What is Call Waiting in iPhone and Android: How to Turn it On?

Picture this: you are currently on an important call, and another important call comes, and you are stuck in a dilemma of what to do. Frustrating, right?

Luckily, for that issue, you have a feature that helps you get over that issue: Call Waiting. 

But what really is Call Waiting? In this blog we will explore all the details regarding Call Waiting in iPhone and Android so that the next time you get two important calls, you have a solution!

Let’s get into it.

What is Call Waiting in iPhone and Android? 

Call Waiting is an audio call feature that allows users to receive an incoming call while on an active call. When another call comes, the user is alerted with a beeping sound and can either hold the current call to attend to the second one or simply neglect it.

• iPhone Call Waiting: Call Waiting notifies iPhone users of another incoming call while they’re on the line, allowing them to toggle between calls or place one call on hold as they speak to the other.
• Android Call Waiting: If you are using an Android phone, the functionality of Call Waiting is similar; you will be notified of an incoming call even when you’re already on another call, and you can opt to answer the new call, turn the first call on hold, or reject the incoming call.

What are the Benefits of Call Waiting?

Most telephone service providers offer Call Waiting as a useful function, beneficial for both personal and business calls. 

Whether you are on a cell phone, landline, or VoIP service, Call Waiting allows you to take important calls while you are engaged in a conversation. 

Let’s take an in-depth view of the significant benefits of Call Waiting:

1. Never Miss an Important Call

The most significant benefit of Call Waiting is that it allows you to receive incoming calls while you’re currently on another call. 

If you are in the middle of a conversation, a listener-caused beep or visual cue will notify you of another call.

This feature is quite useful when you are in such a situation where not responding to an important call would lead to a huge loss. 

2. Better Efficiency in Business Environments 

Call Waiting is an important feature for business people. Many professionals receive calls throughout the day; missing an important client call or business opportunity can be expensive.

Call Waiting enables workers to hold onto their clients to answer a call that seems more important to them. They can switch between phone calls seamlessly afterward so that no important conversation gets missed. 

Most of the business phone systems make the facility of Call Waiting available along with an agile media toolbox that also comprises call forwarding, voicemail, and conferencing.

3. Better Control Over Conversations

Call Waiting further empowers users with better control over their communication. That is, it allows them to decide whether to allow the app to ring. It gives you the ability to answer an incoming call or reject it and send the caller to voicemail. 

However, if you are in one call conversation but are demanded to take the second, you can hold the first one.

This feature enables you to prioritize calls according to their urgency, ensuring that you are not plagued by several calls coming in at the same time.

4. Convenience and Flexibility

The Call Waiting feature allows you to receive another call while on the phone without having to hang up or switch lines. 

Call Waiting allows you to talk to a family member while also remaining approachable for work calls or other critical discussions.

This is another big step up from older phone systems, where you may have to choose one call or another and miss out on crucial two-way communications.

5. Cost-Effective Communication

A feature of Call Waiting that is particularly a benefit to mobile phone and VoIP service users is that it is usually free of extra charge. 

While Call Waiting was sometimes part of a package that came with a fee with traditional landline services, it’s now included for free in most mobile and internet services.

Call Waiting, generally free with VoIP services, is an affordable solution for both personal use and businesses, allowing them to manage several calls without extra expenses. 

6. Better Customer Service 

Call Waiting is a must-have for customer service representatives. While agents are working on helping one customer, Call Waiting allows them to take another client who may need immediate attention.

This is important in customer care, sales, and other industries where missed calls often mean lost business or disgruntled customers. 

This machine will ensure that your enterprise does not miss a single customer call; on occasions when all lines happen to be busy, Call Waiting can be set up, and without being interrupted, it could simply be said each time to a customer, “Just hold on.”

7. No Missed Opportunities

The call you get while already on a call is usually an opportunity you would not want to miss, whether it is a follow-up call for a job interview, a business proposal, or even a personal affair. 

Hence, the Call Waiting feature prevents you from losing this chance to tackle it. 

This option toggles you between calls, so you can’t lose out on the more lucrative opportunities.

How to Enable Call Waiting on iPhone?

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to enable Call Waiting on an iPhone:

• Open Settings: Tap the Settings app on your iPhone’s home screen.

• Tap Phone: Scroll down and tap on Phone in the Settings menu.

• Find Call Waiting: In the Phone settings, scroll down until you see Call Waiting.

• Toggle Call Waiting On: If the Call Waiting option is turned off, tap the toggle switch to turn it on (the switch will turn green).

• Exit Settings: Once enabled, you can exit the Settings app. Call Waiting is now active on your iPhone.

How to Enable Call Waiting on Android?

Here’s how to enable Call Waiting on Android:

• Open Phone App: Launch the Phone app on your Android device.

• Go to Settings: Tap the three dots (menu) in the top-right corner and select Settings.

• Tap Calls: In the settings menu, select Calls or Calling Accounts (depending on your device).

• Enable Call Waiting: Look for Call Waiting in the options and toggle it on.

• Exit Settings: Once enabled, exit the settings. Call Waiting is now activated.

• Now, you’ll be notified of incoming calls while on another call, allowing you to switch between them.

How do you turn off calls waiting on Landline, iPhone, and Android?

If you are done with the call waiting feature, then all of the devices have their specific way of turning it off. Let’s look at how you would go on about turning off call waiting on your devices:

A. Turn Off Call Waiting on Landline:

• Pick up the receiver and listen for the dial tone.
• Dial the deactivation code: It’s usually *70 (US) or #43 (UK), but check with your service provider for the correct code.
• Wait for confirmation: You’ll hear a confirmation tone, and Call Waiting will be disabled.

B. Turn Off Call Waiting on iPhone:

• Open Settings.
• Tap Phone.
• Select Call Waiting and toggle it off.

C. Turn Off Call Waiting on Android:

• Open the Phone app.
• Tap the menu icon (three dots) and select Settings.
• Go to Calls > Additional Settings > Call Waiting.
• Toggle off Call Waiting.

Common Issues with Call Waiting

Even though call waiting is a useful feature that is designed to offer convenience, it comes with its challenges. Let’s look at the most common issues that the user may face with call waiting and potential ways to solve them: 

1. Missed Calls

Call Waiting features are primarily designed to stop missed calls, but in some cases, they can be a reason behind them. A user needs to be quick in switching between the calls. Otherwise, the second caller will hang up before being attended to. 

If you are not completely aware of how this feature functions, it can be a major cause of accidental call drops. So, if you are turning on Call Waiting for business purposes, make sure that all of your employees are well-trained in its uses and specific details.  

2. Call interruptions

Another major issue that users face with call waiting is an interruption in the flow of communication. The notification you set for a second call can distract the first caller, hence interrupting the conversation you might have been having. 

Even though it may not seem like a big issue in personal settings, disrupting a business call because another person called is highly unprofessional. 

3. Difficulty in Switching Calls

If you are trying to switch between multiple calls at once, chances are the switch will not always be seamless, especially if you are not aware of the system’s workings. Toggling between calls can lead to confusion, errors, and sometimes even disconnections of the calls. 

Whether it is for a professional call or a personal one, this can be highly frustrating and can lead to unrest. 

4. Poor User Experience for the Caller on Hold

During Call waiting, a user is placed on hold, which can lead to that person feeling neglected or frustrated. Since we are unsure of how long they have to stay on hold, it will lead to added irritation. 

Dedicated call management systems have features like holding music or messages to keep the user hooked, but Call Waiting has no features like that, leading to dissatisfaction and lost clients in professional scenarios. 

5. Incompatibility with Certain Services

Even though Call Waiting works on a lot of services, integrating call waiting on Voice Over Internet Protocol systems or during international calls is nearly impossible. These incompatibilities can lead to dropped calls, feature malfunctions, and failed notifications. 

If your business relies on these modes of communication, then you may not be able to implement call waiting as smoothly as you would have done if you were using other services. 

6. Privacy Concerns

Call waiting also poses a risk of accidentally merging two lines, which can be harmful to privacy. Someone who should not have listened to certain information might get access to it because of your incompetency, which is not going to bear well under any circumstances. 

If you are using call waiting for your business, you need to be even more careful because a simple mishap can result in an embarrassing or even legally compromising situation. 

7. Overwhelming for Users

If you are not tech-savvy, managing multiple calls at once is going to be a difficult task. Juggling many conversations at once and understanding when to switch to which call can be difficult for both the caller and receiver. 

If you forget a key detail or if you fail to address the needs of all the callers who call you at one time can lead to major mistakes alongside a mental load. 

8. Technical Glitches

As with any phone feature, call waiting can suffer issues like greater notification lags or faulty toggling. You treat these glitches as missed calls, dropped connections, or difficulty switching lines. These issues are often fixed by periodically updating device software or network settings.

9. Increased Stress Levels

Some users find a second call’s constant interruption to be unnecessary stress. It is even worse when it triggers at bad times, like meetings or personal off-time.

10. Incompatibility with Other Features

Call waiting may interfere with call forwarding, Do Not Disturb, or other custom call handling settings. This can cause issues like important calls being forwarded or blocked, unbeknownst to the user.

Alternatives to Call Waiting

In some cases, you might not want to turn on call waiting and are looking for some other alternatives. Let’s look at some of the most versatile options to call waiting you have: 

• Call Forwarding: Call forwarding helps you to redirect your incoming calls to another number, such as voicemail, a friend’s number, or just your secondary number. This feature is essential as you can maintain communication even in busy times.  Even when you are unavailable or have lost your phone, you can ensure that you are able to manage or answer your incoming calls.

• Do Not Disturb (DND): The Do Not Disturb Mode, as its name suggests, silences your incoming calls, messages, and notifications, increasing your focus and allowing you to function without interruptions. This feature is most useful when you are in a meeting or anywhere where you would rather not be disturbed by the ringing of your phone.
• Voicemail Services: With voicemail services, you can record messages from callers in cases where you are unable to answer your phone. Modern services offer advanced features like voicemail-to-email transcription for added convenience, which ensures that you never miss any important messages. 
• Simultaneous Ringing: Simultaneous ringing will ring your incoming calls to multiple devices or phone numbers at the same time. With this feature, you can ensure that someone will answer even when you are away from your primary phone which will help in team collaboration and multitasking. 
• Custom Call Handling: Custom call handling helps you to keep a personalized set of rules to manage incoming calls. You can base your settings on various factors like caller ID or the time of day. You can prioritize the calls to then send them to voicemail or forward them to different numbers. 

With custom call handling, you can create a seamless and efficient communication experience that caters to your needs. 

Alternatives to Call Waiting: Comparison Table:

Conclusion

Wrapping up, Call Waiting is a very useful feature that helps users get calls even when they are already on a call. 

This feature ensures that you never miss an important call, improving your communication efficiency and offering flexibility. But there can be downsides to that: missed calls, call interruptions, and privacy issues.

Depending on your requirements, alternatives, including Call Forwarding, Do-Not-Disturb, and voicemail solutions, can also be efficient means of handling calls. 

It’s important to pick the services you want, though, and that includes knowing how to activate, deactivate, and control the Call Waiting feature to ensure you have the most pleasant experience possible.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the difference between Call Waiting and Call Forwarding?

Let’s look at the major difference between Call Waiting and Call Forwarding: 

How does Call Waiting work with VoIP services?

Call waiting functions work hand in hand with VoIP services work similarly to traditional phone lines. Users will receive a notification of a call while they are in another conversation, allowing them to pick whether they want to answer it or ignore the call. 

Is there a limit to how many calls I can manage with Call Waiting?

Yes, there is almost always a limit to how many phone calls you can manage at once with call waiting. However, giving out an exact number is impossible as it can depend on various factors, such as phone service providers and device and network capabilities. 

Keep in mind that managing a large number of calls will be more difficult. 

How can I disable Call Waiting temporarily on my iPhone?

Let’s look at the step-by-step guide on how you would disable call waiting temporarily on iPhone: 

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and select Phone.
3. Tap on Call Waiting.
4. Toggle the Call Waiting switch to off.
5. Call waiting will be disabled until you turn it back on.

Are there any privacy concerns with using Call Waiting?

Yes, there are some privacy concerns with using call-waiting. Here are some of the key considerations:

• Unintended Disclosure of Caller Information
• Risk of Accidental Information Sharing
• Caller ID Visibility 
• Eavesdropping Risks on Shared Lines
• Interruptions Leading to Misunderstandings