Sometimes it seems funny that the iPhone is still called the iPhone. It seems like we use it for everything other than actually talking to people on calls. But of course, that’s not everyone. If you still use your phone for making calls, either FaceTime or old-timey cellular calls, check out our list of tips and tricks for making that call experience a whole lot better.
1. Disable iPhone Calls on Other Devices
This is a classic first world problem. You have an iPhone, an iPhone, and two Macs. All signed into the same iCloud account. By default whenever you get a call on your iPhone, all your Apple devices light up and start ringing. And they’re always a bit off. So you hear 4 ring tones from 4 different devices that are not even synced up. It is pure chaos. Hair pulling level of chaos. You should disable this.
Go to Settings -> Phone -> Calls on Other Devices and then toggle off devices.
2. Block Numbers
Blocking someone from calling you ever again is pretty easy. Go to the Recents list and next to the caller’s name or number, tap the i button. From the bottom, tap on Block this Caller, confirm and you’re done.
3. Automatically Block Spam Calls
If you’re running iOS 10, you can run third party apps that will automatically block spam calls for you. Hiya and Truecaller are free options. Truecaller requires you to add your phone number to its database. You can skip the step in Hiya. Nomorobo is a completely private way to do do this but you need to pay a $2/month fee.
Once you’ve installed the app, go to Settings -> Phone -> Call Blocking & Identification and toggle on one or multiple apps. Next time you get a spam call, the app will warn you about it.
Read more: How to Block Spam Calls in iOS 10 with the Use of Third-Party Apps
4. Lookup Unknown Callers
Let’s say you’ve missed a call from an unknown number. If you have Truecaller or Hiya installed, you can look up any number after the fact. There are multiple ways to do this. You can paste in the number in the app, or use the widget.
The easiest way to do this is to tap the i icon next to the number in the Recents list and select Share Contact. You’ll see Identify in Truecaller button in the share sheet (if not, tap on More to enable it). Truecaller will search its database and show you the details for it (if available).
5. Add Frequent Contacts as Favourites
The first tab on the Phone app is the Favorites and you really should start using this feature. It will be helpful and time-saving in a bunch of different ways. In the Favorites screen, tap the Plus button and select a contact for a friend or family you contact frequently.
You’ll see that the app asks you to choose a default mode of communication. You can choose to call them on their personal or work phone, using FaceTime or even an iMessage. You can add multiple shortcuts based on the mode of communication for the same person. Once you’ve added them, tap on the Edit button to rearrange them.
Next time you want to call your friend on FaceTime, instead of searching for their contact, just come to the Favourites screen and tap the shortcut you’ve created.
6. Use the Favorites Widget in iOS 10
Once you’ve set up your favorites, you start a call with your friend without even unlocking your phone. In iOS 10, you can add a Favourites widget. On the widgets page, swipe down, tap on Edit, and then add the Favourites widget.
Now, you’ll see the top 4 favorites contacts right there. Expand to see 8 of them. Just tap on a shortcut to start a call.
Read more: Top 25 Widgets for iOS 10
7. Quickly Contact Favorites Using 3D Touch
If you’re using an iPhone 6s or higher, you can access the same widget using 3D Touch. Press harder on the phone icon and you’ll see the top four favorite contacts right there.
Read More: The Complete List of 3D Touch Shortcuts for iPhone
8. Respond Callers With Quick Responses
When you get a call, you can’t always accept it. You can quickly set a preset message to the person saying that you’re busy and that you’ll call them back later. Apple has set of these quick messages you can use directly. When you get a call, just tap on “Message”, select one of these messages and send them.
If you go to Settings -> Phone -> Respond with Text and add your own.
9. Remind Yourself About A Call Later
When you get a call, you can tap Remind Me to get an option to be reminded of the call either in 1 hour or when you leave the current place you’re in.
10. Read Your Voicemail
If you’re running iOS 10 or higher, and you’re on a carrier that supports Visual Voicemail, you’ll be able to read the voicemail as well. The feature transcribes the voicemail so you know what the message is about even before you listen to it. This can be a great way to ignore promotional messages. You can delete unwanted messages even before listening to them.
Read more: How To View Voicemail Transcripts in iOS 10
Do You Use Your iPhone as a Phone?
I mean, it’s still called an iPhone, right. While we’d all prefer to text instead, sometimes you just can’t ignore calls.
How often do you use your iPhone to make calls? Are they old-fashioned, cellular calls? Or FaceTime or VoIP calls? Share with us in the comments below.
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