How do I silence all calls except for certain numbers?

Call silencing allows you to block incoming calls from unknown numbers or numbers not saved in your contacts. This can be useful for reducing unwanted spam calls and focusing only on calls from people you know. Some key benefits of call silencing include:

Avoiding disruptions from spam calls, telemarketers, and robocalls

Reducing distractions so you only receive calls that are important

Preventing potential scams or fraud calls from unfamiliar numbers

Creating a selective “do not disturb” mode for calls

Focusing on calls from close contacts, friends, and family

With call silencing, you can create a personalized whitelist of contacts that can get through while sending all other unknown callers directly to voicemail. This gives you control over your incoming calls.

Check Phone Settings

To silence calls except for certain numbers, you will first need to access your phone’s Do Not Disturb or call silencing settings. Here is how to find these settings on iPhone and Android devices:

On an iPhone, open the Settings app and tap “Do Not Disturb”. You can toggle Do Not Disturb on or off here. There are also options to allow calls from your Favorites, groups of contacts, or repeated calls. See Apple Support for more details.

On an Android device, open the Settings app and go to “Sound & vibration”. Tap “Do not disturb” to view silencing options. You can schedule downtime, set exceptions for contacts, and customize notifications. See Google Support for step-by-step instructions for your device.

Knowing where these settings menus are located on your smartphone is the first step to selectively silencing calls.

Enable Do Not Disturb

Enabling Do Not Disturb is an easy way to silence all calls except for those you specifically allow. Here are the steps for enabling Do Not Disturb on iPhone and Android:

On an iPhone running iOS 12 or later:How to turn on Do Not Disturb on iPhone and Android

Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open Control Center.
Tap the crescent moon icon to toggle Do Not Disturb on or off.

You can also enable Do Not Disturb in Settings > Do Not Disturb.

On an Android device running Android 9.0 or later:Limit interruptions with Do Not Disturb on Android

Open the Settings app and tap Sound > Do Not Disturb.

Toggle “Turn on automatically” and “Restrict notifications” on or off as desired.
You can customize allowed contacts and repeated calls under “Exceptions.”

Allow Calls From Contacts

You can allow calls from specific contacts to ring through even when Do Not Disturb mode is turned on. Here’s how to set this up on an iPhone:

Open the Settings app and tap “Do Not Disturb.” Make sure the switch is turned on to enable Do Not Disturb mode.

Scroll down and tap “Allow Calls From.” Select “All Contacts” or tap “Favorites” to only allow calls from your Favorites list.

You can also build a custom list of allowed contacts by tapping “Everyone” and then manually toggling individual contacts on or off. The contacts with the switch turned on will be able to call you even when Do Not Disturb is active.

On Android devices, open the Phone app and tap the 3-dot menu button. Select “Settings” then “Do Not Disturb.” Tap “Allowed contacts” and choose which contacts can always reach you.

This allows you to silence notifications and calls from everyone except VIPs that you select. It’s useful for only getting bothered by your close contacts while keeping unwanted calls muted.

Sources:
https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/26/20883331/iphone-do-not-disturb-mode-exceptions-how-to
https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/allow-or-silence-notifications-for-a-focus-iph21d43af5b/ios

Allow Calls From Favorites

One of the most useful features of Do Not Disturb mode is the ability to allow calls from your favorites or contacts even when Do Not Disturb is enabled. This lets you avoid unwanted interruptions while still allowing calls from your closest friends and family.

On an iPhone, you can enable this by going to Settings > Do Not Disturb and toggling on “Allow Calls From.” From there, you can select “All Contacts” or “Favorites” to allow calls from those groups even when Do Not Disturb is on.

On Android devices, go to Settings > Sound > Do Not Disturb. Tap on “Allowed contacts” and choose “Favorites” to enable calls from your favorite contacts. You can also customize the list of allowed contacts here.

This option is useful if you only want to allow calls from your top contacts like family members or close friends. The “Favorites” setting limits interruptions to true VIPs in your contacts list while maintaining Do Not Disturb for everyone else.

Sources:

How do I designate favorites to allow calls from in Do Not …

Limit interruptions with Do Not Disturb on Android

Allow Repeated Calls

You can allow repeated calls to ring through even when Do Not Disturb is enabled on your iPhone. This allows someone to call you multiple times in a row if they really need to reach you.

To enable this setting:

Go to Settings > Do Not Disturb
Toggle on “Allow Repeated Calls”

With this enabled, if someone calls you multiple times within a 3 minute period, the calls will still ring through. This overrides the Do Not Disturb setting.

You can adjust the time period required for repeated calls to come through by tapping the “Repeated Calls” option. Options are Never, 1 Minute, 3 Minutes, 5 Minutes, or Always. Setting it to “Never” will disable repeated call overrides.

This can be useful for allowing emergency contacts or family members to reach you even when Do Not Disturb is on. Just be aware that any caller who calls repeatedly within the set time period will be able to get through.

For more information, see this Apple support article: Allow or silence notifications for a Focus on iPhone

Schedule Do Not Disturb

You can schedule when Do Not Disturb turns on and off automatically on your Android phone.

To set up a schedule:

Open the Settings app.

Tap Sound.
Tap Do Not Disturb.
Tap Schedules.

Tap the plus icon to add a new schedule.
Give the schedule a name.
Set the days and times you want Do Not Disturb to be on.

Tap Done.

Do Not Disturb will now automatically turn on and off during the scheduled times. You can create multiple schedules if needed, for example having different settings for weekdays and weekends.

To edit or delete a schedule:

Go to Settings > Sound > Do Not Disturb > Schedules.
Tap on a schedule.
Make any changes or tap Delete to remove the schedule.

Scheduling Do Not Disturb allows you to automatically silence calls and notifications during times when you don’t want to be disturbed, like at night.

Silence Unknown Calls

One way to silence unknown callers and send them directly to voicemail is by using your phone’s built-in settings. On an iPhone, go to Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers and toggle it on. This will send all calls from numbers not in your contacts to voicemail automatically (1). On Android phones, go to Settings > Caller ID & Spam and enable Filter Suspected Spam Calls. This will send suspected spam calls straight to voicemail.

You can also silence unknown callers by using third party apps. Apps like Hiya and RoboKiller maintain databases of known spam numbers and can block or send those calls directly to voicemail (2). These apps give you more granular control, like creating whitelists and blacklists to customize which calls get through. The downside is you need to install another app rather than just using built-in phone settings.

Overall, using your smartphone’s call filtering capabilities or third party spam call apps makes it easy to auto-send unknown numbers to voicemail. This helps cut down on disruptions from unwanted calls.

Third Party Apps

There are many third party apps available that offer advanced call blocking and silencing features beyond what’s available natively on smartphones. Some popular options include:

Robokiller – Uses an ever-updating database of known spam numbers to automatically block calls. Also allows you to create custom block lists.

Hiya – Identifies unknown callers and alerts you to suspected spam. Has advanced filtering options and community reporting of spam numbers.

TrapCall – Unmasks blocked calls so you can see who’s actually calling. Useful for identifying unknown numbers.

These apps typically have premium paid versions, but also offer basic spam call blocking features for free. They provide an additional layer of protection beyond your smartphone’s native settings.

Summary

There are a few different ways to silence all calls except for certain numbers on your phone. The key steps covered include:

Enabling Do Not Disturb mode – This allows you to silence notifications and calls while allowing exceptions.
Creating allowed contacts and favorites – You can allow calls from specific contacts or marked favorites to bypass DND.

Allowing repeat calls – Set your phone to allow a call that tries reaching you multiple times in a short period to come through.
Scheduling Do Not Disturb – Silence calls during specific times, like at night.
Blocking unknown numbers – Prevent unidentified callers from disturbing you.

Using third party apps – Download an app to customize call blocking in different ways.

The main benefits of selectively silencing calls include reducing distractions from unwanted calls, while still allowing important people to reach you. It allows you to take control over when and how you receive calls based on your preferences.