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iPhone has not been ringing for 2 years

I

Infernoqt

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 17, 2022
69
14
Is there any workaround or some 3rd party APP that would let me know when a call comes in?

There are still a lot of people out there who's phone isn't ringing. I've been fighting with this issue for nearly two years and yet I haven't resolved it. I'm actually using my 4th iPhone (14 pro max) and still there is like 33% chance when somebody calls me that the phone will NOT be ringing. It doesn't matter if that's facetime, messenger, whatsup or classic phone call.

I had this problem on 4 different iPhones and 2 Apple ID's which means thats definitelly a software issue. I spent not hours, but DAYS trying to figure out this problem. After days of testing and nonstop calling to my phone number I found two ways to maximaze a chance your phone will ring. Don't install any 3rd party keyboard's (SwiftKey especially) and close all background apps at least once a day. Also never let Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video etc. running on background which seems to worse the problem.

You can read about this problem on the internet. There's a lot of people complaining and yet there is still no fix.
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251952626
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8414208
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253342751
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253687970
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253342751
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253643794
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252055060
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254283821
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254534939
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254613335
- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254196418

I would have already switched to android if I didn't have everything from Apple. This pisses me off so much. I am giving it last hope there is some workaround. Perhaps any APP that would let me know if somebody calls me. You can't rely on a ringtone.

Please I don't need any advices "try turn attention awareness feature off". Like I said, I even tested every function and every APP. I spent days trying to figure this out.
 
This is how it looks:

Ringtone cuts off after 2 seconds. Sometimes it doesn't ring at all. Sometimes it's 1 second. Sometimes it rings fine. I can make tons of videos like this.
 
Are you using a custom ringtone? My first thought was that you are using some kind of ringtone that starts to ring, then has a period of dead silence in the file. Try using a standard ringtone if you are.

EDIT: although on re-watching it, I noticed it started to vibrate, then that stopped also. I also just noticed that you are making a call via Messenger... basically a FaceTime Audio call. Does the same thing happen when you receive a call directly from a landline or other mobile phone?

EDIT 2: I'm even more confused by this all. It just occurred to me that your phone displayed "Messenger", but the Apple app is "Messages". Can you please explain what, exactly, you are using and doing?

EDIT 3: Check #4 on this list of possible causes. It seems the most likely to me, although we'd need more detail about the apps you are using (Mac and iPhone) and what kind of mobile service you are using.
gadgetroyale.com

Incoming call cuts after one ring: Here's why - Gadgetroyale

This article provides you with the best answer and the solution to the problem of incoming call cuts after one ring, and which is majorly caused by volte network
gadgetroyale.com gadgetroyale.com
 
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I have this problem with my X and have figured out that it happens after I've used CarPlay. The phone acts like it's still connected to CarPlay and won't ring until I've restarted it.
 
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Lifeisabeach said:
Are you using a custom ringtone? My first thought was that you are using some kind of ringtone that starts to ring, then has a period of dead silence in the file. Try using a standard ringtone if you are.

EDIT: although on re-watching it, I noticed it started to vibrate, then that stopped also. I also just noticed that you are making a call via Messenger... basically a FaceTime Audio call. Does the same thing happen when you receive a call directly from a landline or other mobile phone?

EDIT 2: I'm even more confused by this all. It just occurred to me that your phone displayed "Messenger", but the Apple app is "Messages". Can you please explain what, exactly, you are using and doing?

EDIT 3: Check #4 on this list of possible causes. It seems the most likely to me, although we'd need more detail about the apps you are using (Mac and iPhone) and what kind of mobile service you are using.
gadgetroyale.com

Incoming call cuts after one ring: Here's why - Gadgetroyale

This article provides you with the best answer and the solution to the problem of incoming call cuts after one ring, and which is majorly caused by volte network
gadgetroyale.com gadgetroyale.com
Click to expand...
Video is from messenger call but it happens from every app. Classic phone call, whatsup call, messenger audio or video call, even skype call. Every possible call. The most common issue is the melody starts and then it cuts off after 1-2 seconds. iPhone doesn't even vibrate. Every possible sound just shuts off.
 
JBGoode said:
I have this problem with my X and have figured out that it happens after I've used CarPlay. The phone acts like it's still connected to CarPlay and won't ring until I've restarted it.
Click to expand...

As I said. I had this problem on iPhone 12 Pro (now have 3rd 14 pro max). At first I also thought it's bluetooth related issue but it wasn't.

Here is the thing. There is much much bigger chance your phone will NOT ring if you cover front camera (not related to attention awareness feature). For example you put your phone into the pocket and somebody calls you. There is really high chance your phone will not ring.

Btw, I noticed when I close all background apps that chance my phone will ring is bigger. That's why I came to a conclusion it's something with memory usage... Just like your phone is lacking memory and while it's trying to make some space it cuts off a melody (ringtone).

And there is a second thing I also noticed. 3rd party apps like keyboards are also problematic. I personally liked Swfitkey (keyboard app) which made me type much faster. But this app needed to have enabled "full access" in settings (like any keyboard does). When you have this kind of app on your phone it rapidly increases chances your phone will not ring. I missed nearly every second call with this. There was almost 100 % chance your phone will not ring withitn a few minutes after you turn your display off (or after clicking power button). Since uninstalling this app I could receive much more calls and especially those when my front camera was covered.
 
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JBGoode said:
I have this problem with my X and have figured out that it happens after I've used CarPlay. The phone acts like it's still connected to CarPlay and won't ring until I've restarted it.
Click to expand...

I have a problem that may be at least tangentially related. I also have an X. If I use Siri for turn by turn driving directions, it goes silent after a few minutes and all of my sound drops to about 1/10 of max volume.

I suspect in my case it's a software conflict with one of the other apps that I've installed as turn by turn directions works fine if I use Google Maps to get my voice cues. Also supporting my software conflict hypothesis is that this problem started happening when I had an iPhone 7.
 
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smirking said:
I have a problem that may be at least tangentially related. I also have an X. If I use Siri for turn by turn driving directions, it goes silent after a few minutes and all of my sound drops to about 1/10 of max volume.

I suspect in my case it's a software conflict with one of the other apps that I've installed as turn by turn directions works fine if I use Google Maps to get my voice cues. Also supporting my software conflict hypothesis is that this problem started happening when I had an iPhone 7.
Click to expand...
I even created new Apple ID to rule out the possibility it's problem I'm carrying on my cloud (from phone to phone, patch to patch). I have 2 ID's now and both are problematic.

When you have clear iOS (like NO apps from Apple store installed) your phone should ring fine. But once you start downloading apps you either download something bad or your phone just can't work with RAM.

From my tests two days ago... Once you start missing calls I always try to close some app in the background... So at point my phone stopped ringing I just closed a few apps and it started ringing again. It really confuses me.

So now I am at point where I am scared, totally scared, to keep my background apps open. I let open only twitter, safari and messenger since I use these three most but every other I immediatelly close.
 
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Infernoqt said:
Video is from messenger call but it happens from every app. Classic phone call, whatsup call, messenger audio or video call, even skype call. Every possible call. The most common issue is the melody starts and then it cuts off after 1-2 seconds. iPhone doesn't even vibrate. Every possible sound just shuts off.
Click to expand...

Ok. Do you have vibrate turned on? If not, let's turn that on, then retry a call. I'm curious to see if the phone stops ringing but will continue to vibrate.

EDIT: and try a different ringtone.
 
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Lifeisabeach said:
Ok. Do you have vibrate turned on? If not, let's turn that on, then retry a call. I'm curious to see if the phone stops ringing but will continue to vibrate.
Click to expand...
Yea I keep them on since I can feel the first vibration when I receive a call before it goes completelly silent.

There is something that is preventing your phone to ring. Like your phone don't have free memory to play ringtone so while it's closing something in the background it shuts your ringtone off. That's what I think now.
 
Btw guys... Here is a full test which worked for me if you wanna try your phone will not ring.

Open all your apps (from A to Z) and play some music or videos. Then open every app again (from A to Z) and try to call yourself 3-5x times in a row. When you cover front camera, there is nearly 100 % chance your phone should not ring. That's how it worked for me on 3 (!) different devices and 2 Apple ID's.
 
Lifeisabeach said:
I found one solution... you may have posted this link earlier. A general reset was required to fix. This is a step short of what my next advice would have been, failing all else: make a backup; wipe the phone (install iOS clean using a Mac); and restore the backup.

Ringtone cutting off after a few seconds - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com discussions.apple.com
Click to expand...
I appreciate your help but unfortunatelly this one doesn't work.

Your phone will start ring for a while even after restart. You just can't open apps or it stops ringing again.

I reinstalled whole iOS software 3 times. And when I tried my mom's iPhone (12 pro) and I put him into the pocked and called her it didn't ring on a second try. But she is using Apple Watch so she "doesn't care". But I do.
 
Infernoqt said:
From my tests two days ago... Once you start missing calls I always try to close some app in the background... So at point my phone stopped ringing I just closed a few apps and it started ringing again. It really confuses me.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I hadn't thought of trying that before... quitting out of all my apps first. I'll give that a try the next time I need to use Siri for directions and see if it makes a difference.
 
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If it's affected you on multiple phones, I wonder if it's a problem with your cellphone provider rather than the phone. If you can, try putting your SIM in an Android phone (if you can't borrow one, you can probably buy an old "budget" Android phone for dirt cheap on Amazon) and see if that can handle calls.

If the problem persists on a completely different platform, then I'd blame your provider for sure.
 
coffeemilktea said:
If it's affected you on multiple phones, I wonder if it's a problem with your cellphone provider rather than the phone. If you can, try putting your SIM in an Android phone (if you can't borrow one, you can probably buy an old "budget" Android phone for dirt cheap on Amazon) and see if that can handle calls.

If the problem persists on a completely different platform, then I'd blame your provider for sure.
Click to expand...
Even if it's happening on Wi-Fi calls? And as I said it suddenly starts working when I close all background apps.

But I am definitelly gonna try android. I was thinking about switching to android after years of using Apple just because of this issue.
 
Infernoqt said:
Even if it's happening on Wi-Fi calls? And as I said it suddenly starts working when I close all background apps.

But I am definitelly gonna try android. I was thinking about switching to android after years of using Apple just because of this issue.
Click to expand...

It’s multiple devices between you and your mom. 3 in total? Your experience is not normal for even one device. Three is not a coincidence. There’s something else going on and it’s not a problem with iOS.

Edit: you insist closing all apps is a fix. That’s not normal either. Likely you have “a” problematic app. You’ll have to manually weed it out if so by process of elimination.
 
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If you wanna try to replicate the problem, here are my apps. If I open them all it will definitelly activate glitch or what is it.

IMG_0079.PNG
IMG_0078.PNG
IMG_0077.PNG
IMG_0080.PNG


Edit: I just looked to settings (Settings on iPhone & tap on Privacy > Analytics & Improvements > Analytics Data to read log files) and noticed Wallpaper widget APP was giving some errors (one per day) and "Music" App (also about 1 per day) has some crashes. I suppose "music" means Apple Music. And YouTube has two crashes within last week. i don't know if it helps... just for the record.
 
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I'm not going to try to replicate this. You have 4 devices now that are exhibiting this behavior spanning 2 years, iirc. It's not normal. You have no real choice here but to start from scratch. Something YOU have installed is at fault here. I just can't see how it's a setting/preference. Bug hunts can be tedious, but I can only see this as your only choice. You've done everything else possible and reasonable.
 
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Lifeisabeach said:
I'm not going to try to replicate this. You have 4 devices now that are exhibiting this behavior spanning 2 years, iirc. It's not normal. You have no real choice here but to start from scratch. Something YOU have installed is at fault here. I just can't see how it's a setting/preference. Bug hunts can be tedious, but I can only see this as your only choice. You've done everything else possible and reasonable.
Click to expand...

I probably have too much apps installed. But I suppose if you close them they are not active. So they should not interfere anything.

Here is the thing. I was normally using my phone and it rang without problem. I opened Netflix, then Apple Music and SkyShowtime in the end and my phone stopped ringing (every 2nd or 3rd call was without sound)... So I closed few background apps and it started ringing again. Which made me think it has to be related to memory issue. Your phone didnt have enough RAM and while it was freeing space it cut off ringtone... or I don't know, that's just theory.
 
Infernoqt said:
I probably have too much apps installed. But I suppose if you close them they are not active. So they should not interfere anything.

Here is the thing. I was normally using my phone and it rang without problem. I opened Netflix, then Apple Music and SkyShowtime in the end and my phone stopped ringing (every 2nd or 3rd call was without sound)... So I closed few background apps and it started ringing again. Which made me think it has to be related to memory issue. Your phone didnt have enough RAM and while it was freeing space it cut off ringtone... or I don't know, that's just theory.
Click to expand...

It sounds to me like one of those apps is competing with the incoming audio calls for access to the speaker. Wild theory. The number of apps is irrelevant. iOS is amazing at managing memory needs and will close out suspended apps if it needs to. Them being present in the App Switcher doesn't mean they are actually running. Process of elimination... that's all you can do.
 
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Lifeisabeach said:
It sounds to me like one of those apps is competing with the incoming audio calls for access to the speaker. Wild theory. The number of apps is irrelevant. iOS is amazing at managing memory needs and will close out suspended apps if it needs to. Them being present in the App Switcher doesn't mean they are actually running. Process of elimination... that's all you can do.
Click to expand...
I would need to see any process log if possible. What happens at the momment the ringtone is distrupted.

I still think it's memory related issue since this glitch occurs on many different occassions and everytime it's when I have a few more apps in the background. For instance phone was ringing, ringing, ringing... I opened two more apps and it stopped ringing... But! And that's important. I didn't close those last two opened apps. I closed two totally different apps and it started ringing again. I am sooo confused.

Edit: There's one more thing I gotta say. If you're at point your iPhone isn't ringing it doesn't mean everytime. It's every 2nd, 3th or 4th call at max. You just don't know when it's gonna happen. But I closed all background apps and suddenly I had 11 clear calls without problem. I opened all apps and 2nd call had no sound.
 
Infernoqt said:
Edit: There's one more thing I gotta say. If you're at point your iPhone isn't ringing it doesn't mean everytime. It's every 2nd, 3th or 4th call at max. You just don't know when it's gonna happen. But I closed all background apps and suddenly I had 11 clear calls without problem. I opened all apps and 2nd call had no sound.
Click to expand...

Obvious problem is obvious. One of those apps you opened is at fault here. What I recommend is close out all apps from the Switcher. Then hard restart your iPhone. Open ONE app at a time; test a call. If you get good rings, then CLOSE that app and try the next. And so on. It could be a combination of apps also. Do one at a time. If no dice, then try pairs.

Other thing to do is check App Store reviews for your prime suspects. If others are complaining about this with that app developer, well there ya go.
 
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