When you get an incoming call to your iPhone , the choice that light up your filmdom are n’t always the same . Sometimes you have the option to decline a call , and sometimes you only see a slider that allows you to serve , without an alternative to send the caller square to voicemail . Why the difference ?

A while back , Business Insidertracked down the resolution to this conundrum of modernistic communication , and the answer turns out to be fairly mere .

If you get a call while your earphone is engage , you ’ll see the “ slide to serve ” clitoris . In Holy Order to turn down the call , you have to doubled - wiretap the tycoon release on the top of the earphone .

The reason why you don’t always get a “decline call” button on your iPhone is pretty simple.

If your earphone is unlocked , however , the screen that come out during an incoming call is dissimilar . You ’ll see the two push button , “ accept ” or “ decline . ”

Either way , you get the options to set a admonisher to call that person back or to immediately send them a text substance . ( “ Dad , discontinue calling me at work , it ’s 9 ante meridiem ! ” )

If you still want to pass up the call when your iPhone ’s concealment is locked , simplypress the side button twice .

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Now that you know why your iPhone does n’t always show the decline button — and how to get around that — master the iPhone hacks that will makeone - handed textingandmoving your cursora air .

A version of this story ran in 2017 ; it has been updated for 2023 .

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