Unsolicited phone calls can become a regular annoyance and even a cause of stress for many smartphone users these days. Thankfully, Apple provides a feature in iOS that can automatically silence calls to your phone from unknown numbers, which should help cut down on the number of spam calls that you receive.

silenceunknowncallers
Whether it's messages from a debt collector looking for the wrong person, or a random number that keeps calling in the middle of the night, following the steps below will help to stop them from bothering you.

How to Silence Unknown Callers on iPhone

  1. Launch the Settings app on your device
  2. Scroll down and tap Phone.
  3. Scroll down to the section titled Call Silencing and Blocked Contacts.
  4. Tap the Silence Unknown Callers switch to toggle it to the green ON position.

silence unknown callers

With Silence Unknown Callers toggled on, people who call you that aren't listed in your contacts will have their calls sent straight to voice mail and your phone won't ring.

Did you know that you can block nuisance messages as well as calls on your iPhone? Click here to learn how it's done.

Top Rated Comments

JM Avatar
73 months ago
FINALLY!

Now the FTC and carriers and drag their butts all they want. Now anyone who calls (who I haven’t added to my contacts) will go straight to voicemail. If it’s important they’ll leave a VM.

This will cut down on spam calls since no one with an iPhone will pick up. They’ll get idea soon enough, and leave us alone.

So so happy.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EdT Avatar
73 months ago
Once again, Apple only goes part way. I don’t want the call to go to my voicemail I want the spammers phone to instantly turn into a molten slag.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Braderunner Avatar
73 months ago
I just guess that 90% are legitimate calls and wonder who actually activates this feature. That counts even more in the business environment. Sending the calls to the mailbox won’t stop the caller to try again till his goal is reached. But well, I guess to have the option is a good thing.
Obviously, you wouldn't want to do this with a business phone number. But, most people just have a personal number. I think a lot of people, including myself, will use this feature. If it is someone you don't know, calling you for a legitimate reason, they'll leave a message. I can't wait for this!
Also, I can tell you that at least 90% of unknown numbers that ring my phone...are not legitimate calls.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NoBoMac Avatar
73 months ago
Did I miss something? You've been able to do this for quite a while by getting/setting the default ringtone to silence, with the custom ringtone for contacts set as usual.
True, and I do this. Along with blocking apps. All been mostly effective.

However, still a nuisance where you are listening to music and suddenly, nothing. Yes, I know then that it's a spam call, but, still intruding. With this new feature, no intrusions. And won't have to make sure "important" contacts get a real ringtone.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macslayer118 Avatar
73 months ago
Did I miss something? You've been able to do this for quite a while by getting/setting the default ringtone to silence, with the custom ringtone for contacts set as usual.
This feature is amazing. What you're describing feels like a tedious work around to a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place. To have to manually set a custom ringtone for every contact?? It seems like you would welcome the chance to just press a toggle to ignore unwanted calls.
[doublepost=1560458482][/doublepost]
I just guess that 90% are legitimate calls and wonder who actually activates this feature. That counts even more in the business environment. Sending the calls to the mailbox won’t stop the caller to try again till his goal is reached. But well, I guess to have the option is a good thing.
I get between 10-15 calls a day from numbers I don't know who don't leave messages. Blocking doesn't work because they spoof their numbers. This has been an amazing week with this feature. I'd guess over 90% of my calls are spam callers.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rodpascoe Avatar
73 months ago
Love this feature but have found a small bug.

Had a marketing company call me and it did the job, no ring, straight to voicemail.

Only problem was they didn’t leave a voicemail so my carrier in the UK (O2) sent a text saying I’d missed a call from them.

They called again the next day and because I’d had a text message containing their number the feature let them through as is documented (intelligent Siri I think they called it - looks through mails and SMS for numbers and whitelists any it finds)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple Expected to Launch 20+ Products This Year: Here's the Full List

Friday January 17, 2025 5:30 am PST by
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year. Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal Single Feature

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Major Thermal Design Upgrade

Friday January 17, 2025 4:33 am PST by
The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report. The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire iPhone 17 lineup, consisting of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader. Vapor chamber technology is already used...