How To Add Decline Button On Iphone

10 Ways to Reject a Call on Your iPhone

Last updated on April 22nd, 2015 at 10:40 am

Posted in How To by Vlad on May 14, 2014

iPhone 5s incoming call menu

With time being so precious nowadays we find ourselves, often, in the situation that forces us to decline an incoming call. Your iPhone provides different methods of rejecting a call, from gentle ones that are accompanied by a message informing the caller why you are unavailable to pick-up the phone, to the more brutal ones that end-up with a dull busy tone and an annoyed caller.

That's why we've created a list with all available iOS call refusing options. Each method is accompanied by explanations and all the needed information for proper and timely usage. Learn how to reject calls without annoying the caller, how to decline calls in stealth mode, how to schedule a callback and much more.

incoming call menu 1. Answer & Hang-Up: You might use this call decline method if you are a brand new iPhone user and your device is in a locked state when ringing. You will only get the "Slide to Answer" option on your screen. If you wish to immediately reject the call you might end-up answering and than instantly hang-up. However, this is the most rudimentary way to do it. First of all, it will let your caller think that the connection was bad and he will most likely callback instantly. Secondly, there are many other more elegant methods available. Read on!

2. Decline Icon Tap
This is a popular iPhone call reject method. However, it's only available when phone is unlocked. Simply tap the red Decline icon an your problem is solved.
However, if device is locked, iOS will only provide the gesture option of "Slide to Answer" or the decline with Remind Me or Message. These options and many more, together with their advantages and disadvantages are analyzed below.

iphone in purse 3. Power Button Double Press
This is a classic and one of the most efficient ways to decline a call on an iPhone. It's also very practical because you can reach for your iOS device Power Button with ease. You don't even have to pull the phone out of your pocket. You can feel for your iPhone, double press the power button and send out a busy tone to your caller.
Another great advantage is that the rejection works in any state of your phone, locked or unlocked! The disadvantage would be that your decline is obvious for the caller and quite impolite!

4. Power Button Single Press
It instantly silences an incoming call, but your phone will continue to ring. This call decline option is perfectly efficient when you're unavailable to answer, but there is a chance that you could pick-up if the phone continues to ring for a few more seconds. This is why you prefer to first silence the call, to avoid any immediate disturbance.
The big advantage is that your caller won't notice that you are deliberately not answering, because you are not actually rejecting the call, but just letting it ring without disturbing you.

iphone volume buttons 5. Volume Button Press
This refusal has exactly the same principles with the Single Power Button Press, excepting the fact that you need to reach a different area of your iPhone, to press the Volume Button. Basically you need to grab the left side of your iOS device to reach the volume button, while the Power Button is available in the top-right corner.
The bonus of this method is that you can press any of the Volume-up or Volume-down buttons to silence the call, thus you can be more efficient when reaching for the iPhone in your pocket or bag.

iphone 5s mute switch 6. Mute Switch: Refusing an incoming call using the Mute switch is efficient when you find yourself in a situation where you can't be disturbed but forgot to activate Silent Mode. You get hit by an incoming call and you suddenly notice that your device gets noisy. Now you should reach for your phone and use the Mute Switch, located just above the Volume button. It will mute the incoming call and other incoming alerts that could further disturb.
A disadvantage is that your iPhone will continue to vibrate, while the other call declining methods completely silence your device.

iphone call back alert 7. Reject with Reminder: Declining a call while setting-up a reminder is a great way to make sure that you will return the call once you get some free time to do it. Simply log for Remind Me option situated above the red Decline icon when your device is unlocked or above the "Slide to Answer" area when phone is locked. The call is rejected once you hit "Remind Me", while you are left to enter the timeframe for the reminder.
This rejection is also impolite, because your caller will notice that he was refused. However, you'll make up for it when you callback later.

8. Decline with Message
This is perhaps the most polite call rejection option. It's available in any state of your iPhone as the Remind Me option. You can tap the Message icon, and you will be prompted to choose a predefined message or to type a custom one. The predefined ones are: Can't talk right now + I'll call you later. | I'm on my way | What's up? | Custom…
The only disadvantage of this incoming call decline method is that you need a few seconds to complete it.

blocked callers 9. Block Caller
It's an interesting call refusing method which you can use when someone is stalking your or when you know that a contact will call you that day and you simply don't want him to be able to reach you. Of course that this is very impolite but there are some situation when this solution is really useful. You can block and unblock a caller within a few seconds. The blocked contact will directly get a busy tone when trying to call you. Please read how to block a number on your iPhone for all details.

10. Call Forwarding
Refuse calls on your iPhone, without needing to shout your phone down or activate Airplane Mode. You can use Call Forwarding to redirect all incoming calls towards another number. Your device won't ring but you'll be able to initiate calls and send messages.
This method is particularly useful when you need to place important phone calls and can't afford to be disturbed, but still wish that someone handles your customers right away. That's why you can redirect them to one of your business partners, while you're busy!

Bonus 1: Do Not Disturb
Open Control Center and tap the half moon icon to prevent calls from disturbing you. If your voicemail is active, your iPhone will redirect an incoming call towards it. Else, your caller will get a direct and polite busy tone. You'll notice the call only via a badge notification displayed above the Phone app, indicating your missed call. This means that your iOS device registers the call, while your contact will believe that he hasn't reached you. Filter calls and allow Favorites to reach you, while others will be blocked. Read more about Do Not Disturb.

hand cover apple watch to mute Bonus 2: via Apple Watch
With the revolutionary smartwatch now in store you can refuse an incoming call with a slick gesture. Just cover the display of your wrist-held gadget, with your free hand and the Apple Watch will stop ringing. You obtain a similar effect with the silencing provided by the iPhone's mute switch, described at No. 6.

For more details please read 4 ways to decline an Apple Watch call.