Skip to main content

How to answer phone calls on a Mac

Did you know that instead of reaching for your iPhone when a call comes in, you can answer it on your Mac? If you’re actively working, browsing the internet, or playing a game, you can see an incoming call on your Mac’s screen and answer it with a click. This is a convenient way to have a FaceTime conversation while your iPhone is charging elsewhere or on the other side of the room.

We’ll explain the requirements, settings, and options for you to start answering those Mac phone calls.

Related Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • Mac computer

  • iPhone

  • FaceTime app

Requirements for Mac phone calls

To get started, make sure that your Mac and iPhone meet Apple’s continuity requirements. Then confirm that the following are in place:

  • You’re signed into iCloud and FaceTime on both devices with the same Apple ID.
  • You have Wi-Fi enabled on both devices.
  • Your devices are connected to the same network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

If everything is set, you can move onto adjusting a few settings to let those calls come through.

Set your iPhone to send calls to Mac

To allow calls to be answered on your Mac, you’ll need to enable a setting on your iPhone.

Step 1: Open Settings and select Phone.

Step 2: Below Calls, pick Calls on Other Devices.

Step 3: Turn on the toggle at the top to Allow Calls on Other Devices.

Step 4: Under Allow Calls On, enable the toggle for your Mac.

You can then tap the arrow on the top left to exit the Phone preferences and then close your Settings.

Set up your Mac to receive calls

To start receiving calls on MacOS, you’ll simply check a box in FaceTime’s settings.

Step 1: Open FaceTime on your Mac.

Step 2: Select FaceTime > Preferences from the menu bar.

Step 3: Choose the Settings tab at the top of the subsequent window.

Step 4: Check the box for Calls From iPhone.

You can then close the Preferences by clicking the X on the top left of the window.

how to answer phone calls mac facetime preferences from iphone

Answer phone calls on Mac

When you receive a phone call on your iPhone, you can answer it on your Mac via the FaceTime app. You should see a banner or alert display when the call comes in.

Then, take one of these actions:

  • Click Answer to take the call.
  • Click Decline to send the call to voicemail.
  • Click the arrow next to Decline to send the call to voicemail and receive a reminder about the call.

Enable and customize FaceTime notifications on Mac

To make sure you don’t miss a call, you can customize the notifications for the FaceTime app on your Mac per your preference.

Step 1: Open System Preferences using the icon in your Dock or Apple icon in the menu bar.

Step 2: Select Notifications & Focus.

Step 3: Pick Notifications at the top of the subsequent window.

Step 4: Choose FaceTime on the left.

Step 5: On the right, turn on the top toggle for Allow Notifications.

Pick Banners or Alerts depending on the option you prefer. Banners are temporary while Alerts remain on your screen until you take an action on them.

Optionally, check the boxes for the remaining items. You can show notifications on the lock screen and in the Notification Center, display a badge app icon, play sounds for notifications, show previews, and allow notification grouping.

When you finish, close the System Preferences using the X on the top left of the window.

how to answer phone calls mac facetime notifications

Answering calls from your iPhone as you work or play on your Mac is handy. To make sure you don’t receive unwanted calls, check out how to block calls on your iPhone.

Editors' Recommendations

How to download YouTube videos on PC, iOS, Android, and Mac
A smartphone displaying YouTube on its screen as it lays on top of a laptop's keyboard.

YouTube has quickly become the world's second largest search engine behind Google, with people spending hours per week on the popular platform. If you're a YouTube fan like us, you might want to know what the most viewed YouTube videos are, and how to download YouTube videos.

But first, we do need to issue this warning: Downloading videos from YouTube using unofficial methods like third-party apps is a violation of YouTube's Terms of Service. That doesn't necessarily make it illegal — that's a murkier area — but it's something that could get you banned from YouTube.

Read more
Canva’s new AI tools might replace your video editor
Canva's Magic Edit feature adding flowers to an image.

Canva -- the online design platform used to create logos, presentations, infographics, and more -- announced a new suite of AI tools that can do everything from generate new images to automatically edit videos for you.

The toolset touches nearly every part of Canva's design suite. It starts with Magic Design, which will automatically design a graphic for you based on an uploaded image and selected style. Users are free to edit the design after the fact, and they can automatically translate it with Canva's new AI-powered translate feature that supports more than 100 languages.

Read more
There’s a big sale on M1 and M2 MacBooks happening right now
The MacBook Pro open on a wooden table.

Nearly every model of MacBook is on sale at Amazon right now. Whether you're looking for a laptop with Apple's M1 or M2 chip, there are MacBook deals available right now to save you some money. They likely won't stick around for long, as Amazon is fairly stingy with Apple deals. Check out the best MacBook discounts available below.
13-inch MacBook Air (M1, 256GB) -- $800, was $999

The Apple MacBook Air M2 is already available, but the Apple MacBook Air M1 remains a worthwhile purchase as an entry-level MacBook with a 256GB SSD for storage. It still promises smooth performance from the M1 chip with an eight-core CPU and 8GB of RAM, and you'll enjoy vivid colors and sharp details on the MacBook Air's 13.3-inch Retina display. The machine packs a battery that can run up to 18 hours on a single charge, and because of the thermal efficiency created by the M1 chip, it doesn't need fans for cooling, which means it doesn't make any noise even when dealing with demanding tasks.

Read more