Mute Calls from One Person on iPhone and Android

This guide shows you how to silence calls from a single contact without blocking them entirely, on both iPhone and Android. You’ll still get their texts, and they won’t know they’ve been muted. You only need your phone and the contact’s number saved (or recent call history).

What You’ll Need

• An iPhone running iOS 13 or later, or an Android phone with Android 10 or later (steps may vary slightly by manufacturer).
• The contact’s phone number saved in your contacts, or a recent call from them in your call log.
• For iPhone: Do Not Disturb or a Focus mode set up (optional, but helpful for the “repeat callsâ€� behavior).

Step-by-Step

On iPhone (using Do Not Disturb or a custom Focus)

1. Open the Phone app and go to Recents, or open Contacts and find the person.
2. Tap the “i� (info) icon next to their name or number.
3. Scroll down and tap “Edit� in the top-right corner.
4. Tap “Ringtone� (or “Text Tone� if you also want to mute their texts).
5. Choose “None� from the list of ringtones. This makes their calls silent (no sound, no vibration) while still allowing the call to come through.
6. Tap “Done� to save.
7. If you want to go a step further and send their calls straight to voicemail, you can use a Focus mode:
8. Go to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb (or create a new Focus).
9. Tap “People� under Allowed Notifications.
10. Tap “Add People� and select the contact you want to mute.
11. Choose “Allow Calls From� and set it to “No One� (or choose a different group that doesn’t include them).
12. Turn on “Silence Unknown Callers� if you want to block all unknown numbers too (optional).
13. Now, when Do Not Disturb is active (manually or on a schedule), calls from that person will be silenced and sent to voicemail.

On Android (using Do Not Disturb or a third-party app)

1. Open the Phone app and go to Recents, or open Contacts and find the person.
2. Tap on their name/number to view details.
3. Tap the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner and select “Route to voicemail� (on Pixel and stock Android). This sends their calls directly to voicemail without ringing.
4. If your phone doesn’t have that option, use Do Not Disturb:
5. Go to Settings > Sound & vibration > Do Not Disturb (or Notifications > Do Not Disturb on some phones).
6. Tap “People� or “Calls� and then “Add people�.
7. Select the contact you want to mute.
8. Set the behavior to “Don’t allow� or “Hide notifications� so their calls are silenced.
9. Turn on Do Not Disturb manually from the quick settings panel, or schedule it.
10. Alternatively, you can use a third-party call blocker app like “Should I Answer?� or “Truecaller� to mute specific contacts, but these often require granting permissions and may not be necessary.

Common Mistakes

• Setting the ringtone to “Noneâ€� but forgetting to save: Always tap “Doneâ€� after changing the ringtone, or the change won’t stick.
• Expecting the mute to affect texts: On iPhone, changing the ringtone only affects calls. To mute texts too, you must also change the Text Tone to “Noneâ€� (step 4).
• Using Do Not Disturb but forgetting to turn it on: Do Not Disturb only works when it’s active. If you set a schedule, make sure it matches the times you want to mute the person.
• Blocking the contact instead of muting: Blocking prevents them from reaching you at all (no voicemail, no texts). Muting is gentler – they can still leave a voicemail and their texts come through.
• On Android, using “Route to voicemailâ€� but the contact still rings: This feature can be hidden under “Call settingsâ€� or “Call forwardingâ€� on some phones. If you don’t see it, use Do Not Disturb instead.

Tips

• Use a custom Focus on iPhone: Create a Focus called “Workâ€� or “Quietâ€� that mutes only that person, and turn it on during specific hours. This way, you don’t have to remember to mute/unmute manually.
• On Android, schedule Do Not Disturb: Set it to turn on automatically during your sleep hours or work hours, so you don’t have to toggle it every day.
• Check if your carrier offers “Call Filteringâ€� or “Selective Call Rejectionâ€�: Some carriers have built-in features that let you send specific numbers to voicemail without using your phone’s settings.
• Test the mute: After setting up, ask a friend to call you from that number (or call yourself from another phone) to confirm it works as expected.
• Remember that “Noneâ€� ringtone still shows a missed call notification: The call will appear in your Recents and may show a banner, but it won’t make a sound.

Troubleshooting

• The call still rings after setting ringtone to “Noneâ€� on iPhone: Make sure you saved by tapping “Doneâ€�. Also, check if the contact is in a group that has a custom ringtone set – group settings can override individual ones. Go to Contacts, find the group, and check its ringtone.
• Do Not Disturb is on, but the person’s calls still ring: On iPhone, go to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb > People and ensure the contact is listed under “Silenceâ€� (not “Allowâ€�). Also, check if “Repeated Callsâ€� is enabled – if so, a second call from the same person within 3 minutes will break through. Turn that off if you want to mute all their calls.
• On Android, “Route to voicemailâ€� is grayed out or missing: This feature is not available on all Android phones. Use Do Not Disturb instead, or download a call-blocking app from the Play Store.
• You muted the person, but you still get a notification sound for their voicemail: Voicemail notifications are separate from call ringtones. To silence those, change the voicemail notification sound in your phone’s settings (usually under Sounds & vibration > Voicemail).
• You want to unmute later but can’t find the setting: On iPhone, go to the contact’s info and change the Ringtone back to “Defaultâ€�. On Android, go to Do Not Disturb settings and remove the contact from the exception list, or turn off Do Not Disturb entirely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the person know I muted them?

No. They won’t get any notification that you muted their calls. They’ll just hear the phone ring normally on their end (it will ring, but your phone won’t make a sound). If you send them to voicemail, they might notice that you don’t pick up, but that’s it.

Can I still see their missed calls?

Yes. Muted calls still appear in your Recents list and may show a missed call notification, but without sound. You can always check your call log to see if they tried to reach you.

Does muting affect text messages?

On iPhone, changing the Ringtone only affects calls. To mute their texts too, you must also set the Text Tone to “None� (step 4). On Android, the “Route to voicemail� feature only affects calls; to mute texts, you’d need to mute notifications for that contact in your messaging app (e.g., long-press the conversation and select “Mute�).

What’s the difference between muting and blocking?

Muting silences the call but still lets it come through (you’ll see it in Recents, and they can leave a voicemail). Blocking prevents the call from reaching you at all – they get a busy tone or a message that you’re unavailable, and they can’t leave a voicemail. Blocking is more drastic and can be seen as rude if the person finds out.

Can I mute calls from a number that’s not in my contacts?

Yes, but you need to add the number to your contacts first, or use the “Silence Unknown Callers� feature (iPhone) or “Block unknown numbers� (Android) to mute all unknown callers. If you want to mute a specific unknown number, save it as a contact and then follow the steps above.

Will muting affect emergency calls or calls from other people?

No. Muting a specific contact only affects that contact. All other calls will ring normally. Emergency services (like 911) are never muted – they always ring through, even in Do Not Disturb mode.

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