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sigmadog

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 11, 2009
835
753
just west of Idaho
Is there a way to restrict all incoming calls to ring only those on my contact list, and send all others to voicemail?

I'm suddenly getting a ton of nuisance marketing robo-calls, about one every hour and it's pissing me off royally. We are already on the so-called "DO NOT CALL" list, for whatever good that does.

I've looked through the settings, and can't seem to find any function for this, but it's possible I'm looking in the wrong place.

Any help out there?

Thanks!
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
Options
1) You can put the phone in constant DND (Settings > Do Not Disturb) and set it to only allow calls from favorites etc.

2) Assign a ringtone to your important contacts and set the default ringtone to be silent. That way, if you get a spam call, you won't hear it and it will go to voicemail, if they let it ring long enough.
Those were essentially the potential solutions I was going to suggest. The downside with DND though is that it also silences other notifications too, which might not be that good of a thing.

Thanks! That's what I'm looking for.
Another solution that could work as far as dealing with spam type of calls at least is to use a call "blocking" app, like Hiya or various other ones.
 

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
35,697
52,580
In a van down by the river
Those were essentially the potential solutions I was going to suggest. The downside with DND though is that it also silences other notifications too, which might not be that good of a thing.


Another solution that could work as far as dealing with spam type of calls at least is to use a call "blocking" app, like Hiya or various other ones.
Thanks for the follow up, CDM. You are correct. I neglected to mention that.
 
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sigmadog

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 11, 2009
835
753
just west of Idaho
Just activated DND and allowed only calls from my Contacts.

Tested it with the Missus and it sort of worked. She called me once and it came through, but on the second call it did not come through.

Also, DND does not notify of text messages, which is a problem for me.

I'll look into Hiya. I understand there is a subscription involved, but hopefully there is a free version for low-end users like me.

Thanks for your help!
 

HDFan

Contributor
Jun 30, 2007
7,303
3,351
See the New York Times discussion which discusses some tools you can use:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/11/smarter-living/stop-robocalls.html

There is risk in limiting calls to contacts. Some are very rare, but critical calls may be missed:

A doctor trying to reach you calls on an unlisted number
Local agency alerts for imminent flooding, power outages, etc.
You place an order for something and the vendor tries to contact you
Your car service rep uses his cell phone to reach you about issues with servicing your car

etc.
 
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StaceyMJ86

macrumors demi-goddess
Sep 22, 2015
8,478
14,901
Washington, DC
Download YouMail and set it up to play a fake your phone is not in service message. You can add whatever numbers to your black list and they will hear the infamous “The phone you’ve reached is not in service...”. Works every time for me.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
Use Do Not Disturb and set allow calls from All Contacts.
Seems like that might not really work for the OP:
Just activated DND and allowed only calls from my Contacts.

Tested it with the Missus and it sort of worked. She called me once and it came through, but on the second call it did not come through.

Also, DND does not notify of text messages, which is a problem for me.

I'll look into Hiya. I understand there is a subscription involved, but hopefully there is a free version for low-end users like me.

Thanks for your help!
 
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