Do you get missed calls when your phone is off? [ANSWERED!]

Last weekend, my phone took an extended nap during a family gathering since I was so busy catching up. Little did I know, I was unintentionally dodging calls like a pro. Cue the guilt! 

That got me wondering – do missed calls magically appear when your phone is off, or is there some digital wizardry at play? 

So, I did what any curious mind would do and delved into the intriguing world of missed calls and phone hibernation, and I’m now here to share what I have discovered. Read on!

Do you get missed calls when your phone is off?

Your phone can’t register a missed call if it didn’t receive one, meaning there was nothing to miss in the first place. You only miss the calls your phone didn’t answer because you didn’t notice the alert.

For instance, when your phone is off, incoming calls won’t push through—this means you won’t get missed call notifications by default. 

However, you can change this using a feature like voicemail, which you can set up to let callers leave a message when you miss their call.

Meanwhile, most Android users can adjust notification settings to allow missed call reminders. Unfortunately, this feature isn’t available on iPhones, but many carriers offer a paid missed call alert service. 

To see if your carrier offers this add-on, inquire with your carrier. Otherwise, explore other workarounds and third-party services that will allow you to have this feature.

While your phone might not register a missed call, using voicemail and carrier services ensures you can retrieve call details. After all, having these tools ensures you don’t miss crucial calls and opportunities. 

How to See Missed Calls When Your Phone Is Off

The different methods below have been proven to help you see missed calls when your phone is off once you turn it back on. Note that some methods may not work in your region or depending on whether you have an iPhone or Android device.

Method 1. Turn on your phone’s missed call notification

Difficulty	Easy ●●○○○
Number of Steps	9
Time to Perform Fix	1 minute and 10 seconds
Things Needed	Any Android smartphone

The trick to getting missed calls when your phone is off is to configure your smartphone’s notification settings. In particular, you must enable your missed call notification – a setting available for most Android devices.

This setting doesn’t save your missed call history by letting your smartphone receive incoming calls while it’s turned off. Instead, your smartphone will display your missed call notification and history once you turn it back on.

Therefore, your contacts will still fail to connect to your smartphone via call when you turn it off. However, the call information your cellular carrier stores in their server becomes available when your smartphone is active and ready to communicate.

With this, you’ll know who to call back after turning on your smartphone.

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Step 2: Go to Notifications.

Step 3: Click Advanced Settings.

Step 4: Turn on the App Icon Badges switch.

Step 5: Return to the settings menu and go to Apps.

Step 6: Scroll down and select the Phone app.

Step 7: Go to Notifications.

Step 8: Turn on App Icon Badges and go to Notification Categories.

Step 9: Turn on the Missed Call switch.

Enable contact notifications

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	4
Time to Perform Fix	20 seconds
Things Needed	Any Android smartphone

If turning on your Android device’s missed call notification settings isn’t working correctly, you must configure your contacts notifications. Doing so is simple because it follows the same steps as enabling the missed call notification settings.

After enabling your contacts notifications, you should get missed calls when your phone is off. Of course, you will receive your missed call details after you power your smartphone.

Step 1: Follow our previous instructions to open your smartphone’s settings menu and go to Apps.

Step 2: Scroll down and select the Contacts app.

Step 3: Go to Notifications.

Step 4: Turn on Show Notifications and Show Icon Badges.

Method 2. Use your carrier’s activation code for their missed call alert service

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	9
Time to Perform Fix	50 seconds
Things Needed	Any smartphone

If your phone doesn’t have a missed call notification setting, that’s where your carrier’s missed call alert service comes into play. 

Often, missed call alerts are a paid service you must add to your base or standard mobile plan, but some cellular carriers may offer this feature from the get-go.

Once you sign up for your cellular carrier’s missed call alert service, they’ll send your call history to your phone number. You can use this data to check your recent callers and missed calls, even if they happened when you turned off your smartphone.

Step 1: Go to Phone.

Step 2: Dial your cellular carrier’s self-service code.

Step 3: Enter 92 and click Send to open the next page. Note: Self-service menus will differ between cellular carriers, alongside the codes you use to navigate them. You can open every menu to avoid missing the missed call alert service option.

Step 4: Repeat Step 3 to open the next page.

Step 5: Enter 15 and click Send to open the Dialog Service menu.

Step 6: Enter 4 and click Send to open your Call Management settings.

Step 7: Enter 4 and click Send to select the Missed Call Alert option.

Step 8: Write down or remember the activation code and instructions.

Step 9: Dial the activation code.

You can skip navigating your cellular carrier’s self-service menu by looking up their activation code for the missed call alert service. Doing so will let you save on your previous time instead of scouring the self-service menu to locate the correct option.

However, note that this trick works only if your carrier uses codes. Otherwise, you’ll have to access the service through the menu. 

Here’s a table of activation codes for some carriers to simplify the process

Cellular Carrier	Activation Code for MCAS
AirTel	*321*800#
Dialog	**62*1431#
Vodafone/Vodafone Idea	*888*810#

Method 3. Use your carrier app or account to activate call notifications

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	5
Time to Perform Fix	40 seconds
Things Needed	Any smartphone or PC A working internet connection

If you can’t activate missed call alerts using a code, your carrier likely offers this feature through their app or account manager. Many carriers now have dedicated apps like T-Mobile’s, where you can manage your account and tweak settings.

Verizon, for example, has both an app and a website called My Verizon. Using these platforms, you can set up missed call alerts and customize your account settings.

Check out the steps below so you can navigate your My Verizon with ease, allowing you to enable call notifications for your missed calls. Keep in mind that steps may vary if you’re using a different carrier, so reach out to your provider if you need help. 

Step 1: Select a browser from your smartphone or PC.

Step 2: Go to your cellular carrier’s account sign-in page. Note: If your cell carrier has a dedicated app, sign in through that instead.

Step 3: Enter the required sign-in details and continue to your account dashboard.

Step 4: Click Account to view your settings.

Step 5: Go to Calling Features > Call Notification to enable your notification for all incoming calls or specific numbers. Note: You can enable Call Notification according to your desired schedule.

Method 4. Subscribe to a third-party missed call alert service

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	1
Time to Perform Fix	2 to 5 minutes
Things Needed	Any smartphone or PCA working internet connection

If your cellular carrier doesn’t offer a missed call alert service, or if it’s too pricey, considering a third-party provider could be a more budget-friendly and practical choice.

Keep in mind, though, that the reliability of these services varies by region. And while your carrier’s service may be pricier, it often comes with better support. 

On the other hand, some third-party providers offer fantastic features and competitive prices.

Our advice: do your research before choosing a service. Be critical and pick what suits your needs. After all, you know yourself best, and you wouldn’t want to regret following others’ advice blindly. 

Method 5. Set up your phone’s voicemail

Difficulty	Easy ●●○○○
Number of Steps	10
Time to Perform Fix	1 minute and 20 seconds
Things Needed	Any smartphone

Voicemails, while not the most foolproof method for catching missed calls when your phone is off, win on accessibility. It’s a standard feature on most plans, so that means you don’t need to pay for extra fees!

Still, voicemails are reliable because your carrier stores them in a remote server. Meaning, you don’t need your phone on to receive them, giving you time to see who you missed. 

Unfortunately, your cell carrier can only store them for a limited time, considering how expensive storage servers are to maintain. Therefore, you might miss more than your unanswered calls if you take long enough to listen to them.

The downside? This step only works if the caller leaves a voicemail.  If they don’t, you wouldn’t have a solid reference point for who called your phone while it was off.

Step 1: Go to Phone.

Step 2: Go to the Voicemail tab.

Step 3: Click “Set Up Now.”

Step 4: Set a password.

Step 5: Select Default to use Apple’s pre-recorded voicemail greeting.

Step 6: Select Custom to create your voicemail greeting.

Step 7: Click Record and say your voicemail greeting. Note: Move your mouth close to your phone’s microphone to ensure your voicemail recording is loud and clear.

Step 8: Click Stop to finish recording your voicemail greeting.

Step 9: Click Play to review your voicemail greeting.

Step 10: Click Save to apply the recording as your voicemail greeting. Note: You can click Record to keep recording a voicemail greeting until you’re satisfied with the result.

Do you get a missed call when your phone is on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode?

Contrary to what its name suggests, you can still get missed calls after putting your phone on Do Not Disturb mode. After all, DND is for silencing the sound alerts from your app notifications, incoming calls, and messages, not blocking them.

Therefore, incoming calls from other people will connect to your smartphone whether or not you answer them. As a result, you might find your phone with many text messages and missed calls, even if it’s in DND mode.

Are missed calls shown when the phone is in Airplane mode?

Since your Airplane mode blocks your phone’s network services and connection with other wireless, you won’t receive – and miss – calls. 

Putting your smartphone in Airplane mode is similar to turning it off because it can’t receive or register your incoming calls. Instead, your cellular carrier will reroute your caller and send them to your voicemail. 

FAQs about Getting Missed Calls When Your Phone is Off

What happens if you call a smartphone that’s off?

You can’t call a phone that someone turned off, so you can’t get missed calls until the other person turns it back on. However, if they follow our tips and tricks for seeing missed calls, they shouldn’t have an issue retrieving this information.

How can I know if I have missed calls when my phone is off?

Set up a voicemail to hear voicemail messages so your missed callers can share information with you. Doing so will let you know who called you once you turn your smartphone back on.

Unfortunately, this method doesn’t work if the other person doesn’t send you a voicemail. You can use different methods, such as turning on your carrier’s missed call alert service or your smartphone’s notification settings.

How do I get missed call alerts?

Enabling your smartphone’s missed call notification settings is the most straightforward way to receive unanswered call alerts. 

Alternatively, you can subscribe to a missed call alert service to retrieve your missed call information, even if you often turn it off.

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