How to make your iPhone ring for an appointment, even in silent mode

Updated October 8, 2026

In silent mode, your iPhone only vibrates for calendar alerts. Only alarms ring. So if you want an appointment to ring no matter what, give it a real alarm: in the Clock app, with an urgent reminder in Reminders, or with an app like Tellendar.

Why your calendar alert doesn't make a sound

An alert from the Calendar app is a notification. When silent mode is on, your iPhone vibrates for calls and alerts instead of ringing. The same goes for Google Calendar and every other app that sends notifications.

Apple lists two exceptions: calls from your favorite contacts, and alarms you set in the Clock app. Clock alarms also ring when Do Not Disturb is on.

You turn on silent mode with the switch on the side of the iPhone, or with the Action button on recent models, which does this by default. It is easy to switch on without noticing, and then the appointment alert does not ring.

What your iPhone can already do

You have three options without installing anything.

An alarm in the Clock app

It rings even in silent mode. But a Clock alarm is set for a time, not a date: you can repeat it on certain days of the week, but you can't set it for November 14. For an appointment three weeks away, you have to remember to create the alarm the day before, then delete it afterwards. And it has no link to the event in your calendar.

An urgent reminder in Reminders

Since iOS 26.2, a reminder marked as urgent sets off an alarm when it's due, even in silent mode or with a Focus on. To turn it on:

1. In Reminders, tap the reminder, then the Info button.
2. Under Date & Time, turn on Urgent.
3. If Reminders asks, allow alarms: go to Settings, then Apps, then Reminders, and turn on Alarms.

There are two conditions: your reminders must be in iCloud, and the alarm only rings on the device that shares your location in Find My. One more limit: the reminder lives in Reminders, not in your calendar, so you end up writing the appointment down twice.

Keep the sound on

It's the simplest fix, but then everything makes noise, including the notifications you don't want during a meeting.

Alarms for your appointments, with Tellendar

Tellendar is a calendar app for iPhone where each event can have its own alarms. They are real iOS alarms, like the ones in Clock: they ring in silent mode and with a Focus on. They show up on the Lock Screen with the name of your appointment.

1. Install Tellendar and allow alarms when the app asks.
2. Type or dictate your appointment and its alarm, for example: "Dentist Thursday at 3pm with an alarm 1 hour before".
3. Tellendar creates the event and the alarm. You see both right away.

One appointment can have several alarms: "alarm the day before at 8pm and one hour before". When the alarm rings, stop it, or tap "Snooze 10 min" to have it ring again later. You pick the alarm sound in Tellendar's settings: the iOS one or one of the app's seven.

Tellendar never adds an alarm you didn't ask for. If you dictate an appointment without one, the app suggests one and lets you decide. And if you connect Google Calendar, you can add alarms to the events already in it.

If the alarm doesn't ring

• Alarms aren't allowed. Tellendar says so under the event: "This alarm won't ring: alarms aren't allowed." Tap "Open Settings" and allow them. Waiting alarms are then scheduled.
• Your subscription has ended. Alarms stop ringing. They come back when you subscribe again.

Frequently asked questions