Spam calls are annoying. I’ve my telephone ringer on in case there’s an emergency however earlier than iOS 26, spam would typically name my iPhone not less than a handful of occasions per week. Spam calls could be extraordinarily aggravating, particularly when ready for a name from someplace just like the physician’s workplace. However due to iOS 26’s name screening function, I do not keep in mind the final time my telephone rang for a spam name.
Name screening is not an Apple Intelligence function so any iOS 26-compatible iPhone, just like the iPhone 14 Pro, can use it. I enabled the function early within the beta course of and my iPhone has diligently held again spam calls, just like the Hoover Dam, ever since. However it’s important to allow it first.
Here is methods to allow name screening in a number of straightforward steps and what to know in regards to the new function.
Do not miss any of our unbiased tech content material and lab-based opinions. Add CNET as a most well-liked Google supply on Chrome.
Find out how to flip name screening in your iPhone
1. Faucet Settings.
2. Faucet Apps close to the underside of the menu.
3. Faucet Cellphone.
Below the part Display Unknown Callers, you may see three choices: By no means, Ask Motive for Calling and Silence. Here is what it’s best to learn about every of those choices and which one is correct for most individuals.
Which name screening choice must you select?
Selecting By no means is the default choice and lets calls from unsaved numbers come via and ring in your telephone. It additionally paperwork missed calls in your Recents listing in your Cellphone app, similar to earlier than name screening was obtainable.
When you faucet Ask Motive for Calling, your iPhone will ask anybody who calls you from an unsaved quantity why they’re calling you with out ringing your iPhone. After the caller solutions a number of questions, your iPhone will notify you with a transcript of the caller’s solutions. Then you may resolve whether or not you need to reply the decision.
You too can choose Silence, which is the nuclear choice for telephone calls. Any unsaved numbers that decision you’ll be silenced and despatched to voicemail, no questions requested.
Ask Motive for Calling is the most suitable choice for most individuals who need to display screen calls. I selected it, and whereas it notified me when rip-off callers answered some questions, which they hardly ever did, it additionally notified me when my physician’s workplace known as to go over some check outcomes. If I had chosen Silence, I’d have missed my physician’s workplace (and selecting By no means would imply checking each name if I used to be anticipating one thing vital).
When you select Ask Motive for Calling and dislike it, you may at all times comply with the steps above once more and select one of many different choices. And keep in mind, you may at all times silence your iPhone and never be bothered by any telephone calls in any respect. My spouse has not taken her telephone off silent in months, and he or she stays blissfully unbothered by spam calls.
For extra iOS information, this is what to learn about iOS 26.2 and what was included in iOS 26.1. You too can take a look at our iOS 26 cheat sheet for different suggestions and methods.
Watch this: The Finest Tech We Noticed at CES 2026

