Before you begin:
Please note that several codes mentioned here may not work globally or with all carriers. They are functional only in the United States and their carriers.To use all these codes, you have to open the Phone app and be in the ‘Keypad‘ tab. Some codes require you to tap the call button, while a few may not.
1. See your iPhone IMEI number
Enter *#06#, and you will immediately see your iPhone’s IMEI number. Tip: You can also see this information from the Settings app → General → About. Or inside the SIM tray or on the iPhone box.
2. Enter Field Test mode
When you enter 3001#12345# on your iPhone keypad and hit the call button, you see the Field Test screen. It has important technical information related to SIM, serving cell, LTE Intra-frequency measurement, and other such vital data. You may tap one of the visible options to dig deep. To exit this screen, press the Home button or swipe up. Extra Info: Rsrp stands for Reference Signal Received Power. Rsrp0 is the tower closest to you, and Rsrp1 is the second tower. Next to Rsrp0 and Rsrp1, you will see a negative number most likely between -40 to -140. If the number on your screen is closer to -40 (say between -40 to -80), it means you have a strong signal. If it is near -140, that means you have a poor signal. This may give trouble while making phone calls or using cellular data.
3. Hide or show your Caller ID
Did you know that you can also use shortcodes for hiding caller ID? For this, enter *67, followed by the recipient’s number. For example, *67987654321 Please note that hiding caller ID is country and carrier-specific. You may have to use #31# for some carriers and countries, followed by the phone number. We have a detailed post that shows you multiple ways to hide your caller ID. Make sure you check it out. Pro Tip: Suppose you followed the above link and hid your called ID for all outgoing calls. Now, if you wish to show your caller ID on a call-by-call basis, prefix *82 before the recipient’s number. For some carrier, the code is *31#
4. Enable or disable call waiting
Call waiting settings are nestled under the Settings app → Phone. However, if you can not locate the call waiting option, here are quick shortcodes.
Code to check call waiting status: *#43#Code to enable call waiting: *43#Code to disable call waiting: #43#
5. Forward incoming calls to another number
Using this, you can have the incoming call diverted to a different number. This is a carrier-specific feature, and it may be chargeable or free, depending on your cellular service.
Code to check call forwarding status: *#21#Code to enable call forwarding: *21phonenumber#Code to disable call forwarding: *21#
If the above shortcodes do not work for you, check out our separate guide on forwarding calls on iPhone. We have listed the exact steps for most US carriers.
6. Call barring
Call barring prevents all outgoing calls unless you disable this feature. Since this option is not available under the iPhone settings for the phone, you may use the following codes to use the call barring feature.
Code to check the call barring status: #33#Code to enable call barring: 33PIN#Code to disable call barring: #33PIN#
Note: If you have set SIM PIN from under the iPhone Settings app → Phone or for some carriers iPhone Settings app → Mobile Data → SIM PIN, enter this PIN in the above codes. In case you have not set a SIM pin, you may enter any random number you want. Like 339#
7. Check SMS center (if texts aren’t going through)
If you ever find SMS not working on your device, you can make the most of this unique code (#50057672#) to check the SMSC (short message service center). Whenever you send any text message, it first goes to SMSC via a specific number to help resolve the SMS issue on your device.
8. Get local traffic information
Yep. You read that correctly. If you cannot use apps like Waze, Apple Maps, Google Maps, etc., you can use a shortcode to learn about the local traffic. This may come in handy when you do not have a working internet connection. For this, dial 511. Please note that this may not work in a few US states and with some carriers.
9. Learn about your cellular data usage
Nowadays, almost all carriers globally have apps that help you keep track of your data allowance. However, if you wish, you can use shortcodes to check your internet balance and more. Here are the codes for a few popular US carriers.
AT&T: *3282#Verizon: #3282T-mobile: #932#
You can Google the code for your carrier. For example, ‘code to know internet balance in Airtel.‘
10. Some other helpful codes
*#61# – Lets you check the numbers of missed calls.3370# – Enhanced Full Rate mode (EFR) may improve your iPhone voice quality while slightly hurting the battery backup.#30#: Calling Line Presentation lets you know if the incoming caller’s phone number will be displayed on your iPhone screen or not.
Which iPhone secret codes excite you the most?
I hope you learned about a few new shortcodes. Which one from the list above seems most helpful to you? Let us know in the comments below. Secondly, if you know other similar codes, share them with us as well. We would love to mention that in this post. Finally, here are some more helpful posts you will love to check out:
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