Sometimes you need a break from incoming calls - during a meeting, outside your opening hours, or just to focus. Beside offers several ways to temporarily pause or control incoming calls without missing anything important.
Set a Ringing Schedule to control when calls come through
The most common way to manage incoming calls is with your Ringing Schedule. It tells Beside the hours during which phones on a line should ring.
📌 What it's called where:
On Beside on the web and on Android, it's the Ringing Schedule.
On iPhone, it's still called Business Hours until the next iPhone update.
📌 Good to know:
It only controls ringing. Your text notifications are not affected and arrive at any hour.
It does not turn your Receptionist on or off - if the Receptionist is enabled, it still answers calls outside your hours based on your scope settings.
It does not decide what your Receptionist says. Whether it greets callers as open or closed follows your Operating hours, a separate setting in Receptionist → Knowledge.
On the web app
Go to app.beside.com
Open Settings, then Phone Numbers
Select your line
Open the Ringing Schedule tab
Turn the schedule on, then pick how your hours apply (Every day, Week days, or Custom for different hours per day) and set your From → To time range for each active day
On the mobile app
Open the Beside mobile app → go to Settings
If you have multiple lines, tap the line you want to manage under Phone Numbers
Under Calls, tap Call Flow, then tap Ringing Schedule (Business Hours on iPhone) under How should calls ring?
Pick how your hours apply (Every day, Week days, or Custom for different hours per day), set your From → To time range for each active day,
and tap Save.
Outside your hours:
Your phone won't ring
Your text notifications still come through - the schedule doesn't silence messages
If your Receptionist is enabled and the caller fits your scope, the Receptionist still answers
Otherwise, calls go to voicemail
All calls are still logged in your line
💡 Want your texts to go quiet too:
Turn on Mute messages for the line in My Notifications (Your Alerts on iPhone). That's a personal setting and doesn't affect your teammates. 📖 Manage your notifications
Or use your phone's Do Not Disturb, below.
💡 Want your Receptionist to tell callers you're closed:
Set your Operating hours in Receptionist → Knowledge, then turn on Use a different greeting when we're closed in Scenarios.
Stopping the ringing on its own doesn't change a single word your Receptionist says. 📖 Train your Receptionist
Let the Receptionist handle all calls
If you want the Receptionist to answer every call without your phone ringing:
Set your Receptionist's scope to Missed From Everyone (or Missed calls from everyone on mobile) from the Receptionist page
On mobile, go to Settings, tap your line under Phone Numbers if you have more than one, open Calls → Call Flow, then set Ringing Mode to Direct to Receptionist so calls skip ringing entirely. On Beside on the web, go to Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Ringing Mode.
This effectively disables ringing on your end while ensuring every caller is still handled by the Receptionist.
📌 On a Direct line the Ringing Schedule stops mattering: nothing rings there, so on Android the Ringing Schedule row is hidden entirely. Your Receptionist can still greet callers as closed on a Direct line, because that follows your Operating hours instead.
📌 On the web app: you can also manage your Receptionist and Ringing Mode from app.beside.com under Receptionist and Settings → Phone Numbers in the sidebar.
Silence unknown callers
If you only want to stop calls from unknown numbers (not saved contacts), toggle Silence Unknown Callers. Unknown callers go straight to voicemail or your Receptionist without ringing; known contacts still ring normally.
You can toggle this from the web app (Settings → Phone Numbers → [line] → General → Compliance & Privacy) or from the mobile app (Settings → your line, if you have more than one → Calls → Call Flow → Silence Unknown Callers under Who skips ringing?).
Use your phone's Do Not Disturb mode
For a quick, temporary pause on all notifications (calls, texts, and push notifications), you can use your phone's built-in Do Not Disturb (DND) mode. Unlike your Ringing Schedule, this does silence messages too.
On iPhone: swipe down from the top-right and tap the crescent moon icon, or go to Settings, then Focus, then Do Not Disturb.
On Android: swipe down from the top and tap the DND tile, or go to Settings, then Sound, then Do Not Disturb.
⚠️ Important: When DND is active on your phone, you will not hear Beside calls ringing on mobile. Calls will still be received by Beside - your Receptionist or voicemail will handle them - but you won't get any notification until DND is turned off. DND on your phone does not affect the web app.
Exclude specific contacts from calling
If you want to block or silence calls from specific people, you can exclude them from your Receptionist and from ringing from the Beside mobile app
FAQ
Can I completely turn off incoming calls on Beside?
Can I completely turn off incoming calls on Beside?
There is no single "off switch" for incoming calls. The most effective approach is to set your Receptionist scope to "Everyone" and set Ringing Mode to Direct to Receptionist - this sends every call directly to the Receptionist without your phone ringing. Alternatively, use your phone's Do Not Disturb mode to silence all Beside notifications on mobile, and close the Beside tab to stop calls ringing on the web app.
Will I still see missed calls if I'm in DND mode?
Will I still see missed calls if I'm in DND mode?
Yes. All calls are logged in your line regardless of your DND or Ringing Schedule settings. You'll see the missed call entries and any voicemails or AI summaries once you check the app.
Can I pause incoming calls just for a few hours?
Can I pause incoming calls just for a few hours?
The easiest way is to use your phone's Do Not Disturb mode and turn it off when you're ready. You can also temporarily set Ringing Mode to Direct to Receptionist, then switch it back later. Beside does not have a built-in "pause" timer for calls.
What happens to calls when I'm outside my hours?
What happens to calls when I'm outside my hours?
Your phone won't ring. If your Receptionist is enabled and the caller fits your scope, the Receptionist still answers - it works independently of your Ringing Schedule. Otherwise, calls go to voicemail. All calls are logged in your line.
Does a Ringing Schedule stop my texts coming in at night?
Does a Ringing Schedule stop my texts coming in at night?
No. It only stops calls ringing. Texts still arrive and still notify you. To silence messages, turn on Mute messages for the line in My Notifications (Your Alerts on iPhone), or use your phone's Do Not Disturb. 📖 Manage your notifications
I paused my ringing, but my Receptionist still tells callers we're open. Why?
I paused my ringing, but my Receptionist still tells callers we're open. Why?
Because those are two separate settings. Your Ringing Schedule only stops phones ringing. What your Receptionist says about being open comes from its Operating hours in Receptionist → Knowledge. Set those (and turn on Use a different greeting when we're closed in Scenarios) if you want callers to hear that you're closed. 📖 Train your Receptionist