Stop spam calls on your iPhone with Silence Unknown Callers

For: iPhone

Last checked October 14, 2026 against official help from Apple. Written for iOS 27.

Your iPhone can quietly send calls from strangers to voicemail, so only people you know ring through.

This page is for you if

  • You get scam or robocalls every day
  • You want only people you know to ring through

Good to know first

Save the numbers of your doctor, pharmacy and family in Contacts first. Calls from numbers that aren't saved won't ring.

Do these steps

  1. Step 1: Open Phone settings

    Open Settings, tap Apps, then tap Phone.

  2. Step 2: Find Screen Unknown Callers

    Scroll to Screen Unknown Callers.

  3. Step 3: Pick how to handle them

    Choose Silence to send calls from unsaved numbers to voicemail. Or choose Ask Reason for Calling so your iPhone asks the caller why they're calling before it rings.

  4. Step 4: Filter spam

    On the same screen, under Call Filtering, turn on Spam. Calls your carrier flags as possible spam are silenced and sent to voicemail.

Good to know

  • Check your voicemail now and then so you don't miss a real call from a new number.
  • To block one number, open the Phone app, find the call in your recent calls, tap the number, then tap Block Caller.

Check it with the source

We wrote these steps from these official pages. If your screen looks different, the official page is always right.

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