From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Hi,

I have a Moto G cell phone.

Is there a way to prevent my phone from ringing unless the Caller is in
my "Contacts" list?

Note: Google's AI was no help, and the Phone app setting to "Block all Unidentifiable callers" did NOT work. "Unidentifiable" does NOT mean
not listed in Contacts.

Thanks in advance, John


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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

jaugustine@verizon.net writes:

Hi,

I have a Moto G cell phone.

Is there a way to prevent my phone from ringing unless the Caller is in my "Contacts" list?

Note: Google's AI was no help, and the Phone app setting to "Block all Unidentifiable callers" did NOT work. "Unidentifiable" does NOT mean
not listed in Contacts.

Thanks in advance, John

The way I do this is in the do not disturb settings, i.e. set do not
disturbed, and then set it to allow contacts. I think this should be the
case on any android phone but it is hard to verify that.
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On 6/10/26 9:05 AM, Richmond wrote:

jaugustine@verizon.net writes:

Hi,

I have a Moto G cell phone.

Is there a way to prevent my phone from ringing unless the Caller is in >> my "Contacts" list?

Note: Google's AI was no help, and the Phone app setting to "Block all >> Unidentifiable callers" did NOT work. "Unidentifiable" does NOT mean
not listed in Contacts.

Thanks in advance, John

The way I do this is in the do not disturb settings, i.e. set do not >disturbed, and then set it to allow contacts. I think this should be the
case on any android phone but it is hard to verify that.

It works that way in my old Samsung Galaxy S10+ also. And do not disturb can
be easily be turned on and off in the home screen drop down menu if I'm
expecting a non-contact call. Also ALL unanswered calls go to voicemail so
I usually don't miss any important calls even when DND is on. Luckily spam
calls usually hang up before voicemail kicks in. But as always YMMV...


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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

<jaugustine@verizon.net> wrote:

I have a Moto G cell phone.

Is there a way to prevent my phone from ringing unless the Caller is in my "Contacts" list?

Note: Google's AI was no help, and the Phone app setting to "Block all Unidentifiable callers" did NOT work. "Unidentifiable" does NOT mean
not listed in Contacts.

Sorry, don't have and never used a Moto G to know what settings are
available with that phone.

Check options in the contacts. You might be able to define a different ringtone for a contact. If so, select a silent ringtone as the global
one. Callers in your contacts will use their assigned ringtone(s) while non-contact callers use the global ringtone which is silent.

Others have mentioned using DND. I tried that for a short time but
decided on the 2-tone ringing mentioned above.

https://support.google.com/android/answer/9069335

I use a loud ringtone assigned to each contact. I use a soft (very
quiet) global ringtone. If a non-contact calls me, I won't hear the
phone ringing if it is more than about 10 feet away, but I'll hear it if
it is on me. That way, I know it is a non-contact caller, and can
decide if I want to answer. Not everyone I deal with over the phone is
in my contacts list; else, my contacts list would get so polluted with rare-time callers that it would be a chore going through the contacts,
and maintaining them all. I may be expecting an important call from a non-contact, so I want to know when they call, not get a notification
after they left voicemail. While 2FA often uses SMS/text, some still
use voice calls to relay the login code, or you don't get their 2FA text
after several tries, so have to resort to a 2FA voice call. You have an appointment, but the doctor's office calls to notify you of a
cancellation. You might have their frontend number listed as a contact,
but you won't know from which number the nurse calls you.

When my phone rings, I can tell if it is a contact by the loud ringtone.
If it is a soft ringtone (and I'm close enough to hear it), I'll usually
ignore the call, let call screening filter out the spammers, bots, and wrong-dialers, and those that survive get dumped into voicemail which
gets rid of the patient spammers and the rest of the wrong-dialers. But
there are times I'm expecting an important non-contact call, and I don't
want them dumped into voicemail which sometimes end up in playing
voicemail tag with them.

Does your cellular carrier offer call screening where the caller gets
prompted to say their name, you hear it, and can decided whether or not
to answer the call, or let it go to voicemail? That in itself will get
rid of all the spammers (real people) that call you since they aren't interested in waiting. Bots can't understand instructions.
Wrong-dialers most often just hang up. Besides service-side anti-spam filtering, if available with your cellular provider, call screening gets
rid of a lot of garbage calls. Even if they get past call screening,
but you don't pick up, voicemail usually gets rid of the rest of the
spammers and wrong dialers, and bots quit when they hear the beep.
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:05:24 +0100, Richmond wrote:

The way I do this is in the do not disturb settings, i.e. set do not disturbed, and then set it to allow contacts. I think this should be the
case on any android phone but it is hard to verify that.

There's a setting especially for this. On my Pixel 10 it's:

Phone app > Settings (hamburger menu) > Blocked numbers > Unknown: Block
calls from unknown numbers

(Roughly translated from Dutch.)

This way, every number that is not in your contacts is blocked.
--
s|b
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

I have a Moto G cell phone.

Is there a way to prevent my phone from ringing unless the Caller is in >> my "Contacts" list?

Note: Google's AI was no help, and the Phone app setting to "Block all >> Unidentifiable callers" did NOT work. "Unidentifiable" does NOT mean
not listed in Contacts.

Thanks in advance, John

The way I do this is in the do not disturb settings, i.e. set do not >disturbed, and then set it to allow contacts. I think this should be the
case on any android phone but it is hard to verify that.

Hi,

Thanks to you and everyone for your responses.

UPDATE/SOLUTION

Settings> Sound & Vibration> Do Not Disturb. Turn on.
"People" some can interupt.
"Calls" Stared Contacts and Repeat Callers. Select "Stared contacts"
"Messages".(Texting) Select "Stared contacts"

Now go to "Contacts" and highlight (tap) the Star symbol for everyone
in your Contacts list you do not want to block (sound) from calling or
texting you.

Reboot phone in order for these changes to take effect.

By golly, it works, John

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