Can you give a contact a silent ringtone?
What is a silent ringtone?
A silent ringtone is exactly what it sounds like – a ringtone that doesn’t make any noise when a call comes in. It’s like setting your phone to vibrate, except only for specific contacts. When you assign a silent ringtone to a contact, your phone won’t ring audibly when that person calls you, so you won’t hear it.
The main purpose of using a silent ringtone is to ignore calls from certain people without blocking their number entirely. For example, you may want calls from a telemarketer or annoying friend to go straight to voicemail without your phone ringing. A silent ringtone allows you to avoid unwanted disruptions from repeat callers without preventing them from leaving a voicemail if it’s something important.
Why give a contact a silent ringtone?
There are a few key reasons why someone may want to assign a silent ringtone to a specific contact:
Avoid distraction from certain callers
Having a contact’s calls or messages come through silently can help you avoid getting distracted or interrupted by people you may not want to hear from as frequently. For example, giving a talkative relative or annoying salesperson a silent ringtone allows their calls to go directly to voicemail so they don’t disrupt your workflow.
Politely decline unwanted calls
You may wish to avoid speaking to someone directly for whatever reason, whether they tend to be long-winded, ask for favors, or you simply don’t have anything to discuss at the moment. Setting their ringtone to silent provides a subtle way to politely decline their calls without confrontation.
Control notifications from specific people
Silent ringtones also enable you to control the notifications you receive from particular contacts. For instance, you may want messages and calls from your boss or family to always make a sound, while muting notifications from co-workers or other acquaintances to avoid constant interruptions.
How to set a silent ringtone on iPhone
Setting a silent ringtone for a contact on an iPhone is easy to do directly through the Contacts app. Here are the steps:
- Open the Contacts app on your iPhone.
- Select the contact you want to set a silent ringtone for.
- Tap Edit in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Scroll down and tap Ringtone.
- Select the silent ringtone option labeled None.
- Tap Done to save the changes.
Now when that contact calls or texts you, your iPhone will not ring aloud or vibrate. The incoming call or message will silently appear on your screen (1). This is useful for muting specific people you don’t need to be notified about constantly.
Setting a Silent Ringtone on Android
One easy way to give a contact a silent ringtone on Android is by doing the following:
1. Open the Contacts app. You can find this in your apps list or by searching.
2. Tap on the contact you want to set a silent ringtone for. This will open their contact profile.
3. Tap “Edit contact” at the top right.
4. Tap on the Ringtone field. This will open your ringtones list.
5. Scroll down and select the “Silent” option. On some Android devices this may be called “None.”
6. Tap “Done” to save the contact. Now calls and notifications from that person will be silent.
This method works on most Android phones from vendors like Samsung, Google, LG, Motorola, and more. Just look for the option to edit the contact ringtone and choose silent or none. Some manufacturers may use slightly different terminology, but the overall process is the same.
Setting a silent ringtone is easy to undo if needed – just edit the contact again and pick a normal ringtone. This gives you flexibility if you only want certain contacts silenced temporarily (source).
Using Do Not Disturb on iPhone
The iPhone has a built-in Do Not Disturb feature that allows you to silence notifications and calls from certain contacts or during set times.
To turn on Do Not Disturb on iPhone:
- Go to Settings > Do Not Disturb
- Toggle on Do Not Disturb
You can allow calls from your favorites by enabling the “Allow Calls From” option in Settings. Tap on “Allow Calls From” and select “Favorites” to allow calls from people in your Favorites list when Do Not Disturb is on.
You can also set a schedule for when Do Not Disturb turns on automatically. Go to Settings > Do Not Disturb > Scheduled and set the times you want Do Not Disturb to activate.
For more information, see Apple’s support guide: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/allow-or-silence-notifications-for-a-focus-iph21d43af5b/ios
Using Do Not Disturb on Android
Android’s Do Not Disturb mode allows you to mute notifications and calls while still allowing exceptions. Here’s how to use it to give contacts a silent ringtone:
Enable Do Not Disturb:
- Open the Settings app
- Tap Sound or Notifications > Do Not Disturb
- Toggle on Use Do Not Disturb
Create exceptions for priority contacts:
- In Settings, tap Exceptions
- Tap Calls, Messages, Conversations to add exceptions
- Select contacts you want to allow to ring
Set Do Not Disturb schedule:
- In Settings, tap Schedules
- Set up automatic rules for when to enable DND
With these steps, you can mute notifications while still allowing calls and texts from selected contacts to ring through (source). This gives those contacts a silent ringtone for everyone else.
Blocking calls instead of silent ringtone
While setting a silent ringtone mutes calls, blocking a number prevents any calls from specific contacts from ringing your phone at all. Blocking calls is a more extreme option than just using a silent ringtone.
When you block a number on an iPhone or Android device, calls from that number will go straight to voicemail or will not come through at all. You will not get any notification that the person tried to call you.
Blocking can be useful if you want to completely avoid calls from certain people, like telemarketers. However, blocking calls means you may miss important calls if you block the wrong person by accident. The benefit is you can always unblock a contact later if you change your mind.
Overall, blocking calls prevents rings from specific contacts, while a silent ringtone simply mutes calls in a less extreme way. Blocking calls may make sense in some situations but can have greater consequences if you block someone by mistake.
Potential drawbacks of silent ringtones
While giving a contact a silent ringtone can be useful in some situations, there are some potential drawbacks to be aware of:
One risk is accidentally missing important calls from that contact. If you forget that you silenced their ringtone, you may not notice when they call or message you. This could lead to missed calls and unreturned messages, which could be problematic in urgent situations or damage the relationship. According to a study, one disadvantage of silencing ringtones is that important calls can be missed by mistake.
Another drawback is that the contact may notice their calls go straight to voicemail or get no response from you. As noted on Quora, some people view a silent ringtone for their contact as hurtful or rude. The contact may feel ignored or unimportant if you consistently miss their calls and messages.
Additionally, managing silent ringtones can get complicated when dealing with multiple contacts. Keeping track of who is silenced and when you need to be available for certain people takes extra effort. Having your phone on silent too frequently can inadvertently strain important relationships.
Who should get a silent ringtone
There are a few types of contacts that are good candidates for getting a silent ringtone assigned to them:
Contacts who call too frequently: Some people tend to call repeatedly or more often than you’d like. Assigning them a silent ringtone can help cut down on the disruption of constant calls from the same person.
Telemarketers and robocalls: Telemarketers often use auto-dialers to make unsolicited sales calls. Robocalls are pre-recorded messages sent out en masse. Giving these types of unwanted calls a silent ringtone means your phone won’t ring each time, providing relief from the nuisance.
People you want to avoid talking to: In some cases, you may wish to avoid certain people for personal reasons without fully blocking their number. A silent ringtone allows their calls to go to voicemail so you can return them on your own terms without an audible ring.
Summary and Conclusions
In summary, setting a silent ringtone for certain contacts can allow you to control when and how you are notified about their calls and messages. While you won’t hear their ringtone or feel phone vibrations, calls will still display visually on your phone screen. The main benefits of using silent ringtones are avoiding disruptions from specific people and contacts, while still being able to see their attempts to reach you.
However, silent ringtones are best reserved for a select few contacts, rather than enabling it for everyone. You risk missing important calls if too many people are set to silent. Additionally, simply blocking calls may be a better solution in some cases where you want no notifications at all. There are also alternative options like Do Not Disturb mode that silence all calls during certain times.
In conclusion, the ability to assign a silent ringtone provides granular control over notifications and disruptions from your contacts. This can be useful for screening calls or muting unnecessary ones. However, it should be used judiciously, weighing the benefits against potential drawbacks of missing calls. Set your priorities and contacts accordingly to get the most out of silent ringtone capabilities.