How to Unmute ringer on iPhone 13

  • If your iPhone won't ring, it may be a volume or settings issue that can be easily resolved. 
  • You should first try fixes like checking the volume and turning off Focus, Do Not Disturb, or Silent mode. 
  • Consider restarting your phone or having it serviced as a final step to fix your iPhone. 

If your iPhone isn't ringing properly, there may be several reasons why. 

Before you send in your phone to get serviced, check that your iPhone doesn't have Focus or Do Not Disturb mode enabled and that it's not stuck in headphone mode. You should also make sure that your phone isn't on Silent, you haven't blocked any numbers, and that any custom ringtones are working properly. 

Here are a few tips on how to check all these things and fix your iPhone if it's not ringing.

Turn off Do Not Disturb or Focus mode

Look for a crescent moon icon. William Antonelli/Insider

If your iPhone is in Do Not Disturb mode, incoming calls won't ring and they'll go straight to voicemail. The same goes if you have a Focus mode enabled that's set to block calls on iOS 15. 

To check if you have Do Not Disturb or Focus turned on, swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone's screen to open the Control Center. There, look at the rectangle next to your brightness controls — if it says Do Not Disturb, Driving, Sleep, or something similar, it's turned on.

Tap this button to disable your Do Not Disturb or Focus mode.

Check that your iPhone isn't stuck in headphones mode

Check your audio devices. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

It's possible that your phone is "stuck" in headphones mode, meaning that it's sending your ringtone to a device that's not actually connected. This might include earbuds that aren't plugged in or a Bluetooth device that isn't turned on.

Here are a few things you can try to "wake up" your iPhone's audio connection so it's working properly:

  • Plug earbuds into your phone and remove them again to coax the phone into recognizing there are no earbuds plugged in. 
  • Make sure you're not connected to another audio device by swiping up on the screen to display the Control Center. Then tap the Airplay icon in the music pane — it looks like a triangle with three circles — and if anything other than the iPhone is selected, choose the iPhone.
  • Enable and disable Airplane Mode by tapping the airplane icon in the Control Center.

See if any custom ringtones aren't working

Custom ringtones may be creating ringer issues Apple

If the phone won't ring for a specific caller and that person isn't blocked, then check to see if it's a custom ringtone you assigned to them that isn't working.

You can change a contact's ringtone through the Phone app.

Open the Phone app and tap Contacts at the bottom, then select the contact whose ringtone you want to change. Tap Edit in the top right corner of the contact's page. Tap Ringtone, then select a non-custom ringtone from the list of available options and then do a test call to see if your iPhone still won't ring. 

Make sure the number isn't blocked

You might not be getting calls from blocked numbers. Apple; William Antonelli/Insider

Apple gives you the ability to block specific phone numbers, which is handy if you get a lot of telemarketing and other spam phone calls.

To make sure you didn't accidentally block an important number by accident, open the Settings app and tap Phone, then scroll down to select Blocked Contacts. If there's anyone on this list that shouldn't be, swipe left on them and tap Unblock.

Flip the switch to turn off Silent Mode

Make sure that the Ring/Silent switch is flipped up, which enables the speaker. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

Make sure that your iPhone's Ring/Silent switch isn't in the Silent position. You can find your iPhone's Ring/Silent switch on the left side of the phone, above the volume controls.

It should be closer to the screen. If it's flipped down (with a red band visible), it's set to silent.

Increase your iPhone's volume

Check your Ringer volume. Apple; William Antonelli/Insider

It's possible the phone's volume is too low to hear it ringing. To fix a volume issue and make your iPhone louder, press the Volume up button on the left side of the phone until you can hear something.

You can then test if your iPhone ringer isn't working by playing music or a video. If you hear noise, the issue is low ringer volume, not your ringer not working.

Restart or reset your iPhone

You can restart your iPhone for a quick fix, or reset it for something more extreme. Apple; William Antonelli/Insider

If all else fails, consider restarting or resetting your iPhone. This is a great way to fix all sorts of hardware and software issues.

Get your iPhone serviced

If none of the other troubleshooting tricks solved your problem, you probably have a hardware problem issue, like a damaged speaker or a fried port. 

You can go to Apple's support page and set up an appointment to have someone look at it in-person.

William Antonelli

Tech Reporter for Insider Reviews

William Antonelli (he/she/they) is a writer, editor, and organizer based in New York City. As a founding member of the Reference team, he helped grow Tech Reference (now part of Insider Reviews) from humble beginnings into a juggernaut that attracts over 20 million visits a month. Outside of Insider, his writing has appeared in publications like Polygon, The Outline, Kotaku, and more. He's also a go-to source for tech analysis on channels like Newsy, Cheddar, and NewsNation. You can find him on Twitter @DubsRewatcher, or reach him by email at .

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How do I unmute my iPhone 13?

SILENT MODE: To enable silent mode, toggle the Ring/Silent switch on the left side of your iPhone. Play Haptics in Silent Mode switch to enable or disable as desired.

Why is my iPhone 13 not ringing when I get a call?

The Ring/Silent switch is found on the upper-left side of the phone. In this case, try toggling the switch up or down can help. If you see the orange bar, it means that your phone is set to mute. Thus, your iPhone doesn't ring or play alerts or other sound effects for your apps.

How do I get my iPhone ringer off mute?

All iPhones and some iPads have a ring / silent switch on the left side of the device (above the volume buttons). Move the switch in way that the switch does not have an orange background color as the image below. Pushing it towards you will turn off silent mode. Pushing it away from you will turn it on.

How do I get my ringer turned back on?

Check your volume settings Open Settings. Tap Sound and vibration. Tap Volume. Drag the Ringtone Bar to the right to increase volume.