iPhone tip: Use a Silent Ringtone to Screen Calls in Your Sleep

Have you ever wished your iPhone would ring only when certain people call? Here’s how to do it:

  1. Download the “Silence” ringtone here: silence.m4r
  2. Copy this file into the Ringtones section of your iTunes. (Click to enlarge.)

    adding_ringtone_to_itunes
  3. Sync your iPhone with iTunes to load the ringtone.
  4. On your iPhone, change your ringtone to “Silence” (under Settings -> Sounds -> Ringtone). You’ll no longer hear your phone calls.

    2_iphone_silence_ringtone
  5. For each person whose calls you still want to hear, change his or her Custom Ringtone to something audible: Click the name in your contact list, choose Ringtone, then choose something besides Default

    3_iphone_important_caller 4_iphone_audible_ringtone

Now you can screen calls in your sleep. Because Sunday afternoons are for napping.

This entry was posted in Apple, Communication, Getting Things Done, How To, Mac, Main, Tech, Tips, iPhone. Bookmark the permalink.

63 Responses to iPhone tip: Use a Silent Ringtone to Screen Calls in Your Sleep

  1. Pingback: What's the Best Way to Block a Number from Calling My Cellphone?

  2. Nikki says:
    You’re awesome. Period.
  3. JP in Maine says:
    I just tried this and the ringtone wouldn’t show up in i/Tunes or sync. The solution was to drag and drop the silence.m4r file from within Windows Explorer directly into the Ringtones library within iTunes. After syncing again, the “silence” ringtone is listed as a Custom ringtone on my iPhone. Perfect! Couldn’t have started without this great help.
  4. Pingback: How to: Blocking a Number from Calling Your Cellphone? | iPhone 3G Tricks

  5. LK says:
    I did this and loved it …until I downloaded the next updates from apple and it was automatically erased from my phone for me. They really need to get a clue that we don’t want them to control our phones for us.
  6. Nephi says:
    is this why you never answer my calls?!
  7. SP says:
    THANK YOU so much for sharing this with us! How wonderful that there are still a few caring, considerate people–like you!–left in this crazy world.
  8. Robert says:
    Thanks!

    There are several organizations where I’d just rather not ever hear their rings (political or charitable organizations that want yet more money, companies which I have business with but don’t want to buy anything additional from, etc.)

    I’ve created a contact called “IGNORE”, and add multiple organizations to the phone fields. (of course sometimes an organization won’t have just have one number they call from – doesn’t work for all situations)

    Since I’ve assigned your slient ringtone to “IGNORE” I’ve been blessed with never having them annoy me. (and then I chuckle to myself when I notice later that IGNORE is in my missed call list.

    Mwhahahahah!

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