How to Fake a Dropped Call on Your iPhone When You No Longer Want to Chat - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

How to Fake a Dropped Call on Your iPhone When You No Longer Want to Chat

by

If you've ever wanted to end a call on your iPhone without seeming rude, this handy little trick is for you. Keep reading to learn how to fake a dropped call.

ios 14 phone calls
Whenever you hang up a call on iPhone, the person on the other end sees a message on their phone saying "Call Ended." This is usually treated as a clear indication that you ended the call on purpose, since if the call had dropped due to bad reception, the message would have read "Call Failed," which sounds a lot less incriminating.

So what if you want to end a call without it looking like you abruptly and rudely hung up? The answer is to turn on Airplane mode. That's because when Airplane mode is enabled during a call, the call immediately ends and the person on the other end sees "Call Failed," as if the conversation ended through no fault of your own. Granted, it's sneaky, but it works.

The easiest way to turn on Airplane Mode is via Control Center. To open Control Center, swipe down diagonally from the top-right corner of the screen (if your iPhone has a Home button, swipe up from the bottom of the screen). Then, tap the button that looks like an airplane so that it turns orange and the green cellular button next to it grays out. The cellular provider name in the top-left corner will also be replaced by a plane symbol.

control center
This should immediately end the call, and all that the person on the other end will see is that the call "failed." If you still appear to be on the call, chances are you have Wi-Fi calling enabled, in which case simply tap the blue Wi-Fi button in Control Center to end Wi-Fi calling.

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces. The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Thursday July 30, 2026 6:12 am PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. Labor Day is September 7 this year. The last time the holiday fell on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the last time Labor Day was on September 7 in a normal year was in ...
Dynamic Island iPhone 18 Pro Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Twelve Changes Coming to Apple's Next Flagship

Thursday July 30, 2026 3:43 am PDT by
We're less than two months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a dramatic change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year,...

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors