I like Apple’s Continuity set of features, one of which lets you accept a phone call from your iPhone via FaceTime on another Apple device, like an iPad or Mac. The problem is, hearing your devices all suddenly start ringing at the same time is annoying. What’s worse is that — because the iPad has no “guest” account or user accounts — other family members can suddenly take your iPhone calls on your iPad, too.

Not cool.

As for my Mac, I usually have it connected to external speakers that are also usually turned up pretty loud. When I’m listening to music, great. But when I’m not . . . and then I receive an iPhone call on my Mac . . . suddenly my Mac is blasting a ringtone that’s loud enough to startle a whole household. With the WiFi lag, sometimes I’ll answer the call on my iPhone and the person on the other side will hear the tail end of the ring tone blasting out of my Mac’s external speakers.

disable mac cellular iphone calls

Uncheck “iPhone Cellular Calls” under Preferences for FaceTime on your Mac.

If there’s a setting that will stop an iPhone-to-Mac FaceTime call from ringing entirely, I can’t find it. (And unchecking “Play sound for notifications” under System Preferences > Notifications > FaceTime didn’t mute the ring either.) Of course, you can turn the volume down on your Mac manually every time you’re done listening to music, but who wants to add another layer of manual user management to their life? I sure don’t.

So what can you do?

Turn off the Continuity feature so iPhone calls won’t ring over to your Mac at all. Which is a bummer, because I appreciate the option to take calls on my Mac — just not when I have to micro-manage my Mac by constantly paying attention to the volume.

Here’s how to stop iPhone calls from ringing your Mac:

  1. Open up FaceTime on your Mac.
  2. Open Preferences.
  3. Uncheck “iPhone Cellular Calls.”
  4. Lament the loss of this Continuity feature while appreciating a Mac that doesn’t scream at you with a call.

To turn off iPhone Cellular Calls on your iPad, go to Settings > FaceTime and then toggle off the option.

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About the author

Chris Maxcer

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I've been writing about the tech industry since the birth of the email newsletter, and I still remember the clacking Mac keyboards from high school -- Apple's seed-planting strategy at work. I'm a big fan of elegant gear and great tech, but there's something to be said for turning it all off -- or most of it -- to go outside. Online I like to call out cool stuff on Wicked Cool Bite and blog with my buddies at Man Makes Fire. To catch me, take a "firstnamelastname" guess at the url of this site.