Go Straight to Voicemail on iPhone: 5 Ways

This guide shows you how to send a call directly to voicemail on an iPhone, bypassing the ringing entirely. You’ll learn five reliable methods, from using the side button and Do Not Disturb to blocking a number and using a shortcut. No special apps or jailbreak are required—just the built-in iOS features.

What You’ll Need

• An iPhone running iOS 15 or later (for most methods; older versions still support the side button and blocking).
• Your phone’s passcode or Face ID/Touch ID enabled for some settings changes.
• An active cellular plan with voicemail service (standard on most carriers).

Step-by-Step

Method 1: Use the Side Button (Quickest)

1. When an incoming call appears on your screen, press the side button (right edge) once.
2. The call is immediately silenced and sent to voicemail. The caller hears one ring or a brief silence, then your voicemail greeting.
3. You can also press the volume up or volume down button once to achieve the same effect—this silences the ring but does not decline the call; it still goes to voicemail after a few seconds.
4. To disable this behavior temporarily, go to Settings > Phone > Calls and turn off Silence Unknown Callers if you want unknown numbers to ring normally.

Method 2: Use Do Not Disturb

1. Open Control Center by swiping down from the top-right corner (or up from the bottom on older models).
2. Tap the crescent moon icon to enable Do Not Disturb.
3. By default, calls from numbers not in your Favorites or allowed lists will go straight to voicemail.
4. To customize, go to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb. Under People, choose Allow Calls From and select Favorites or Everyone (if you want all calls to ring, disable Do Not Disturb for calls).
5. To schedule it, tap the time icon in the Do Not Disturb settings and set a start/end time.

Method 3: Block the Number

1. Open the Phone app and go to Recents.
2. Tap the i (info) icon next to the number you want to block.
3. Scroll down and tap Block this Caller.
4. Confirm by tapping Block Contact. All future calls from this number go directly to voicemail, and you won’t receive any notification.
5. To unblock later, go to Settings > Phone > Blocked Contacts and swipe left on the number to unblock.

Method 4: Use a Focus Mode (Custom)

1. Go to Settings > Focus and tap the + to create a new Focus, like “Work” or “Driving”.
2. Tap Custom, name it, and choose a color/icon.
3. Under People, tap Add People and select contacts you want to allow. Everyone else will go to voicemail.
4. Under Apps, you can also allow notifications from specific apps (not calls).
5. Enable the Focus from Control Center whenever you want to send all non-allowed calls to voicemail.

Method 5: Use the Side Button + Volume Up (Silence)

1. When a call comes in, press the side button once to silence the ring, but the call will still ring on the caller’s end until you press the side button again to decline.
2. To send it straight to voicemail without any ringing on your end, press the side button twice quickly. The first press silences, the second declines and sends to voicemail.
3. Alternatively, press the volume up button once to silence, then press the side button once to decline. This is a two-step process.

Common Mistakes

• Pressing the side button once only silences, not declines. The call still rings on the caller’s end until you press it again or let it go to voicemail.
• Do Not Disturb not actually blocking calls. If you have “Allow Calls From” set to Everyone, Do Not Disturb won’t send calls to voicemail. Check that setting.
• Blocking a number removes it from your contacts. Blocking also removes the contact from your list, which may surprise you. You’ll need to re-add it later if you unblock.
• Using the side button while the phone is locked. If your phone is locked, pressing the side button once may just wake the screen, not silence the call. You need to press it twice or use the volume buttons.
• Forgetting to turn off Do Not Disturb. You may miss important calls later if you forget to disable it.

Tips

• Create a custom voicemail greeting that tells callers you’ll call back later, so they don’t hang up.
• Use the “Silence Unknown Callers” feature (Settings > Phone) to automatically send calls from numbers not in your contacts to voicemail. This is great for spam calls.
• Set up a Focus schedule to automatically go straight to voicemail during meetings or at night.
• Use the “Share Focus Status” option in Focus settings so people see you have notifications silenced, but they can still choose to notify you if urgent.
• If you have an Apple Watch, you can also decline calls from the watch by tapping the red decline button, which sends to voicemail.

Troubleshooting

Call still rings despite pressing the side button. Make sure you’re pressing the side button firmly and not just once. If you have the “Change with Buttons” setting enabled for volume, pressing volume up may change ringer volume instead of silencing. Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics and disable Change with Buttons if you want volume buttons to always silence.

Do Not Disturb doesn’t send calls to voicemail. Check your Focus settings: go to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb and tap People. Ensure “Allow Calls From” is set to Favorites or No One. Also, make sure the Focus is actually turned on (check Control Center).

Blocked numbers still ring. If you’ve blocked a number but it still rings, it might be from a different number (e.g., a spoofed number). Also, check that you’ve blocked the correct contact. Go to Settings > Phone > Blocked Contacts to verify.

Voicemail isn’t set up. If you don’t have a voicemail greeting set up, calls may not go to voicemail. Call your own number and follow the setup prompts, or contact your carrier to enable voicemail.

Call goes to voicemail but you still get a notification. That’s normal—you’ll see a missed call notification. To suppress that, you can turn off notifications for the Phone app, but that will also hide missed calls. Alternatively, use Do Not Disturb, which suppresses call notifications by default.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the caller know I sent them to voicemail?

Yes, they’ll hear one ring (or a brief silence) and then your voicemail greeting. They won’t know you specifically pressed a button, but they’ll know you didn’t answer.

Can I send a call to voicemail without the caller hearing a ring?

No, the caller will always hear at least one ring or a short silence before voicemail. There’s no way to make it completely silent on their end.

Does blocking a number also block texts and FaceTime?

Yes, blocking a number blocks calls, texts, and FaceTime from that number. They also can’t leave voicemail.

Can I send a call to voicemail from the lock screen?

Yes, you can press the side button twice from the lock screen to decline and send to voicemail. Or you can swipe the red phone icon (if you have the slide-to-answer screen) to decline.

Will Do Not Disturb affect alarms?

No, alarms set in the Clock app will still ring. You can also allow calls from Favorites or specific contacts to ring through.

How do I get a call out of voicemail if I accidentally sent it there?

You can’t retrieve a call once it’s gone to voicemail. You’ll need to call the person back. If you use Visual Voicemail, you can listen to the message they left.

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