When calls don't ring in Beside, the cause is almost always one of the following: your Ringing Schedule or Receptionist settings are taking over, your device or browser is silencing calls, your internet connection is unstable, or call forwarding isn't properly enabled.
This guide walks you through each possible cause. It applies to both the Beside mobile app and 📖 Beside on the web at app.beside.com. Items specific to one surface are flagged inline.
First: where should the call ring?
Before troubleshooting, identify which line the caller dialed. The fix depends on this.
Situation A - They called your Beside number directly.
In this case, the call arrives in Beside and rings inside whichever Beside surface you have open (the mobile app or the web app tab). Your regular phone dialer will never ring, that's by design.
If Beside isn't ringing, the issue is usually with Receptionist settings, your Ringing Schedule, Mute Incoming Calls, Ringing Mode, or your app or browser notifications. Each has its own section below.
Situation B - They called your primary (carrier) number, and you have call forwarding to Beside enabled.
The call is forwarded by your carrier to your Beside number, then rings in Beside. Again, your regular phone dialer won't ring, Beside handles the call.
If Beside isn't ringing, check the same settings as Situation A.
If the call never reaches Beside at all, the issue is with call forwarding or your carrier. → Jump to Fix call forwarding issues.
💡 Good to know: With Beside, incoming calls always ring inside Beside - not on your regular phone dialer. This is normal behavior and lets the Receptionist take over when you don't pick up.
Calls not forwarded to Beside
Only applies if you're using Beside with your primary phone number via call forwarding.
If callers are dialing your primary number and calls aren't ringing in Beside, the issue is almost always that call forwarding isn't active at the carrier level - either it wasn't set up correctly, or it was disabled or reset by your carrier.
Confirm whether calls to your primary number reach Beside at all
Check your call forwarding setup inside the Beside mobile app, or on the web from Settings, then Phone Numbers under Workspace, then click your line and open the General tab
Verify or reset call forwarding directly with your carrier
Testing calls from your own forwarded number
If you're forwarding your personal number to Beside and call your Beside number from that same number, the call may not ring. Beside detects this as a self-call and automatically ends it. This is expected behavior and does not indicate a configuration issue.
How to test correctly
Call your Beside number from a different phone number
💡 Good to know: If calls from other numbers ring or reach the Receptionist, everything is working as intended.
Your Ringing Schedule is blocking calls
If a Ringing Schedule is set on your line, phones only ring during the days and hours you selected. Outside of those hours, calls skip ringing and go to your Receptionist, or to voicemail if your Receptionist is off. Your texts are not affected and still notify you.
📌 If your iPhone still says Business Hours: that's the old name for the same setting. Update your Beside mobile app to see Ringing Schedule.
On the Beside mobile app
Open the Beside mobile app → go to Settings. If you have multiple lines, select the line you want to review first. Under Calls, tap Call Flow, then tap Ringing Schedule under How should calls ring?.
Turn the schedule on or off with Use Ringing Schedule, then review the day selector (Every day, Week days, or Custom) and the hours set for each active day. The row shows Ringing, Not ringing or Off so you can tell your current status at a glance.
📌 Can't find the row?
It's hidden when the line's Ringing Mode is set to Direct, because a Direct line never rings anyone. This is the same on iPhone, Android and Beside on the web.
That's also your answer: if the line is Direct, the schedule isn't what's stopping the ring. See Ringing Mode is set to skip ringing your team below.
On Beside on the web
Go to app.beside.com
Click Settings in the sidebar, then Phone Numbers under Workspace
Select the line you want to review
Open the Ringing Schedule tab
Review the day selector (Every day, Week days, or Custom) and the hours for each active day
Mute Incoming Calls is turned on
If you've muted incoming calls for this line, your phone won't ring - the call is still logged in your call history, but nothing notifies you. This is a personal setting: it only affects you, not other invited members on a shared line.
Check it from the Beside mobile app: Settings → Notifications → My Notifications, pick your line, and make sure Mute Incoming Calls is off. On Beside on the web: Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Personal → Mute Line.
Receptionist picking up too quickly
If your phone doesn't ring at all - or only rings for a moment - before your Receptionist picks up, your line's Ringing Mode is most likely set to Direct to Receptionist (or Direct to Voicemail), which skips ringing by design.
There's no ring count to adjust on any platform anymore - a line either rings for a fixed ~25 seconds before falling back, or skips straight there with Direct. To make your phone ring first, switch the mode - see Ringing Mode is set to skip ringing your team below.
Ringing Mode is set to skip ringing your team
Applies to any line, on iPhone, Android or Beside on the web.
If your line's Ringing Mode is set to Direct to Receptionist / Direct to Voicemail, incoming calls skip ringing by design and go straight to your Receptionist (or Beside Voicemail if the AI is off).
This is the expected behavior for that mode, not a bug.
To restore ringing, the account owner can change the mode from Settings → your line, if you have more than one → Calls → Call Flow → Ringing Mode on the Beside mobile app, or from Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Ringing Mode on Beside on the web - pick Ring first / Ring all / Ring in order instead, for a fixed ~25-second ring before falling back.
Device or browser settings silencing calls
On mobile
Check the following settings on your phone to make sure none of them are intercepting calls:
⚠️ Most common cause on iPhone: Screen Unknown Callers
This is one of the most frequent reasons iPhone calls don't ring, especially after an iOS update. When active, calls from numbers not saved in your Contacts are silenced or screened before your phone rings - which affects most business calls coming through your Receptionist, since clients usually aren't saved contacts. Apple may also enable this automatically when prompted during iOS updates.
iOS 26 and later: Settings → Apps → Phone → Screen Unknown Callers. Set it to Never so all unknown calls ring normally.
iOS 18 and earlier: Settings → Phone → turn Silence Unknown Callers off.
Also check the following:
Focus / Do Not Disturb - should be off. A call silenced by Focus is saved as a blocked call rather than a plain missed call, so your call list tells you what happened. On Beside versions before 2.30.0, one such call could also stop every later call from ringing: update Beside, or close it completely and reopen it.
Ringer volume - make sure it's not muted
Bluetooth devices - make sure audio isn't being routed to headphones
🤖 Android: Open the Phone app → Settings → Caller ID & spam (exact name varies by device). Disable any automatic spam filtering or "Silence unknown callers" option if enabled.
On Beside on the web
If calls are not ringing when app.beside.com is open, check the following:
Browser notification permission - Beside needs permission to show notifications. Check the site permissions icon in the address bar.
System Do Not Disturb / Focus mode - if your computer is in Do Not Disturb or a Focus mode, browser notifications may be silenced.
System volume - make sure your computer is not muted.
Tab must be open - the web app only rings when the tab is open in your browser. If you want calls to ring even when the browser is closed, keep the mobile app installed as well.
Unstable internet connection
Beside relies on a strong and stable internet connection for calls. If your connection is weak, calls may fail to ring or drop immediately.
Mobile: switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data
Beside on the web: switch to wired Ethernet if possible, or move closer to your router
Restart your router
Move to a location with better signal
FAQ
Calls ring on my native phone app instead of Beside. What's wrong?
Calls ring on my native phone app instead of Beside. What's wrong?
This means call forwarding is not active at the carrier level. Your primary number is receiving calls directly instead of forwarding them to Beside.
Follow the steps in 📖 Fix call forwarding issues to reset your forwarding setup.
Calls ring for one second then stop. Is the Receptionist picking up?
Calls ring for one second then stop. Is the Receptionist picking up?
Yes, most likely. On the Beside mobile app, go to Settings → your line, if you have more than one → Calls → Call Flow → Ringing Mode; on Beside on the web, go to Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Ringing Mode. Make sure it's set to Ring first / Ring all / Ring in order rather than Direct to Receptionist. There's no ring count to adjust anymore - lines ring for a fixed ~25 seconds before falling back.
Calls ring fine during the day but not in the evening. Why?
Calls ring fine during the day but not in the evening. Why?
This is almost certainly your Ringing Schedule. Phones only ring during the hours you've set, and calls outside them go to your Receptionist or voicemail. Review your schedule from the Beside mobile app (Settings → your line, if you have more than one → Calls → Call Flow → Ringing Schedule) or on the web (Settings → Phone Numbers under Workspace → click your line → Ringing Schedule tab).
Note that this only affects ringing. If your texts also go quiet in the evening, that's a different setting. 📖 Manage your notifications
Calls don't ring in my browser tab. What should I check?
Calls don't ring in my browser tab. What should I check?
The web app only rings when the tab is open. Also check: browser notification permission for app.beside.com, your computer's Do Not Disturb / Focus mode, and system volume. If you want calls to ring when your browser is closed, keep the Beside mobile app installed alongside.
My phone doesn't ring even though I'm not on Do Not Disturb. What else could it be?
My phone doesn't ring even though I'm not on Do Not Disturb. What else could it be?
On iPhone, check Settings → Apps → Phone → Screen Unknown Callers. If this is set to Ask Reason for Calling or Silence, calls from any number not saved in your Contacts won't ring - regardless of your Do Not Disturb settings. This is a common cause of missed business calls since most clients aren't saved contacts. Set it to Never to have all unknown calls ring normally.
Apple may also enable this automatically when prompted during iOS updates, so it's worth re-checking after each update. On older iOS versions (iOS 18 and earlier), the equivalent setting is Settings → Phone → Silence Unknown Callers - make sure it's off.
A call shows as blocked instead of missed. What does that mean?
A call shows as blocked instead of missed. What does that mean?
Your iPhone was in Focus mode when the call came in, so it never rang. Beside saves it as a blocked call rather than a plain missed call so you can tell the difference between "nobody picked up" and "your phone was silenced". Turn Focus off, or allow Beside notifications through your Focus, to have those calls ring normally.
My iPhone stopped ringing for every Beside call. Why?
My iPhone stopped ringing for every Beside call. Why?
If one call came in while your iPhone was in a Focus or Do Not Disturb, or came from a number blocked in your iPhone's own settings, Beside versions before 2.30.0 could stop ringing for every call after it, even once Focus was off.
Update Beside from the App Store to fix it. Until you can, close Beside completely (swipe it away in the app switcher) and open it again. Your calls then ring normally.
I turned off Screen Unknown Callers but I'm worried about spam calls now - what are my options?
I turned off Screen Unknown Callers but I'm worried about spam calls now - what are my options?
Good news: you don't have to choose between missing real clients and drowning in spam. Beside has a few ways to filter unwanted calls without blocking new customers:
Silence Unknown Callers (in Beside) - routes numbers not in your Beside contacts to your Receptionist instead of ringing your phone. Unlike the iPhone setting, known contacts still ring and all calls stay visible in your call log.
Receptionist scope - set your Receptionist to answer only missed calls from unsaved numbers, so new clients are still captured but screened.
Block specific numbers - block a contact directly in Beside (per line, mobile only), or use your phone's native block feature for carrier-level blocking.
I tested by calling my Beside number from the same phone I forward from - it didn't ring. Is that normal?
I tested by calling my Beside number from the same phone I forward from - it didn't ring. Is that normal?
Yes. Beside treats this as a self-call and ends it automatically. Always test using a different phone number or use the "Test Receptionist" feature in the Beside mobile app.
A friend told me they called me from their Beside app on my personal number, and it didn't ring in my Beside app. Why?
A friend told me they called me from their Beside app on my personal number, and it didn't ring in my Beside app. Why?
That's expected. Beside only routes calls placed to a Beside number. When someone calls your personal carrier number, the call goes through your carrier, not through Beside, even if both of you use Beside.
If you want calls to your personal number to ring in Beside, set up call forwarding from your carrier to your Beside number.
Calls ring for my teammates but not for me. Why?
Calls ring for my teammates but not for me. Why?
You've likely muted incoming calls for yourself on this line. Mute Incoming Calls is a personal setting - it silences ringing only for you, not for other invited members. Check Settings → Notifications → My Notifications on mobile, or Settings → Phone Numbers → [line] → Personal → Mute Line on the web, and make sure it's off.