Why do phones ring

So, how long should it take for a phone to be directed to voicemail? Depending on your cell carrier, calls are directed to voicemail after four or five rings, or after seconds. There are going to be other factors that can affect how many times the phone rings, but assuming the phone is on and the person is just unavailable, four or five rings is what to expect.

If you are on the receiving end of calls that are going to voicemail faster than you would like, you need to contact your service provider to change the number of rings. If you are trying to call someone and repeatedly getting sent to voicemail, there are going to be signs to help you figure out the reason it keeps happening. There is no definitive way to tell if you are blocked other than asking the person directly, but if your number is blocked you will usually hear one ring before the voicemail.

To find out if you are blocked, try these things first:. Okay, this one seems obvious. Or even a few days. You never know if someone is somewhere out of town with little or no cell service. You can send a text and see if you get a delivered message, which might indicate whether you were blocked or not. This is more likely going to help you know if you are not blocked, in which case you will get a message saying the text was delivered.

If the text is not delivered, it could mean you are blocked but it could mean several other things as well, like the person has no cell service. Texting to see if the message is delivered will work on an iPhone, but on an Android, there is no way to find out through texting alone.

Then go to add a contact, and if their name appears as a suggestion, you have probably not been blocked. Here's how you can access your default ringtones list. When all else fails, it's time to try the age-old solution of turning it off and turning it back on.

Restarting your phone will correct minor glitches and usually fixes small bugs. You can restart your Android by holding down the Power button. If you've tried all of the previous troubleshooting options and nothing has fixed the issue, your phone not ringing may be more than a small glitch. Worst case scenario, malware has gotten into your system.

Perform a system backup of your essential apps and information and do a factory reset to see if that fixes the issue. If absolutely none of the other solutions work, your phone's speakers may be damaged in some way. This is especially likely if you're having trouble playing other audio as well. If this is the case, contact your phone's manufacturer or the store where you bought it from to see what can be done.

For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. Good Subscriber Account active since Shortcuts. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile. Log out. Smart Home. Social Media. More Button Icon Circle with three vertical dots. If you call someone and their phone is turned OFF, it will ring from 0 — 2 times in most cases.

But on etiquette, there is no standard anywhere that states how many times you have to allow a phone to ring before you answer it. So how many times does the phone ring when you are blocked? In our example, we used the average of rings 30 seconds , if you increase it to 60 seconds, you will be getting double the number of rings. John follows everything happening in the tech industry, from the latest gadget launches to some of the big-name moves in the industry.