How to Avoid Unwanted Calls: Set a Special Ringtone

Caller ID may help, but only if you’re looking at the screen

Edward C. Baig,

AARP

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Published May 15, 2026

Key takeaways

Custom ringtones can quickly signal calls from people you know without your having to check the screen.
A default ringtone is a useful clue that the caller is probably not in your inner circle.
Devices let you assign unique sounds, and sometimes vibrations, to specific contacts.

AARP members and readers are invited to submit technology questions they’d like me to tackle in my Tech Guru column, including issues about devices, security, social media and how all the puzzle pieces fit together. This week’s query hits a nerve for many people: wondering whether a caller is someone you don’t want to hear from.

I’m tired of getting all these spam calls and am not inclined to answer unless I know who’s calling. Can you help me identify how I might quickly tell?

Your frustration is coming through loud and clear. All of us frequently get calls from scammers, marketers and, truthfully, people we know but don’t necessarily want to speak with in the moment. Caller ID may reveal the number or name of an incoming caller, but that’s not always the case; and even if it does, we may not be able to glance at the screen just then.

If, however, we set up custom ringtones for each of our important contacts, it leaves little mystery as to who is calling.

Before explaining how to assign ringtones to the people we know — simple enough on both iPhones and Androids — let me state the obvious: Ringtones cannot tell us the identity of strangers. But if what you hear is a default generic ringtone when a call comes in, and not one that you’ve assigned to a person, this alone tells you the caller is not in your inner circle.

If you’re not sure whether to answer, well, don’t — just let it ring. If the call turns out to be important, presumably the caller will leave a voicemail.

Identifying callers on iPhone

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Apple supplies dozens of ringtones on the iPhone, ranging from the classic Reflection default ringtone that’s probably familiar to a lot of people — I’d hum it if you could hear me — to various sound effects named after pinball, an old car horn and even the Milky Way.

You can also purchase commercial ringtones directly from Apple, typically for $1.29 a pop. These include snippets from classic rock, R&B, country, Latin and other music genres, as well as dialogue from TV shows and movies.

Some people create their own ringtones via Apple’s free GarageBand app or certain third-party apps.

And with the recent iOS 26 update, you can convert MP3 or MP4 files that are 30 seconds or less into ringtones, so long as the music doesn’t carry digital protections.

If you don’t bother with those or other ringtones, you’ll hear the Reflection tone I mentioned above by default. You can substitute any of the other ringtones that came with your phone or that you add.

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To do so, go to Settings | Sounds & Haptics | Ringtone and tap on any of the names to hear a sample of what that ringtone sounds like. Keep in mind that doing that will set it as your ringtone until you tap something else, so if you’re not happy with it, make sure to choose another. From then on, all incoming calls will use that ringtone unless you assign a specific tone to a caller.

That is, after all, the goal, based on your question. Here’s how:

Launch the Contacts app or choose Contacts inside the Phone app, then pick Contacts. Tap the name of the person you want to assign a ringtone to, and tap Edit in the upper right-hand corner. Scroll down and tap Ringtone. If you haven’t already set up a custom ringtone for the person, the word Default will appear, indicating that their calls will have the same ringtone as everyone else who hasn’t received the custom treatment.

Tap Default, then scroll down the list of available ringtones, which will include the ones Apple supplied and any you created or added yourself. Tap the ringtone you want to choose for that person; the ringtone name will appear on their Contacts page, replacing Default. As long as you don’t pick the identical ringtone for someone else, you will know who is calling.

Incidentally, while exploring the list of available iPhone ringtones, you can scroll back near the top of the screen if you have any interest in buying new ones. Tap Tone Store to be taken to Apple’s ringtone store.

Identifying callers on Android

All Android phones differ somewhat, but as with the iPhone, you can either use manufacturer-supplied ringtones or add your own.

On a Samsung Galaxy, go to Settings | Sounds and vibration | Ringtone, then scroll down the list. Tap a ringtone to hear a sample and select it.

You can also tap a plus-sign symbol (+) on the upper right portion of the screen to pick other sounds. Yet another option here is to have the phone vibrate when a call comes in and choose a pattern for that vibration.

But again, your goal is to assign a ringtone to a specific caller in order to identify that person. Tap the Contacts icon to launch the app, or choose a contact inside the Phone app — yes, just like iPhone.

Next, tap the circled “i” | More (three horizontal dots) | Change ringtone/vibration. From the menu that appears, tap either Ringtone or Call vibration, depending on which you want to change. If you pick Ringtone, scroll to the tone you want to use to identify that caller. Do the same to identify a contact by their vibration patterns, which have names such as Waltz, Zig-zig-zig and Bounce.

If hearing a sound doesn’t tell you who is calling, at least through haptics you can get, um, a good feeling for who the person is.

Bonus tip: Can a smartwatch predict fainting spells?

Certain smartwatches and wearables can detect when someone falls, and, if the person is unresponsive, send a notification for help.

Samsung has just announced the results of its joint clinical study with Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital in South Korea, which sought to predict through a smartwatch when a person might be at risk of fainting.

Using a combination of AI and biosignals from sensors on a Samsung Galaxy Watch6, the wearable predicted vasovagal syncope (VVS) in real time. VVS is a condition in which a person’s heart rate and blood pressure drop abruptly due to excessive stress or other factors. According to the findings, which were published in a European medical journal, evaluations were conducted on 132 patients with suspected VVS symptoms. Impending fainting episodes were predicted up to five minutes in advance and with nearly 85 percent accuracy, Samsung says.

Samsung hasn’t said when a syncope prediction feature might become commercially available across its wearable product line. But the company and its rivals Google and Apple continue to expand the types and availability of features on their wearables that can help us monitor our health right from our wrists.

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The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.  

Edward C. Baig covers technology and other consumer topics. He previously worked for USA Today, BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report and Fortune. He is the author of Macs for Dummies and coauthor of iPhone for Dummies and iPad for Dummies. Follow him on LinkedIn, Threads and X (formerly known as Twitter).                   