How to Make Your Phone Ring Longer Before Voicemail Answers

If you’ve ever missed a call because your phone didn’t ring for long enough, you’re not alone. At our local coffee-and-cake evenings, this is one of the questions I’m asked the most — especially by people who find it hard to reach the phone quickly or who don’t always hear it right away.

The good news is: you can usually make your phone ring for longer before it diverts to voicemail. And it only takes a few seconds to set up.

👉 Why you might want to increase your ring time

• You need longer to get to your phone
• You don’t always hear the ringtone straight away
• You don’t want callers going to voicemail too quickly
• You want a bit more time before feeling “rushed” to answer

Most mobile networks in the UK support a simple dial code that lets you choose how long your phone rings — usually up to 30 seconds.

🔧 How to increase the ring time on most mobile networks

You don’t need any apps or special settings.
Just follow these steps:

1. Open the phone keypad (as if you’re making a normal call).
2. Enter this code: **61*<voicemail-number>*10*XX#
   • <voicemail-number> is your network’s voicemail centre.
     Most networks in the UK use 121 as their voicemail number — so you can usually just put 121 there.
   • XX is the number of seconds you want the phone to ring (usually 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30).
3. Press the call button.
4. You should see a message confirming the update.

👍 Example

To set your phone to ring for 25 seconds, dial:

**61*121*10*25#

To set it to the maximum 30 seconds, dial:

**61*121*10*30#

That’s it — very simple!

📱 Does this work on all phones and networks?

Usually, yes, but there are a few exceptions:

• Some networks don’t allow changes to ring time.
• Some phones using Wi-Fi calling or VoLTE may behave differently.
• Older phones might not display confirmation messages, even if it works.

The easiest way to check is:
Ask someone to call you and count how long it rings.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Why this tip helps so many people

For older users or anyone who needs a little extra time, increasing the ring length can help remove stress and make mobile phones easier to manage. You no longer have to rush or worry about missing calls.

It makes a surprising difference — and once it’s done, you never have to do it again.

✔️ Final tip

If you’d like help changing your ring time, feel free to bring your phone along to our coffee-and-cake evening and I’ll help set it up with you.