Phone

With iOS 14, your iPhone incoming call notifications now appear as banners at the top of your screen. The benefit of this compact notification is that it notifies you of incoming calls without interrupting anything else you’re doing on your phone. The full-screen version, on the other hand, offers a couple of menu options that are not readily available on the banner. Some people love the brief banner-style alerts, others miss the functionality of the full-screen notification. With this guide, you can permanently switch back to full-screen notifications or learn how to access those menu options while keeping the banner as your default.

Learn how to find blocked numbers on the iPhone and unblock someone on the iPhone. Unblocking a number on your iPhone couldn’t be easier, thanks to the forward thinkers at Apple who knew that the handy block feature should not be permanent. That’s because it’s easy to block someone accidentally or unknowingly. Maybe you were blocking robo-callers or spam texters and blocked a contact by mistake. Or maybe you intentionally blocked a friend or colleague and now you want to undo that. Or maybe you’re having trouble calling a contact, or vice versa, so you want to see the blocked numbers on your iPhone and check to see if that number is on it. Here’s how to do it.

When FaceTime originated, there was no way to turn off your phone’s screen and keep your call going. One tap of the power button was enough to end an entire conversation. Recent updates have changed this on all models, though, so don’t depend on your Side button to do the work for you anymore. Learn how to hang up on a FaceTime call and how to leave a group FaceTime call to avoid those embarrassing situations where you stay on the line well after the call has ended.

It can be frustrating when you attempt to make a call on your iPhone, you’re given the error message “Call Failed,” and you find yourself wondering, "Why does my iPhone keep saying call failed?" After first rebooting your iPhone and updating your iOS software, as well as moving to various locations, here are several simple steps you can try to solve the iPhone call failed error before contacting your carrier.

Did you know that the person you've invited can call into your meeting straight from their iPhone's Calendar app? We'll show you how to use this easy and efficient way to keep calls and meetings on time and in order. We've already gone over how to get directions from the Calendar app, and also how to create events and meetings in your iPhone's Calendar app, then invite people to them; let's get started learning how to use this iPhone Calendar app feature. 

The iPhone's Silence Unknown Callers feature is a great way to avoid annoying robocalls without having to keep your iPhone muted. Before iOS 13, iPhone users had to rely on third-party apps of varying effectiveness to block spam calls. In this article we'll walk you through how to find and turn on Silence Unknown Callers. We'll also show you how to feature off if you find you're missing important calls and don't want calls from unknown numbers to be silenced. Let's get started with how to silence unknown callers on your iPhone in iOS 14.

Did you know you can create your own custom ringtones for incoming texts and calls? Here's how to make ringtones with GarageBand on your iPhone. You'll need to have your device running on iOS 11 or later, have recorded a voice memo that is thirty seconds or shorter on the Voice Memos app, and saved that recording to the Files app. You'll also need to have GarageBand downloaded to your iPhone if you don't already. With this tip, you'll be able to make the ringtone on your iPhone without using iTunes or a Mac!

Have you noticed the Photos tab in the Photos app doesn't display all the photos you took at last night's party or from your morning walk? You can turn off Summarize Photos to view photos, as in ALL photos, in the Photos app. When Summarize Photos is on, the Photos tab chooses key photos to display. For example, if you took multiple photos of the same flower, Summarize Photos will have one or maybe two displayed when you browse the Photos tab. Here's how to turn off Summarize Photos so you can view all photos on your iPhone.

If you're wanting to call someone whose number you've saved, edit their contact details, or share their contact details with someone else, you can quickly find their contact card by searching Contacts. Here's how to search your iPhone contacts in either the Contacts app or the Contacts tab in the Phone app to find who you're looking for. 

Want to know how to get in touch with your favorite people even faster? Here's how to add a contact to Favorites in the Phone app. When you add a contact to Favorites, you can set a default contact method and then just tap their their name and get instantly connected by whichever option you choose. So text, call, and FaceTime with just a tap! 

This article will tell you how to access the keypad on your Apple Watch and switch the audio output. If you use your Apple Watch for phone calls, sometimes you'll need to use a keypad or even switch the audio output to a different device such as a speaker or headset. If you're wondering "Where is the keyboard on my Apple Watch?" read on. Here's how to open the keypad and how to change the audio output during an Apple Watch call. 

Sometimes I'll misread the name of someone calling me, and having a photo of the person pop up with their name on my iPhone screen has cut down on the confusion. Here's how to add a photo to a contact. Trust me, it's a great feature to use so you don't talk to your cousin Ellie thinking she's your coworker Elaine.

If I get a call on my iPhone when I'm busy, I'll tap Decline and immediately forget that someone called me. I was happy to discover that there's a callback feature on my iPhone that will remind me to call back later. Here's how to decline phone calls and get a callback reminder with Remind Me Later, so you won't be playing phone tag for days on end.

Need iPad and iPhone help? Sign up for iPhone Life Insider and Sarah will help you with all your iPhone troubleshooting and iOS-related issues. To learn more go to iPhoneLife.com/Insider. In this Hey Sarah column, one Insider wants to know how to change the default greeting on their iPhone's voicemail. Other questions include how to view more than the current month on Apple Watch and how to sort notes in the Notes app alphabetically.

Your Apple's HomePod delivers a high-fidelity audio experience and helps control Homekit devices with Siri. Did you know that you can also transfer phone calls from your iPhone to your HomePod for speakerphone calls? Simply tap the audio icon while making a call, and select the HomPod from the list of audio options. Using your HomePod as a speakerphone is a great way to go hands-free when you need to move around the room without carrying your iPhone or worrying about sounding muffled. Let's get started learning how to transfer calls on your iPhone to your HomePod so you can use your HomePod as a speakerphone. 

If you've just bought your first iPhone, or if you're one of the many people who just never got around to setting up their voicemail until now, you may be wondering how to open and listen to voicemail on your phone. You'll also want to learn how to delete voicemail messages, since too many undeleted messages will mean new messages can't be added to your voicemail. Voicemail on your iPhone is quick and easy to use; let's get started learning how to play voicemail messages on your iPhone, and how to delete voicemails as well, so you'll never miss a message. 

Your iPhone has a variety of free ringtones to peruse, and the iTunes Store has a gigantic selection of iPhone ringtones to purchase, but what if you want to make your own custom ringtone? Good news! You can make phone ringtones free using already purchased songs from your iTunes library. All you need is your iPhone, a Mac or PC, a Lightning cable, 20–30 seconds of your favorite song, a little bit of time, and a willingness to try something new. Let's get started learning how to make your own custom free ringtones for iPhone with iTunes! 

You've been trying to get in touch with a friend or family member, but they haven't returned your calls or messages. Are they just busy or have they blocked your number? How do you know if someone blocked your number? There's not a surefire way how to know if someone blocked you, but there are a few telling signs that might indicate someone blocked your number from texting or calling. We've already gone over how to block a number, as well as how to block your number or call privately, now let's go over the clues that calls and messages from your iPhone are being blocked.

When you make a call on your iPhone, Caller ID reveals your phone number to the person you're calling. If you want to make a private call and block your phone number (caller ID) from a recipient, you'll need to either enter a specific no caller ID star code before dialing a number, or disable the Show Caller ID feature inside the Settings app on your iPhone. We've already covered how to block a number and how to know if someone blocked your number, but those don't help when you're wondering how to block your own phone number from caller ID. If you want to know how to make a private call on your iPhone, there are a few ways to accomplish this. We'll learn three ways to hide your phone number for privacy, as well as who can still see your number even with these methods, and a simple way to make your phone number visible again on a call-by-call basis, even if you've blocked your number. Let's get started learning how to block your phone number on your iPhone so you can maintain your privacy when you need it.