A louder ring, that lasts longer
Hear the phone from the next room, and give yourself enough time to get to it.
The buttons on the side of the phone usually change the wrong one, which is why the ring stays quiet however hard you press them.
There is also a silent switch or a bell icon that overrides all of it. On an iPhone it is a small physical switch above the volume buttons; on Android it is usually a bell in the quick settings. If the ringer is set loud and the phone is still silent, that switch is the reason.
Key points
- Set the ring volume properly in Sounds, not with the side buttons
- Stop the side buttons changing it by turning off Change with Buttons
- Choose a lower, simpler ringtone that carries through a door
- Have the phone answer itself on loudspeaker if you cannot get to it in time
What to remember
- Turning off Change with Buttons is the fix for a phone that goes quiet by itself. On a Samsung the same page is called Sounds and vibration, and the ring has a bar of its own there in exactly the same way.
- To set the ring volume reliably, use Settings rather than the side buttons.
- How many times it rings before voicemail is set by your phone company — a phone call to them changes it.
Try this
Ask somebody to call you while you stand in the next room with the door shut. If you cannot hear it, the ringtone is doing more harm than the volume — try Old Telephone or another low one.
Practice: A louder ring, that lasts longer. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.