Below I provide a detailed account of the various ways that one can employ to give the impression that they are engaged in a call when the phone rings.
Make Your Phone Appear Busy (5 ways)
1. Enable Airplane Mode
This is one of the simplest methods. By turning on Airplane Mode, your phone will be temporarily disconnected from any network, making it appear unreachable to callers.
This works for both Android and iOS. Just go to Settings or use the Control Center/Quick Settings to enable this feature.
2. Use Call Forwarding (to Show your phone as in use)
On both platforms, you can forward incoming calls to another number (e.g., an inactive landline or old phone number).
This will cause your phone to give the impression that it’s busy. To enable:
On iOS, go to Settings > Phone > Call Forwarding, then enter the number to forward calls to.
On Android, go to Phone app > Settings > Call forwarding, and set it up similarly.
Remember you can just google your country’s call forwarding number in order to get to know if someone tried reaching you while you were busy.
3. Activate Do Not Disturb (DND) Mode
Enabling Do Not Disturb prevents calls from ringing or notifying you, though callers will not hear a busy signal.
You can customize DND to allow calls from specific contacts or keep all notifications silent:
- On iOS, go to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb.
- On Android, find Do Not Disturb in Digital Wellbeing or Sound settings
4. Call Barring (Displays a busy signal)
Call barring is another option that prevents specific calls from coming through. It’s more commonly used on iPhones but can work on Android phones too.
Activate this through your phone’s Call settings, often under Additional settings
5. Auto-Reply or Reject with a Message
You can set up an auto-reply to texts when you’re busy, which indirectly tells people you’re unavailable.
Some apps also offer this feature for calls.
Both iOS and Android allow you to reject a call with a pre-set message, letting the caller know you’re busy.
By combining these methods, users can make their phone appear busy or unreachable without blocking people, making it an excellent solution for handling work or personal life interruptions.
