This information explains how to prevent missed calls on your smartphone. This guide will help you avoid missing phone calls from your care team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK).
These instructions are only for Apple iPhones or Android smartphones.
Adjusting Settings on Your iPhone
On your iPhone, you can save phone numbers, email addresses, and more in your contacts list. Your saved contact’s name will appear on your screen when they call, email, or text you.
Follow these steps to add a contact’s phone number to your iPhone:
- Open your “Phone” application (app).
- Click “Contacts.”
- Click the “+” button.
- Enter the contact’s name. This is what will show when they contact you.
- Enter the contact’s phone number.
- Click “Done.”
The “Silence Unknown Callers” setting blocks phone numbers from people you did not contact or store in your contact list. When this setting is turned on, any call from an unknown phone number will go right to your voicemail. This means your phone will not ring. Turn this setting off to make sure you don’t miss a call from your care team.
Follow these steps to turn off the “Silence Unknown Callers” setting on your iPhone:
- Open your “Settings” application (app).
- Click the “Phone” button.
- Scroll down to the “Silence Unknown Callers” setting.
- Make sure the switch icon for the “Silence Unknown Callers” setting is set to the left and grayed out. This means that the setting is turned off and you will get calls from unknown phone numbers.
You can manually block phone numbers you don’t know or don’t want to contact you. When a phone number is blocked, any call from that phone number will not get through. This means your phone will not ring. You can unblock a phone number to make sure a call gets through to you.
Follow these steps to unblock a phone number on your iPhone:
- Open your “Settings” application (app).
- Click “Phone.”
- Click “Blocked Contacts.”
- Find the phone number you want to unblock.
- Swipe right to left across that number and tap “Unblock.”
Adjusting Settings on Your Android Phone
On your Android phone, you can save phone numbers, email addresses, and more in your contacts list. Your saved contact’s name will appear on your screen when they call, email, or text you.
Follow these steps to add a contact’s phone number to your Android phone:
- Open your “Phone” application (app).
- Click “Contacts.”
- Click “+”
- Enter the contact name. This is what will appear when they contact you.
- Enter the contact phone number.
- Click “Save.”
Spam protection is automatically turned on. If an unknown phone number calls you, your phone will not ring. You will not get a missed call or voicemail notification. You will see missed calls listed in your call history and can check if there is a voicemail. Make sure calls from unknown numbers are not blocked by your Android phone.
Follow these steps to allow calls from unknown phone numbers on your Android phone:
- Open your “Phone” application (app).
- Click the 3 dots to the right of the magnifying glass icon to open the next menu.
- Click “Settings.”
- Click “Block numbers.”
- Make sure the “Block calls from unknown numbers” switch icon is set to the left and grayed out. This means the setting is turned off and you will get calls from unknown phone numbers.
You can manually block phone numbers you don’t know or you don’t want to contact you. When a phone number is blocked, any call from that phone number will not get through. This means your phone won’t ring. You can unblock a phone number to make sure a call gets through to you.
Follow these steps to unblock a phone number on your Android phone:
- Open your “Phone” application (app).
- Click the 3 dots to the right of the magnifying glass icon to open the next menu.
- Click “Settings.”
- Click “Block numbers.”
- Find the number you want to unblock.
- Click the “-” next to that number to remove it from the list.