How to stop incoming phone calls from ringing on your mac and ipad

If you own more than one Apple device, be it an iPhone, an iPad, an iPod touch, or a Mac, you might have encountered this situation where a call on your iPhone rings simultaneously on your other devices. This is part of a feature called Continuity, and in most cases, it’s really helpful.

But if like most of us at iDB you own several Apple devices, the situation can quickly escalate and you end up having your iPhone, two iPads, and maybe even your Mac ring at the same time.

For some, this can be incredibly useful, but for others it just creates an array of unwanted notifications and multiple devices ringing at once. This can get really annoying if you have all of your devices sitting around the same desk when you get a call because it sounds like a phone call symphony.

If you’d like to fine-tune which of your devices are allowed to take phone calls from your iPhone, then follow along with us. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to keep your iPad, iPod touch, or Mac from ringing every time your iPhone gets a phone call.

Why is my iPad or Mac ringing every time I get a call?

Continuity is a feature that lets you seamlessly move between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, or use them together. Apple integrated Continuity into iOS 8 and later so that iPhone owners could, among other things, pick up incoming phone calls on their other iOS devices or Macs (note that this feature is separate from FaceTime).

Although it can be really useful for each of your iOS devices and Macs to be tied to your iPhone when they’re on the same Wi-Fi network, having all your devices ringing at the same time when your iPhone gets a phone call isn’t always the best way to enjoy the iOS and macOS experience.

Instead of having anywhere from 1-3 (or more if you’re an Apple freak) devices ringing at one given time when your iPhone starts getting a phone call, it’s good practice to limit the amount of devices that can take phone calls to maybe one or two.

So how to do you keep incoming phone calls from making all your devices ring? Well, you limit the devices that can take phone calls of course! Here’s how to do that…

Stop your phone calls from ringing on your iPad, your Mac and other devices

To limit the iOS devices and Macs that are allowed to answer your iPhone’s calls, follow these steps:

1) Launch the Settings app on your main iPhone and open the Phone preferences pane.

2) Next, open the Calls on Other Devices preferences pane to choose how other devices will handle your iPhone’s calls.

Here, you can choose whether or not to disable allowing phone calls on other devices outright, or you can enable or disable them on individual devices.

If you want your iPhone to be the only device to take phone calls on, then you’ll just disable calls on other devices completely by turning off the toggle switch at the top of the preferences pane entitled Allow Calls on Other Devices.

If you want only specific devices to be able to take phone calls from your iPhone, rather than all of them, then under the Allow Calls On section, turn off the devices you don’t want to take phone calls on and keep the ones you do want to take calls on turned on.

But my incoming calls are FaceTime calls, not phone calls

FaceTime and FaceTime Audio are completely separate from the feature being discussed above. We have been talking about when someone calls your phone number and contacts you through your carrier, not through your Apple ID.

On the other hand, if someone tries to FaceTime you, or contact you with FaceTime Audio, then all of your devices connected to the Apple ID may go off simultaneously in a similar fashion to what we have been talking about. To fix this, simply sign out of FaceTime on the devices that you don’t intend to use FaceTime on, and they’ll stop ringing.

1) Launch the Settings app on the iOS device you don’t want to receive FaceTime calls on, and open the FaceTime preferences pane.

2) Turn off the FaceTime switch to disable FaceTime on this particular device.

Alternatively, you can also un-check any of the phone numbers or email addresses under the You Can Be Reached By FaceTime At list that are linked to your iPhone. This will make it so any time someone FaceTimes your iPhone, this device won’t ring.

To do this same step on your Mac, follow these steps:

1) Launch the FaceTime app on your Mac and from the Menu Bar, navigate to FaceTime > Preferences….

2) From the window that pops up, click on the Sign Out button to sign out of FaceTime.

Likewise, you can also edit the You can be reached for FaceTime at list so that the numbers and email addresses associated with your iPhone are deselected. This will keep your Mac from ringing when you receive a FaceTime call on your iPhone.

Wrapping up

Since it can be annoying to have your iPad, iPod touch, and Mac ringing at the same time for a single phone call, sometimes it’s good to limit what devices ring so you can work in a calmer environment. After all, it’s not necessary for every single one of them to be ringing at the same time when just one of them will get the point across.

Also read:

Do you like to take iPhone calls on your other devices often? If so, share in the comments!

Your iPad or Mac ring every time your iPhone does and it’s driving you nuts. Here’s how to stop it.

Your iPhone ringing doesn’t mean every single Apple device you own has to do the same.

Every time my iPhone rings with an incoming call, the rest of my Apple devices ring in unison, turning my kitchen into a cacophonous digital orchestra. Making matters worse, my iPad and Mac often continue ringing for a few seconds after I’ve answered the call, leaving both the caller and me startled and confused. Sound familiar?

The problem is compounded by the fact that we’re all stuck in our homes, with roommates, spouses and kids, each of whom has multiple devices that might also ring. It doesn’t take too many calls to drive you crazy. Trust me, I know the frustration.

Thankfully, there’s a single switch that will limit incoming calls to just your iPhone. If you’re in the habit of placing or answering calls on another Apple device, you can, at the very least, limit the number of Apple devices that ring when an incoming call comes in. I’ll walk you through everything you need to know.

Don’t allow incoming calls to your iPad and Mac

There’s a master switch that will route calls to all of your Apple devices, or keep them only on your iPhone. With it turned off, your other Apple devices will stop ringing when you receive a call, and you’ll no longer be able to place or answer calls on your Mac or iPad. Here are the steps you need to follow:

With the flick of a switch, only your iPhone will ring going forward.

Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2. Scroll down and tap Phone.

3. Select Calls on Other Devices.

4. Slide the switch labeled Allow Calls on Other Devices to the Off position.

That should take care of any Apple devices other than your iPhone ringing when you get a call. Pass those instructions along to your spouse, roommate or kids.

Allow calls on just some of your devices

It’s also possible to stop calls from ringing on just one device, your Mac for example, but not your iPad. You’ll need to visit the Phone section of the settings app just like in the steps above and turn off the device(s) you want to stop receiving calls on.

You’ll also need to follow these steps on each device you want to turn off:

If you don’t want your Mac to ring, you can turn it off in the FaceTime app preferences.

Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET

Stop your Mac from ringing

1. Open the FaceTime app on your Mac

2. Click on FaceTime > Preferences in the menu bar at the top of your screen.

3. Make sure the box next to Calls from iPhone isn’t checked.

4. If it does have a checkmark, click the box to remove it.

Don’t have a need for your iPad to ring each time you get a call on your iPhone? We get it.

Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

Stop your iPad from ringing

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Scroll down and tap on FaceTime.

3. Slide the switch labeled Allow Calls on Other Devices to the Off position

After you’ve tweaked which devices will and won’t ring, or turned the feature off altogether, your next phone call should be a little less startling. For more cool tips, be sure to read up on Apple’s new iCloud folder sharing for all of your devices, making it a contender for replacing Dropbox. Also, get started with trackpad support for your iPad, and then master all of the key features in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13.

Tired of being interrupted by phone calls ringing through from your iPhone on your computer? Read along for how to turn off Mac phone calls, both temporarily and permanently.

If you’re seeing all your phone calls come through on your Mac and find it distracting or just not useful, there are a couple of options to turn them off.

If you like having the capability to sometimes make and receive phone calls on your desktop or notebook but need to have focused time on your Mac, you can turn on Do Not Disturb. But we’ll also cover how to permanently turn off iPhone calls on Mac.

How to temporarily turn off Mac phone calls

1. You can tell Sirito turn on Do Not Disturb
2. Or click the Control Center button (double pill icon) in the top right corner of your Mac’s menu bar, then choose Do Not Disturb
3. You can also head to System Preferences
4. Choose Notifications > Do Not Disturb to set a schedule. You can also decide if you’d like repeated calls to come through. For more details on making calls with your Mac, check out our detailed guide.

Keep in mind using Do Not Disturb will silence all other notifications on your Mac too.

But if you just want to have phone calls on your Mac turned off totally, follow along below.

How to permanently turn off Mac phone calls

1. On your Mac, open the FaceTime app
2. Click FaceTime in the menu bar then choose Preferences…
3. In the middle of the window (Settings tab) uncheck the box next to Calls From iPhone
4. Alternatively, on your iPhone you can head to:
   1. Settings > Phone > Calls on Other devices
   2. Tap the toggle next to your Mac to turn off calls

   Here’s how both processes look:

   Now, look for the checkbox next to “Calls from iPhone.”

   And here’s how you can turn off calls of your Mac from iPhone:

   Read more 9to5Mac tutorials:

   FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

   You’re just about to sit down after a long day at work, and all of a sudden, your entire house starts to ring. Your iPhone is ringing in the kitchen, your iPad is going off in the bedroom – even your Mac is ringing. Like many new features in new versions of iOS and MacOS, the ability to make and receive phone calls on your Mac, iPad, and iPod has enormous potential, but symphony of ringers that spontaneously starts to play after you update your devices can be startling, to say the least.

   In this article, I’ll explain why your iPad, iPod, and Mac rings and show you how to stop all your devices from ringing whenever you get a phone call. Fortunately, the solution is simple!

   Why Is My Mac And iPad Ringing Every Time I Get A Phone Call?

   Apple introduced a new set of features called “Continuity” with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. According to Apple, Continuity is the next evolutionary step toward Apple’s goal of creating a seamless user experience between Macs, iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Continuity does a whole lot more than just make and receive phone calls, but this feature has certainly been the most obvious and startling change for many users who recently updated their devices.

   How To Stop Your iPad From Ringing

   To stop your iPad or iPod touch from ringing every time your iPhone rings, head to Settings -> FaceTime, and turn off ‘iPhone Cellular Calls’. That’s it!

   Why Does My Mac Ring?

   If you’d like to stop your Mac from ringing along with your iPhone, you’ll need to open the FaceTime app. If FaceTime isn’t on your dock (the row of icons on the bottom of your screen), you can easily open it (or any other app) using Spotlight. Click the magnifying glass in the upper right hand corner of your screen and type FaceTime. You can either press return on your keyboard to open the app or double-click on the FaceTime app when it appears in the dropdown menu.

   Now that you’re looking at yourself, click the FaceTime menu in the upper left hand corner of the screen and choose ‘Preferences…’. Uncheck the box next to ‘Calls From iPhone’, and your Mac won’t ring any more.

   Wrapping It Up

   I hope this article has helped you to stop your iPad and Mac from ringing every time you get a phone call. If you would like to learn more about all the new features of Continuity, Apple’s support article called “Connect your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac using Continuity” has some very useful information.

   Thanks so much for reading and I look forward to hearing any comments or questions you have along the way.

   “Why are my iPhone calls ringing on on my Mac?” Perhaps you have asked yourself this question after noticing that since updating your Mac to a modern version of MacOS or Mac (including MacOS Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, OS X El Capitan, Yosemite), that when your iPhone gets an incoming phone call, so does your Mac. In fact, all of your Macs running the latest Mac OS X and using the same Apple ID will get a phone call, creating a whole chorus of ringing, just from a single iPhone call. While many users will enjoy this feature, which lets you both make and receive phone calls from an iPhone through the Mac by using the computers microphone and speakers, it can also be a nuisance if you’d rather just use your iPhone as a phone. Fortunately, this setting is easily to adjust to suit your preferences.

   Do note that by stopping the Mac from ringing with an iPhone phone call, you’ll also prevent the Mac from being able to make outbound calls using the iPhone. There’s not much of a way to get around that, aside from adjusting the notification preferences for FaceTime, which we’re not going to cover specifically here.

   How to Disable iPhone Calling in Mac OS X

   To disable calls to your iPhone from ringing on your Mac, you need to visit the FaceTime preferences. That may sound a little strange at first, but recall that FaceTime in Mac OS X also has VOIP voice calling ability, making it a reasonable location for the setting.

   1. Open the “FaceTime” application on the Mac
   2. Pull down the FaceTime menu and choose “Preferences”
   3. Under the primary Settings tab in FaceTime, uncheck the box for “Calls from iPhone” or “iPhone Cellular Calls” depending on your MacOS version

   This will prevent the Mac from ringing when an iPhone gets a phone call, and any notifications from coming to the Mac that the iPhone has a phone call. It will not impact other FaceTime features and the ability to make FaceTime audio or video calls will persist.

   For many Mac users this feature is very useful and quite nice to have, but for some it may be best used on a limited basis. For example, maintaining the feature on your primary iPhone and primary Mac, but disabling it on other devices, so that an entire office or house of Macs does not start ringing with an inbound phone call. Of course that situation may only apply to users with a lot of different computers, but there are certainly many Mac users who would fit into that category.

   Many users have noticed that after they’ve updated their Mac to the latest version of Mac OS X, and their iPad and other iDevices to the latest versions of iOS, suddenly they have an entire symphony of ringing when just their iPhone gets a call. If you’re annoyed by this on your other devices, you can also stop other iOS devices, including stopping iPad from ringing when iPhone gets a phone call too.

   Like all other settings, you can always change this back to the default if you want to receive phone calls on the Mac again. It’s all a matter of personal preference.

   The Apple ID that you use on your iPhone can also be used on other Apple devices like a MacBook or an iPad. This allows for some interesting functionality, but you may be wondering how to stop phone calls from ringing on your iPad if you don’t intend to answer them there.

   A lot of the things on your Apple devices can seamlessly integrate across all of those devices. One thing that some people find helpful is the ability to answer phone calls to an iPhone on their iPad.

   While this can be useful if you often use your iPad and don’t want to switch between devices when a call comes in, it might simply be something that you don’t want or need to do.

   But that call on the iPad can be distracting or unwanted, and you may be looking for a way to stop it.

   Fortunately there is a setting on your iPhone that controls whether or not incoming calls ring on these other devices. Our guide below will show you how to stop iPhone calls from ringing on an iPad.

   How to Stop Phone Calls from Ringing on Your iPad

   1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
   2. Choose Phone.
   3. Select Calls on Other Devices.
   4. Turn off the iPad option.

   Our article continues below with additional information on stopping phone calls from ringing on an iPad, including pictures of these steps.

   How to Disable Phone Calls on an iPad (Guide with Pictures)

   The steps in this article were performed on an iPhone 11 in iOS 14.3.

   Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

   All of the steps in this guide are performed on the iPhone, not the iPad.

   Step 2: Scroll down and select the Phone option.

   Step 3: Choose the Calls on Other Devices option in the Calls section of the menu.

   Step 4: Tap the button to the right of your iPad to prevent phone calls from appearing on the device.

   Alternatively you could completely disable the Allow Calls on Other Devices option to stop the calls from appearing on any of your devices signed into iCloud.

   Note that calls will only ring on other devices when they are nearby and connected to Wi-Fi.

   Additional Reading

   Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.

   His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop and more.

   Where to find that pesky setting to make your iPad stop ringing when someone calls your iPhone.

   You can stop your iPad from answering phone calls. Matt Elliott/CNET

   Apple introduced the Continuity feature with OS X Yosemite that lets you field phone calls and text messages from your iOS devices and Mac. I enjoy being able to respond to texts from my MacBook Pro and iPad when my iPhone is charging, but I’m less sold on sharing phone calls between all three devices. I don’t like the cacophony of ringtones when all three devices are nearby, and I find that even when it’s charging, my iPhone is never too far away that I can’t grab it to take a call.

   In his post about using Continuity to make and take calls, Jason Cipriani explains how to set up the feature and how to disable it on your Mac. I have followed my colleague’s directions so my Mac doesn’t ring anymore when I get a call, but I also want to disable the feature on my iPad. If you would like to stop your iPad from ringing when someone calls your iPhone, it’s easy. Here’s how:

   Go to Settings > FaceTime and tap the toggle switch to turn it off for Calls from iPhone.

   Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

   iOS 8 and Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite brought a host of new features to the respective computing platforms, but one of the most useful treats is the ability to answer phone calls coming into your iPhone on another device — usually either a Mac or an iPad. Now this is fine if you just have a single companion for your iPhone, since it may forestall any need to pull your iPhone out of your pocket; you can just answer the incoming call on your iMac and continue to work. But for those with a lot of Apple devices, it can get very irritating to hear every device ringing at the same time. Today’s tech tip shows just how to keep those phone calls from ringing on every device on your network.

   The way this feature works is that it transfers incoming phone calls on an iPhone through FaceTime audio over Wi-Fi to compatible devices currently signed into your iCloud account. To cancel the ability for your iPhone to make everything else ring, open Settings on your iPhone, scroll down to FaceTime, and then turn off iPhone Cellular Calls (see image at the top of this article).

   By doing this, you’ll also lose the ability to make phone calls to friends, co-workers, and family from your Mac or iPad, but it least the tones will stop ringing all over your home or office whenever a call comes in. If you’d still like to be able to receive or make calls from an iPad but not from your Mac, launch FaceTime on your Mac, select FaceTime > Preferences, and then uncheck iPhone Cellular Calls (see image below). Now if you still have iPhone Cellular Calls enabled on your iPhone, incoming calls can also be answered from the iPad. Likewise, tapping on a phone number on the iPad will bring up the option to dial that number through your iPhone.

   When I get a phone call on my iPhone 6 my iPad and Mac both ring too. Very weird. How do I turn it off?

   The tight integration between iOS devices and the Mac that’s shown up with Mac OS X 10.10 “Yosemite” and iOS 8 is a real boon in some ways, and rather startling in others. Having your phone in your pocket when a call comes in and being able to answer it on your iMac? Terrific. Being able to initiate a call on your wifi-only iPad? Very slick.

   But having all your devices ring simultaneously every time a call comes in? Not so good at all.

   Fortunately Apple’s design team realized this and there’s a way to turn things off whether you’re on an iOS device or on a Mac system. The critical element to realize is that it all works through Facetime on the non-phone devices.

   So on the Mac system, open up FaceTime and go to Preferences:

   See that middle part? “iPhone Cellular Calls”. Uncheck it.

   Now, the downside is that it severs the entire tie, which is a drag. The iPad settings are similarly “all or nothing”, as we’ll see.

   To start, go to “Settings”:

   Before we leave “General”, though, do check the status of your “Handoff & Suggested Apps” setting.

   It should look like this if you want Handoff enabled:

   Now swipe down on the left side until you see “FaceTime”:

   Again, if you’d like to disable it, simply unselect “iPhone Cellular Calls”.

   And that’s all there is to it. I expect down the road that there’ll be an option for “don’t ring on cellular calls”, but for now, this is how you can disable or enable the feature. Me? I have it enabled on my Mac, but disabled on my iPads.