When calls don’t ring in Beside, the cause is almost always one of the following:
Your Business Hours (Notification Schedule) or AI Receptionist settings are taking over
Your device settings are silencing calls
Your internet connection is unstable
Call forwarding from your primary number is not properly enabled
This guide walks you through each possible cause.
1. Business Hours are blocking calls
If you've enabled Business Hours (Notification Schedule) in Beside, calls and messages in Beside will only ring or notify you during the days and hours you selected.
Outside of those hours:
Beside call and message notifications are silenced
If your AI Receptionist is enabled, it can continue to handle calls and messages for you
This helps you stay focused outside your working hours without constant notifications, while still capturing calls and messages.
➡️ How to check
📱iPhone
👤 Starter plan
👤 Starter plan
➡️ Steps
Open Beside → go to Settings
Scroll down to Notifications → tap Set Business Hours
Toggle Schedule Notifications ON / OFF or review selected days and hours.
👥 Business plan
👥 Business plan
If you have multiple inboxes, make sure you select the Beside inbox for which you want to edit call and text notifications.
➡️ Steps
Open Beside → go to Settings
Under Inboxes → tap the inbox you want to review
Scroll down to Notifications → tap Set Business Hours
Toggle Schedule Notifications ON / OFF or review selected days and hours.
🤖 Android
On Android, Business Hours are still called Notification Schedule. The behavior is the same, only the name differs.
👤 Starter plan
👤 Starter plan
➡️ Steps
Open Beside → go to Settings
Scroll down to Notifications → tap Notifications Schedule
Toggle Schedule Notifications ON / OFF or review selected days and hours.
👥 Business plan
👥 Business plan
If you have multiple inboxes, make sure you select the Beside inbox for which you want to edit call and text notifications.
➡️ Steps
Open Beside → go to Settings
Under Inboxes → tap the inbox you want to review.
Scroll down to Notifications → tap Notifications Schedule
Toggle Schedule Notifications ON / OFF or review selected days and hours.
2. The AI Receptionist is picking up too quickly
If your AI Receptionist is enabled and set to answer calls after only a few rings, your phone may ring very briefly (or appear not to ring at all) before the AI picks up.
This is especially noticeable when:
Your AI is set to answer after 0-2 rings
The scope is set to Missed from everyone
This will apply to calls made to your Beside number and/or to your forwarded number.
In this case, the call is ringing, but only for a very short time before your AI Receptionist answers, which can feel like the call never rang.
➡️ How to check and adjust (iPhone & Android)
Open Beside → go to the AI tab
If you’re on the Business plan, select the relevant inbox from the dropdown at the top left.
In the 📞 Phone section → under Scope:
Tap “Answers after” on iPhone
Tap “Rings before AI answers” on Android
Increase the number of rings so your phone rings longer before the AI picks up.
3. Phone device settings are silencing calls
Make sure the following settings on your phone are not interfering with calls.
➡️ Check the following in your phone Settings:
Silence Unknown Callers → should be OFF
Focus / Do Not Disturb → should be OFF
Ringer volume → make sure it’s not muted
Bluetooth devices → ensure audio isn’t routed to headphones
4. Calls aren’t being forwarded to Beside
(Only applies if you’re using Beside with your primary phone number)
If callers are dialing your primary phone number and calls aren’t ringing in Beside, the issue is almost always that call forwarding isn’t active at the carrier level.
This typically means call forwarding:
wasn’t set up correctly, or
was disabled or reset by your carrier.
➡️ What to do
Confirm whether calls to your primary number reach Beside at all
Check your call forwarding setup inside the Beside app (iPhone)
Verify or reset call forwarding directly with your carrier
📚 For step-by-step instructions, see: How do I troubleshoot call forwarding issues?
5. Your internet connection is unstable
Beside relies on a strong and stable Wi-Fi or mobile data connection for calls.
➡️ Check your internet connection and try:
Switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data
Restarting your router
Moving to a location with better signal
📚 For step-by-step instructions on how to test your network , see: How do I test my network connection with Beside?
6. 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.
Why? Beside detects this as a self-call and may automatically end the call.
This is expected behavior and does not mean your setup is broken.
How to test correctly
Call your Beside number from a different phone number
Or use “Try Receptionist” in the app to simulate a real caller
💡 If calls from other numbers ring or reach the AI, everything is working as intended
Summary: Checklist for fixing call issues
To resolve most call-related problems:
✔️ Confirm call forwarding is enabled (if using your primary number) + If you’re testing, call your Beside number from a different phone number (self-calls may not ring)
✔️ Check that Business Hours (Notification Schedule) aren’t blocking calls
✔️ Review phone system settings (Focus, Silence Unknown Callers, volume, etc.)
✔️ Test your internet connection inside Beside
If calls still aren’t ringing after these checks, reach out through the in-app Support chat, we’re here to help!