Phone doesn't ring on incoming call - sometimes

RhinoCan · Aug 25, 2020

I'm trying to help my brother with a problem he's having with his phone. He's experienced some situations where the phone doesn't ring when someone calls. For example, the other day, he happened to have it sitting face up on his desk when a call came in and he noticed the screen change. Another time, he happened to look at his call log and noticed that he'd missed a call several hours before, even though the phone had been in his pocket.

The volume on the phone is set close to maximum and his phone rings when I've made test calls to him so the issue seems to be intermittent. I've looked at his settings and can't see anything problematic.

It's a Sony Xperia model C5306 running Android 4.3; it's quite old but still works fine except for this issue.

Does anyone have any idea what might be wrong? Or is this routine behaviour for phones of this brand/model or age?

dontpanicbobby · Aug 25, 2020

Are you in India?

RhinoCan · Aug 25, 2020

Not even close; we're in Canada, near Toronto.

lunatic59 · Aug 25, 2020

Android 4.3? Yikes! Are you saying that the screen does reflect an incoming call and it just doesn't play the ringtone? Does it vibrate? With a phone that old it could be anything, and with such an old version of Android, it might just be it's running into an incompatibly with an ever-changing communications network.

I don't remember if Jelly Bean had any priority modes where you could set a silent ring for only some callers.

RhinoCan · Aug 25, 2020

With regards to yesterday's call, he didn't notice any vibration but it was sitting on his desk, not in his pocket, and he can't remember if he heard the phone vibrating. He often has headphones on to view videos and can't recall if he was wearing them at the time; if he was wearing them, he almost certainly wouldn't have heard the vibrations over the soundtrack of the video. As for the previous call, he's pretty sure the phone was in his pocket at that time and he didn't notice any vibration.

lunatic59 · Aug 25, 2020

If the phone is set to vibrate and ring and it isn't doing that, it may simply be a weak signal and he doesn't get the call immediately. At that point the phone would be shunted directly to voicemail and he'd get a notification. It's also possible that if he used headphones that there is a setting to put calls into a silent mode while he's listening.

RhinoCan · Aug 25, 2020

I inadvertently gave you the wrong impression; the headphones he was wearing weren't connected to the phone, they were connected to his desktop computer; he doesn't have any headphones or earbuds for the phone.

Trom · Aug 25, 2020

RhinoCan said:
I'm trying to help my brother with a problem he's having with his phone. He's experienced some situations where the phone doesn't ring when someone calls. For example, the other day, he happened to have it sitting face up on his desk when a call came in and he noticed the screen change. Another time, he happened to look at his call log and noticed that he'd missed a call several hours before, even though the phone had been in his pocket.

The volume on the phone is set close to maximum and his phone rings when I've made test calls to him so the issue seems to be intermittent. I've looked at his settings and can't see anything problematic.

It's a Sony Xperia model C5306 running Android 4.3; it's quite old but still works fine except for this issue.

Does anyone have any idea what might be wrong? Or is this routine behaviour for phones of this brand/model or age?

On my phone, which is a different make and Android version, I have the opportunity, in contacts, to set a custom, or "none", ring tone for a particular contact, you might check that out, it's a thought, anyway.

RhinoCan · Aug 25, 2020

I just had a look at the phone and it *is* possible to set a different ringtone for each contact but my brother's phone has all the contacts set to "default ringtone" so that doesn't seem to be the problem.

RhinoCan · Aug 25, 2020

We're inclined to agree that it's probably just a case of a phone being old and needing to be replaced with something newer and running a newer version of Android.

lunatic59 · Aug 25, 2020

The Pixel 4a is a great bargain right now for what you get.

Trom · Aug 25, 2020

RhinoCan said:
I just had a look at the phone and it *is* possible to set a different ringtone for each contact but my brother's phone has all the contacts set to "default ringtone" so that doesn't seem to be the problem.

Here's a workaround, it's weird, but it'll do..

Install Tasker (my favorite util!) and create a new profile: Event > Phone > Phone Ringing. Create the task for that profile: Media > Music Play. Turn off the ringtone is system settings and I think that'll work for you. Of course once you hang up, the music will want to come back on so you'd probably have to create another profile for Phone Answered to stop playing. Sounds convoluted, and it is, but stuff like that's fun.

RhinoCan · Aug 26, 2020

Thanks Trom, we may give that a try!

Phone doesn't ring on incoming call - sometimes

Well-Known Member

100% That Guy

Well-Known Member

Moderati ergo sum

Well-Known Member

Moderati ergo sum

Well-Known Member

Android Enthusiast

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Moderati ergo sum

Android Enthusiast

Well-Known Member

BEST TECH IN 2023

Smartphones

Best Android Phones

Upcoming

Best iPhones

Upcoming

Tablets

Best Tablets

Upcoming

Laptops

Best Laptops

Upcoming

Televisions

Best TVs

Upcoming

Game Consoles

Best Game Consoles

Upcoming

Wearables

Best Wearables

Upcoming

Smart Home

Smart Home Tech

Upcoming

Similar threads