How to Turn on the Ringer on Your iPhone

Is your iPhone not ringing? In this guide, I will show you how to turn on your ringer on your iPhone and explore possible reasons your iPhone may not be ringing, as well as how to fix them.

Why Your iPhone Is Not Ringing for Incoming Calls

The most common reasons your iPhone is not ringing for incoming calls are as follows:

Your iPhone is set to silent.
You have Do Not Disturb or a Focus mode active.
Your iPhone is connected to Bluetooth, which is why you will only hear it ring through your earbuds or other Bluetooth device.
You have notifications turned off for Unknown Callers.

In these cases, you will see your phone ring if you look at the screen while a call is incoming, but you will not hear it.

There may be other reasons you aren’t receiving calls altogether, such as no cellular network or having call forwarding set up. In those cases, though, you won’t see your phone ringing when a call is placed to you. We are not focusing on those cases in this article, though, and instead, troubleshooting why you may not hear your phone ring even if you see a notification when a call is incoming.

How to Turn the Ringer on Using the Side Switch

The first step is to turn the ringer on using the side switch, which is located on the left side of the iPhone, above the volume buttons. If orange is showing, it means it is turned off. Flip it towards the iPhone screen so that the orange is not showing.

If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, you won’t have a switch. Instead, you will have an Action Button. Long-press it until you see the bell icon and the word “Ring” in the Dynamic Island; you should also feel a haptic pulse. Alternatively, read on to learn how to turn on the ringer in the settings or Control Center.

How to Turn the Ringer on in the Control Center or Settings

You can always enable the ringer by going to Settings > Sound & Haptics and sliding the slider to the right.

You can also open the Control Center by swiping down from the top right of your screen (on iPhone 8 and earlier and iPhone SE, swipe up from the bottom of your screen). Look for the bell icon. Make sure there is no slash through the icon. If there is, it means your phone is on silent. Tap the bell icon to turn off silent mode.

How to Increase Ringer Volume on iPhone

You can increase the ringer volume by using the volume buttons on the left side of your phone. Press the top volume button to increase the volume. If your volume is low, you may not hear the phone ringing, even if it is not in silent mode. You can also go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics and use the slider there to adjust the volume.

How to Check Focus or Do Not Disturb Settings

You can check if Do Not Disturb or another Focus mode is active by opening the Control Center and checking the Focus mode icon.

In the following image, you will see that Do Not Disturb is turned on. If another Focus mode is turned on, it will be highlighted there instead of Do Not Disturb:

How to Check Focus or Do Not Disturb Settings

Simply tap on the Focus mode icon to turn it off. You can also go to Settings > Focus to adjust Do Not Disturb and other Focus modes, including when they are scheduled to turn on automatically, if ever.

How to Check if Unknown callers Are Silenced

Your phone may not ring if unknown callers are silenced. If this setting is turned on, anyone who is not saved as a contact will not cause your phone to ring when they call. Go to Settings > Apps > Phone and turn off Silence Unknown Callers if it is turned on. Or, save the person as a contact so your phone rings when they call.

Turn Off Bluetooth

If your phone is connected to a Bluetooth device, such as earbuds, you may not hear it ringing. Open the Control Center and tap on the Bluetooth icon to quickly disconnect from Bluetooth devices. This doesn’t completely disable Bluetooth, though, as it will keep it active for AirDrop and Apple Watch connections. You can go to Settings > Bluetooth and toggle it off to completely disable it until you turn it on again.

What to Do if the Ring/Silent Switch Is Stuck

If the silent switch is stuck, gently try to push it. If you can’t get it unjammed, visit a certified Apple technician to assist. In the meantime, use the Control Center or the settings to turn on the ringer.

Conclusion

I hope this guide was useful! The easiest way to fix your iPhone ringer quickly is to use the side switch, which is present on most iPhone models. The second fastest way is to press on the bell icon in the Control Center. Remember to check if a Focus mode is active!