Although it sounds harder, setting up and making a conference call on your iPhone is easy. However, you do need to get used to the conference calling features on your iPhone by setting up some conference calls with your close friends and relatives, before using your iPhone for business or work related conference calls.
Conference Calling on iPhone
Apart from business or work related situations, you can also make use of the conference calling feature on your iPhone to interact with family members and common friends located in different cities or countries.
Making personal conference calls allows you to both save time (compared to calling individually) and also enjoy the feeling of being connected with your close friends and relatives at the same time.
Another good reason for making personal conference calls would be to get the practice to set up and hold conference calls on your iPhone. This will allow you to carry out important business and work related conference calls on your iPhone without making mistakes.
Steps to Set Up and Make A Conference Call On iPhone
Follow the steps below to setup a business or a personal conference call on your iPhone. Depending on your cellular provider, you will be able to add from 2 to 5 people at a time to your conference call.
1. Call the first person that you want to include in the conference call. Let the person at the other end know that you are going to add other callers.
2. Once the first person is on line, tap on Add call and then call the next person using your contact list or by entering the contacts phone number on the keypad.
Note: When you dial the second number, the first call will be placed on hold. In case you do not see the in-call menu, tap the Hide Keypad button to bring up the in-call menu screen.
3. When the second person answers your call, tap the Merge Calls button.
Note: You will see the names of the two callers listed at the top of the phone in case they are listed in your Contacts.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add other people to the conference call. After you merge each call, the Add Call button will re-appear, allowing you to add more people.
This way you can add up to 5 people to your conference, in case your service provider uses GSM network, but only 2 people in case your service provider is using CDMA network.
Remember: You can also tap on the Contacts button to call and merge recipients to your conference call.
How to Drop Callers From A Conference Call
Many times attendees or participants of a conference call do not have the time to stay up to the end of the conference call and also there may not be any need to do so.
Follow the steps below to drop a participant from the conference without ending the ongoing conference call.
1. First Tap the ‘i’ icon located next to the contact’s name (See image below)
2. Next, tap the End button below the contact name who wants to leave the conference call.
Speak Privately with a Participant During Conference Call
In certain cases it may be necessary to speak privately with an individual conference call participant. Follow the steps below to do so.
1. Tap on the ‘i’ icon located next to the contacts name with whom you want to speak privately.
2. Next, tap on Private button located next to this contacts name.
3. Speak with the person in private and tap on Merge Calls to return back to conference call.
Prevent Other Calls During A Conference Call
Depending on the situation, you may want to prevent other callers from interrupting your conference call by calling your number while you are still in the middle of a meeting.
1. Slide up from the bottom of the screen to open the Control Center
2. Next, tap on the Moon icon
3. Now, tap on Settings > Do Not Disturb > Allow Calls From
4. On the next screen, select No One to block all incoming calls
Note: This will silence all incoming calls and alerts. You can choose favorites, in case you have a situation that requires you to be able to receive certain important calls.
Take Incoming Calls During Your Conference Call
Instead of shutting of all calls, you can choose to accept incoming calls during your conference call. This will allow you to take a look at who is calling and send the call to voicemail.
You can also use this feature to let other participants to call into the conference.
1. When you receive a call during a conference, tap on the Hold & Accept button from the bottom of your screen.
Note: The “Hold & Accept” button may not work in case your service provider is not using a CDMA network.
2. Next, tap on Merge in case you want to accept this call.
Important: Never tap on End & Accept button during a conference, tapping on this will end your conference call.
Mute Yourself During a Conference Call
You can briefly mute yourself during a conference call and still hear others talking. This will allow you to prevent others from hearing you speak to someone in the room or in any other situation where you do not want others to hear noises coming from your side (background noise, emergency sirens etc).
1. Just tap on the Mute button on your iPhone to mute the conference call.
2. Tap on the Mute button again to resume the call.
