albeit new, although it seemed to receive calls well enough yesterday before its number was 'ported.


Nevertheless I thank you for your suggestion of doing the reset as you suggest. I have been holding off on this one as I reckoned it was better to let the carrier make all the suggestions they could first in case the reset confused them or their systems. I reckon you may well be right but intend to cover myself as carefully as I can since, frankly, I don 't care if it is Apple, the carrier, or a bit of each. I will not be left holding the donkey.


One more call to Sky tomorrow to ask why the delay before ringing and the reset settings as you say. Frankly, Apple could stick their phone where the sun don't shine (I "loved" my Windows phone until it got stuck in flight mode but could drag and drop anything, set any tune to a ringtone and play my wma's... if I had bought a better one it would have been always listening but NOT played Skygo or read my texts...). The jury is out!


By the way this takes about 20 secs or more to ring from a landline which includes about 7 secs for the dialling tone. Mobile calls are about 10 secs quicker. I believe this may give an indication as to where the fault(s) lie.


Mike.

Can iPhone ring when locked?

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