Can the Watch Series 5 be set to send calls straight to voicemail if the caller is not in your contact list?

[ekneeiphone]

Can the Watch Series 5 be set to send calls straight to voicemail if the caller is not in your contact list?

Can you set up your Apple Watch5 that has cellular service so that calls from people who are not in your contacts go directly to voice mail just like an iPhone in ios13

 

[Annie_M]

Re: Can cold calls go directly to voicemail?

I would think that would happen automatically.

 

[ekneeiphone]

Re: Can cold calls go directly to voicemail?

I would think that would happen automatically.

I don’t want to assume Anything. Does anyone have specific knowledge. This is my thinking.

potentially the watch coupled with the phone and home pod would be phenomenal for seniors who want to stay at home.
That feature on the watch could potentially protect seniors from scammers which the phone now does.
The Watch is a great idea for them so could protect them if they were to fall etc.

 

[wenrob]

Can cold calls go directly to voicemail?

I don’t have specific knowledge but your watch number is tied to your phone. You can set it to mirror your phone so it should act as your phone does. My watch is not Cellular but I can tell you that “Silence Unknown Callers” works on my watch via the phone.

 

[ekneeiphone]

Re: Can cold calls go directly to voicemail?

I don’t have specific knowledge but your watch number is tied to your phone. You can set it to mirror your phone so it should act as your phone does. My watch is not Cellular but I can tell you that “Silence Unknown Callers” works on my watch via the phone.

Thank you. It seems like this feature can be a game changer for seniors to help them avoid scams!

 

[scruffypig]

Re: Can cold calls go directly to voicemail?

Thank you. It seems like this feature can be a game changer for seniors to help them avoid scams!

How so?

 

[ekneeiphone]

Re: Can cold calls go directly to voicemail?

How so?

By using the silence unknown callers feature scammers can’t ring the phone and so seniors wouldn’t pick it up and potentially be duped.
There are standalone devices that do the same thing for landlines.

 

[MSUlover]

Re: Can cold calls go directly to voicemail?

I’m a senior and have never been duped by scammers. In fact, none of my fellow “senior” family or friends have ever been duped either. We’ve learned to just not answer the phone if we don’t know the number. If it’s important, they can leave a message. Why does everyone assume that we seniors are weak and gullible?

 

[ekneeiphone]

Re: Can cold calls go directly to voicemail?

I’m a senior and have never been duped by scammers. In fact, none of my fellow “senior” family or friends have ever been duped either. We’ve learned to just not answer the phone if we don’t know the number. If it’s important, they can leave a message. Why does everyone assume that we seniors are weak and gullible?

You are correct. Ageism is an issue and no disrespect was intended. Since you are on these boards, you are much more tech savvy than the general public of any age. Education is the key to prevent all sorts of exploitation whether online, thru the mail or by phone although the bad guys are smarter as well.
This new feature is great for everyone. You made my point by saying if you don’t recognize a number, you don’t pick up the phone but all a bad actor needs is one moment of weakness or distraction by the call recipient . Unfortunately, scammers now have a method of using phone exchanges that look familiar to the recipient so people pick up the line. So the silence unknown callers feature will make it much less likely that a bad actor or a pest trying to sell you unneeded services can reach you. Think of it as a gatekeeper.

With personal information available online including through social media, social engineering attacks are not limited to corporate america. Bad actors have an easier time than ever before to seem familiar to people at any age.
Unfortunately, elders in general have been specifically targeted by identity theft and financial fraud especially those who are in the oldest old age group and those living alone particularly since quite often family, if any, may not be local. Potential financial exploitation for elders and the fretting baby boomers is a point of emphasis among trusted professional advisors (such as elder law attorneys, financial advisors, geriatric care managers and daily money managers) and many district attorney offices have created special units specifically to deal with the issue since its rampant.
Accordingly, this feature on Apple devices is a great tool to add to the tool box in protecting elders and baby boomers from exploitation.

 

[Annie_M]

Re: Can cold calls go directly to voicemail?

I don’t have specific knowledge but your watch number is tied to your phone. You can set it to mirror your phone so it should act as your phone does. My watch is not Cellular but I can tell you that “Silence Unknown Callers” works on my watch via the phone.

Agreed! My AW3 is cellular, and I have it set up to mirror my phone. I am thrilled with the "Silence Unknown Callers" feature. It works well on my iPhone and my AW3!

 

[ekneeiphone]

Re: Can cold calls go directly to voicemail?

Agreed! My AW3 is cellular, and I have it set up to mirror my phone. I am thrilled with the "Silence Unknown Callers" feature. It works well on my iPhone and my AW3!

Thank you!