At some point in your life, youâve likely yearned to take a vacation and turn your phone off for several weeks (at least).
But as technology has become increasingly integrated into our daily lives, this may no longer be a realistic option for most people.
Thereâs always another notification to see, text message to read, and call to pick up.
But the question many wonders in case they ever get to shut their phone down is:
Do you get missed calls when your phone is off?
If youâve turned your phone off for whatever innocuous reason- even if itâs just to get a few hours of undistracted sleep- you will likely NOT receive a notification if your boss or important client has tried to call you.
When your phone is off, the only way to know if somebody has called is if theyâve left a voicemail message.
To see if youâve missed any calls, youâll first need to adjust your iPhone or Android settings. Read on below to learn how to do this!
Can You See Missed Calls When Your Phone Is Off?
As mentioned briefly above: No.
Your phone will automatically reroute incoming calls to voicemail. However, if your caller doesnât leave a message, there will be no record of their call at all.
Android users can change their notification settings to enable missed call reminders, but only once the phone has been turned back on.
Unfortunately for iPhone users, thereâs no settings adjustment for missed calls. iPhones only list missed calls as those that rang on your phone but were not picked up.
If your phone is off and you miss any calls, your iPhone will not record them in the call history.
Typically, cell phone carriers wonât notify you of these missed calls at all either (unless youâve specifically paid for it- see below).
When an iPhone misses a call, it reminds us of that well-known philosophical thought; âWhen a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?â
If your iPhone is off, it may feel as though the call never existed!
Thankfully, missing a call is not a philosophical debate.
Instead, iPhone users should contact their cell phone carrier or network provider to check if any paid services will allow them to enable missed call alerts.
Cell carriers will keep records on their servers of any calls that were made to your phone number. Therefore, they should be able to alert you of missed calls- you may just need to pay for this notification service.
How To See Missed Calls When Your Phone Is Off
Unfortunately for iPhone users, there are very limited options.
However, Android users can change their notification settings to alert them of missed calls once their phone is back on.
To change the settings, follow these steps:
Settings > Notifications > Phone App > Missed Calls > Select your desired notifications.
If you only want to have missed call notifications for specific contacts (like your boss), follow these steps:
Settings > Apps > Contacts > Notifications > Activate notifications.
If youâve updated these settings and you still donât receive missed call notifications, contact your cell service provider. You may need to pay for an alert service package.
Do You Get Missed Calls When Your Phone Is On Airplane Mode?
Your cell service provider still keeps track of calls and messages made to your phone, even if your phone is set to Airplane mode.
After you turn off Airplane Mode and your phone regains cell service and network connectivity, most mobile providers will send you a text detailing if youâve missed any calls.
This is because when youâre in Airplane Mode, the calls and texts are stored on the cell providerâs server (and not your phone).
When your phone reconnects to the network, you will receive notifications of everything you missed while out of service.
Some network providers may no longer send texts detailing missed calls and messages, but you can still call and ask them to activate this feature.
They may end up charging you for this service, but itâs better than not knowing youâve missed a crucial call from a recruiter or your boss!
Do You Get A Missed Call When Your Phone Is On âDo Not Disturbâ?
The âDo Not Disturbâ mode is a neat feature more commonly used on iOS and Android devices.
This feature allows all alerts (calls, messages, notifications, etc) to be silenced so that you can remain undisturbed during that time.
This feature is excellent for sleep and other quieter periods of the day, where pings and dings from your phone would be an unwelcome distraction.
Rest assured that everything is still being sent to your phone while your phone is set to âDo Not Disturbâ!
So, should you miss a call from someone important, you will still receive missed call notifications and messages when you turn the feature off.
If youâd like to make extra sure that important contacts can still reach you when âDo Not Disturbâ is enabled, you can enable them in the settings.
Simply tap on the âAllow Calls Fromâ option, and you will be able to select the necessary contacts.
âDo Not Disturbâ is different from Airplane Mode. In âDo Not Disturbâ mode, your phone is still connected to cell services and the internet.
Thereâs no risk of missing and losing track of calls because your phone is still able to receive them- you just wonât be alerted to it!
For more information on this, visit the Apple Help page: https://appletoolbox.com/how-to-use-do-not-disturb-on-iphone/
Related Questions
What happens when you call a phone that is turned off?
When you call a phone that has no reception or is turned off, it will only ring briefly.
In some cases, your call will automatically be directed to voicemail. However, a super brief ring dial is usually a sign that a phone is off or without any cell service.
How do I get missed call alerts?
First, check to see if you can adjust any of your phoneâs notification settings for missed calls.
 Otherwise, contact your cell service provider and ask if they have any alert services you can activate. You will likely have to pay a monthly fee for the alert service.
How can I know if I missed calls when my phone is off?
The only way to know for sure is if the caller left a voicemail message.
If they did, you would receive a message alert to tell you to check your voicemail messages.
What happens when you turn your phone off?
Your phone will not connect to any networks or servers if it is turned off. This means that it cannot receive any calls or messages while it is shut down.
They will, however, be recorded on your network providerâs server.
Additionally, if you have a missed call alert notification enabled on your phone or alert package with the service provider, you will know of any missed calls.
To Recap
So, do you get missed calls when your phone is off?
When your phone is turned off, you may not be notified of any missed calls.
While Android settings can most likely be changed so that you become notified of missed calls, iPhones will not have that option.
iPhone users should therefore make use of the âDo Not Disturbâ or Airplane Mode features if they want to be notified of any missed calls during off-hours.
Once you disable either of the two modes, you should receive notifications of missed calls and messages the moment your phone reconnects to cell services and networks again!
