Missing Calls? How to Turn Off Silent Mode on iPhone

What To Know:

  • The quickest way to turn off silent mode on your iPhone is by flipping the switch on the side of the iPhone. When the switch shows red it is in silent mode. When there is no color shown, the ringer is on.
  • You can use AssistiveTouch to turn silent mode on or off if your ring switch is broken.
  • Another reason you may not be receiving calls is because you've enabled a feature that silences unknown callers.

When it comes to making and recieving calls, there are times we want to be notified and times we don't. That's why it's really important to know how to unsilence calls on your iPhone. There is more than one way to enter or exit silent mode on your iPhone. We'll walk you through a few of the best options to turn off silence mode on iPhone.

Jump To:

How to Turn Off Silent Mode with the Button

The quickest and easiest way to go in and out of silent mode on your iPhone is by flipping the ring switch on the side, just above the volume buttons. If you like tips about using your iPhone, be sure to sign up for our free Tip of the Day!

Silent Mode button
  1. Flip the switch toward you to unsilence ringer.

    Flip the switch toward you to unsilence ringer.
  2. Flip the switch away from you to silence ringer.

    Flip the switch away from you to silence ringer.

Turn Off Silent Mode on iPhone via Do Not Disturb

Another potential reason why your phone might not be ringing is because you have Do Not Disturb enabled. Here's how to unsilence your iPhone via Do Not Disturb Focus

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  1. From your iPhone Home Screen, swipe down from the top right to open the Control Center.

    From your iPhone home screen, swipe down from the top right to open the Control Center.
  2. Press and hold the Focus button.

    Press and hold the Focus button.
  3. Tap Do Not Disturb again to turn it off. It will be dark gray when disabled.

    Tap Do Not Disturb again to turn it off. It will be dark gray when disabled.

How to Turn Off Silent Mode without the Button

If the ring switch  on the side of your iPhone is damaged or stopped working, you can disable and enable silent mode by using AssistiveTouch in the Accessability settings.

  1. To enable AssistiveTouch on your iPhone, open Settings.

    To enable AssistiveTouch on your iPhone, open Settings.
  2. Tap Accessability.

    Tap Accessability.
  3. Tap Touch.

    Tap Touch.
  4. Tap AssistiveTouch.

    Tap AssistiveTouch.
  5. Toggle AssistiveTouch to on. It will be green when enabled and you will see a black button appear on your screen. This button does not show up in screenshots can you can move it wherever you like on the screen.

    Toggle AssistiveTouch to on. It will be green when enabled and you will see a black button appear on your screen. This button does not show up in screenshots can you can move it wherever you like on the screen.
  6. Tap the button to open the menu. 

    Tap the button to open the menu. 
  7. Then, tap Device.

    Then, tap Device.
  8. Tap Unmute.

    Tap Unmute.

Pro Tip:

If your button does still work you'd just prefer a new method, do be warned that you may need to click the button twice to achieve the desired result.

How to Stop Silencing Unknown Calls

One of the reasonns you may not be hearing your calls is because you have enabled a feature that silences unknown callers, which is any number that tries to reach you that is not in your contacts. 

  1. Open Settings.

    Open Settings.
  2. Tap Phone.

    Tap Phone.
  3. Tap Silence Unknown Callers.

    Tap Silence Unknown Callers.
  4. Toggle Silence Unknown Callers to off. It will be gray when disabled.

    Toggle Silence Unknown Callers to off. It will be gray when disabled.

Now that you know how turn off Silent mode on your iPhone, find out how to silence your Apple Watch.

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Author Details

Rachel Needell's picture

Author Details

Rachel Needell

Rachel Needell is a Feature Writer at iPhone Life, and a poet and author. With 10-plus years of experience working with Apple devices, she specializes in all-things iPad and is a Notes App expert, having worked on both the 2023 iPad Guide and the Notes App Guide. You can usually find her writing in the Daily Tip newsletter as one of our senior Tip writers. Rachel received her Master’s degree in English Literature in 2021 and her most recent work appears in the Winter ’21 edition of New Note Poetry. When she’s not obsessing about Apple products, you can find her voraciously reading fantasy books with her cat in Asheville, North Carolina.