Start with this check.
For silent incoming calls, check Silent mode, ringtone volume and Focus. For unknown callers only, inspect call filtering. If no calls arrive at all, check phone service too.
Never place test calls to emergency numbers. Do not delete an eSIM or reset every network merely to investigate a muted ringtone.
Which situation matches yours?
Let’s go step by step.
0 of 5 checks completedMark each check to keep track during this visit.
Make a controlled test call
Ask a known contact to call once. Watch the screen and call log. Record whether the failure occurs while locked, during specific hours or with every number.
Keep the same contact for comparisons so filtering and sound are not confused.
Check ringtone and Silent mode
Review Silent mode using the switch, Action button or control on your model. In Settings → Sounds & Haptics, inspect Ringtone and Alerts volume and test a tone.
Hearing a video does not confirm the ringtone volume is correct.
Review Focus
Check whether a Focus is active or scheduled. Review allowed people and temporarily test with that Focus disabled if you configured it yourself.
If ringing returns, adjust exceptions or scheduling instead of erasing all settings.
Compare contacts and unknown callers
Find Phone in Settings and review unknown-caller options, blocked contacts and forwarding offered by your version. Confirm the test contact is not blocked. Understand an existing protection before removing it.
Unknown callers alone being silenced points towards filtering, not necessarily a broken speaker.
Separate phone service failure
If neither incoming nor outgoing calls work, check signal, line status and another location. Ask the carrier about outages and follow Apple’s guidance for iOS and carrier-setting updates.
Record time and results. Silent ringing and no service require different support paths.
When to stop and ask for help
Contact Apple for a failed ringtone test or the carrier for service failure, using the comparison results. Check work-line forwarding with its administrator.
Does a step differ from what you see? →Common questions
Does raising video volume raise the ringtone?
Do not use that as a ringtone test. Review Sounds & Haptics.
Can Focus activate automatically?
Schedules or automations may be configured. Inspect the mode actually active.
Does one failing number prove hardware trouble?
Check blocks, filtering and the number before blaming hardware.
Sources and review
Project owner: Eudald Ferrer Ibáñez. Report a correction.
This guide uses official documentation and our own troubleshooting sequence. Menus may change between versions. Documentation reviewed on September 28, 2026; practical device testing is still pending.
How we review and correct guides →Have you identified the problem?
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