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Phone & Calling

Make Sure Calls Ring Through: Phone Spam Filter Settings

DD
·Published Nov 2026·5 min read

Why your phone might be blocking calls

Phones and cell carriers have gotten much more aggressive about filtering calls. To cut down on spam, many now silence, screen, or block calls from numbers that aren’t saved in your contacts, or that a carrier thinks might be spam. Legitimate business calls can get caught too.

This can affect you if:

  • You use Call Forwarding in Shape. When you click to call, Shape first calls your cell or desk phone, then connects you to the customer. If your phone silences that call, it never rings, and the call can’t connect.
  • Calls are forwarded or transferred to your phone, such as inbound calls or transfers from Shape’s AI.
  • You’re simply expecting a call from a number you haven’t saved.

The fix usually takes a couple of minutes in your phone’s settings. Below are the steps for iPhone, Android, and the major cell carriers.

Good to know: These settings control what rings on your phone. If customers say your calls show up as “Spam Likely,” that’s a different issue: your phone number’s reputation. See Spam Remediation & Phone Number Reputation.

iPhone (iOS)

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Apps › Phone. On older iPhones, go straight to Settings › Phone.
  3. Find Screen Unknown Callers or Silence Unknown Callers, depending on your iOS version.
  4. Select Never, or turn Silence Unknown Callers off.
  5. Under Call Filtering, turn off Spam, if you see that option.
  6. If you use a third-party spam-blocking app, open Call Blocking & Identification and turn off any app that may be blocking incoming calls.
Important: Turning off Silence Unknown Callers lets calls from numbers not in your contacts ring through, but it may not override spam blocking from your cell carrier. If calls still aren’t ringing, see Cell carrier spam filtering below.

Other iPhone settings worth a quick check: Focus or Do Not Disturb (Settings › Focus), the ring/silent switch or Action button, and Communication Limits in Screen Time (Settings › Screen Time › Communication Limits, set to Everyone).

Android (Samsung, Google Pixel, and other phones)

  1. Open the Phone app.
  2. Tap the three dots in the upper-right corner and select Settings.
  3. Look for Caller ID & Spam, Spam and Call Screen, or Caller ID and Spam Protection, depending on your phone.
  4. Turn off Filter Spam Calls, if available.
  5. Samsung: turn off Block Spam and Scam Calls.
  6. Google Pixel: open Call Screen and turn off automatic screening of spam calls.
  7. Check Blocked Numbers to make sure the number you’re expecting isn’t blocked.
Tip: You can usually leave caller ID warnings on. You’ll still see spam labels, but calls won’t be blocked automatically.

Cell carrier spam filtering

If calls are still blocked after changing your phone’s settings, your cell carrier may have its own spam protection turned on. Check your carrier’s app:

Carrier App to check
Verizon Verizon Call Filter
AT&T AT&T ActiveArmor
T-Mobile T-Mobile Scam Shield

In the app, look for settings that automatically block or silence suspected spam calls, and turn them off as needed. Other carriers often have similar apps or settings.

Third-party spam-blocking apps

Apps like call blockers and caller ID services can block calls on their own. Open the app and look for automatic blocking settings. On iPhone, you can also turn the app off under Call Blocking & Identification (step 6 above).

Quick tips

  • Save your Shape numbers as a contact. Phones treat saved contacts as known callers, so calls from them are much less likely to be silenced. If you use Call Forwarding, this is the single most helpful step.
  • Test after changing settings. Place a test call through Shape to make sure your phone rings.
  • Check again after phone or app updates. Updates sometimes turn filtering back on.

Frequently asked questions

My Call Forwarding phone isn’t ringing when I call from Shape. Why?+

Your phone may be silencing the call because it comes from a number that isn’t in your contacts or is flagged as possible spam. Turn off Silence or Screen Unknown Callers and spam filtering using the steps above, and save your Shape number as a contact.

Will turning these settings off mean I get more spam calls?+

Possibly some. Many phones let you keep spam labels visible without blocking calls, so you can still see a warning and decide whether to answer.

I changed my phone’s settings but calls are still blocked. What now?+

Check your carrier’s spam app (Verizon Call Filter, AT&T ActiveArmor, or T-Mobile Scam Shield) and any third-party spam-blocking apps.

Customers say our calls show up as Spam Likely. Is this the same thing?+

No. That’s about your phone number’s reputation on customers’ phones. See Spam Remediation & Phone Number Reputation.

Need help? Email help@setshape.com, call Support at (888) 718-6344, or visit setshape.com/support.

Related guides: Troubleshoot Call Forwarding Issues · Call Forwarding Phone Preference · Spam Remediation & Phone Number Reputation

DD

Senior Project Manager, Shape Software

Dani Dunn leads enterprise client management at Shape Software, where her team supports some of the platform's largest customers. She has been with Shape for over a decade, giving her deep hands-on expertise in CRM implementation and workflows.

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