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What is Dial Assist on iPhone – Everything You Need To Know

December 21, 2022

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If you often make international calls, iPhone’s Dial Assist feature might prove to be quite handy for you. With this feature of your iOS device, your smartphone automatically adds the required country codes to the phone numbers you dial.

However, when this feature is turned on, if you have a contact saved with their country code on their number, dial assist may conflict with it and cause-specific issues. Fortunately, you can prevent it easily by knowing how this feature works and how you can enable and disable it as per your will.

This guide answers every question you can possibly have about the Dial Assist feature on iPhones, so make sure you read on!

How Can You Enable Dial Assist on Your iPhone

Enabling Dial Assist on your iPhone can make it easier for you to make calls abroad. Here are the steps that you need to follow to enable this feature:

Tap on the Settings icon on your home screen, denoted with a grey gear icon
Then, scroll down until you find the “Phone” settings and tap on it
There, slide the Dial Assist switch to turn it on, indicated with a green color on the switch

Once you’ve successfully enabled the Dial Assist feature, your present country’s exit code with be automatically added before the numbers you dial so that it connects without any issues. In case the switch is already green, the feature is turned on already.

How Can You Turn Off Dial Assist on Your iPhone

While not every carrier supports the Dial Assist feature, some of the major ones, such as AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, indeed do. If you are encountering any issues with calling on your iPhone, then try disabling Dial Assist and see if it helps. Here’s how:

Access the Settings app on your smartphone
Then, scroll down until you find the “Phone” option and tap on it
Now, you have to toggle off the scroller next to the “Dial Assist” option

After you’ve turned it off, the toggle should appear grey, indicating that it has been turned off successfully.

When Should You Use Dial Assist on Your iPhone?

If you aren’t sure how to dial a country code on an iOS or don’t know the correct prefix for a specific country, then you should consider keeping the Dial Assist feature turned on in your iPhone. However, if you encounter any dialing problems, consider disabling them.

In that case, you’ll have to enter the country code for an international call manually. Keep in mind that you may still incur extra charges when making international calls, whether the Dial Assist feature is turned on or off.

Changing Your Outgoing Call Settings on iPhone

To change your outgoing call settings on your device, you have to head to the “Settings” app, followed by the “Phone” option. There, you’ll find two significant choices that you can choose from, which are given as follows:

Turn On Show My Called ID: Turning on this feature makes your phone number shown in the “My Number” section. FaceTime calls, though, always display your number even if you’ve disabled the caller ID.

Turn on Dial Assist for International Calls: Using this feature, when you call any of your contacts, the correct international or local prefix is added by default to the number.

Solving Call Failures on Your iPhone – What You Can Do

There can be many reasons your iPhone fails to make any incoming or outgoing calls. While Dial Assist can be one likely cause of the issue, there can be various other things that you can do to solve it, such as:

Moving to a new location: Sometimes, you may have a bad cellular network in a particular area, and in that case, you should consider moving away a little bit and try again if it works.

Disable Do Not Disturb Mode

While this feature doesn’t have to do anything with dialing problems, it may cause some issues while receiving one. Make sure it is turned off by heading to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb. It would be best if you also considered checking for any other Focus blocks you’ve created on your iPhone.

Turn Off Silence Unknown Callers Option

If you are receiving a lot of unwanted spam and telemarketing calls, this feature can be especially helpful. However, it may sometimes also prevent legitimate callers from reaching you by preventing any calls from ringing. Please turn it off from Settings > Phone.

Check for Carrier Settings Update

Updating your carrier allows you to improve your network’s performance and connectivity and even add some new features to it. In case there are any available updates, you can install them by heading to Settings > General > About and then following the on-screen instructions available.

Reset Your Network Settings

Resetting your network settings can be really helpful when none of the other fixes are working, and you still want to get rid of the issue. Doing this erases all your saved networks, Wi-Fi passwords, VPN settings, and more. You can do this by navigating to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Need Dial Assist on my iPhone?

While Dial Assist on your iPhone helps add a local prefix or country code to your dialed numbers, it can cause problems with contacts that already have an existing prefix or country code, which is why a lot of people consider keeping it turned off. However, it entirely depends on your preferences.

What Does it Mean When a Call Says Dial Assist?

iOS devices are equipped with a feature termed Dial Assist that helps you dial your international calls with ease. With this feature enabled, your smartphone automatically adds prefixes or country codes to the phone numbers you dial.

Why Can’t I Find Dial Assist on My iPhone?

The Dial Assist feature is located in Settings > Phone. You can access it through the home drawer of your iPhone and enable it by scrolling the switch on.

Final Words

Your iPhone is equipped with several amazing features, including Dial Assist, that make a lot of your tasks easier. Using this feature or not depends entirely on your preferences and whether you have a requirement for such a feature or not. We hope you found this guide helpful in knowing more about the feature.