Conference call on the iPhone: merge and manage calls

A conference call on the iPhone is not a problem if you have the option of making entries on the display while making a call. When using a headset or the AirPods or when driving it becomes difficult. In the office, in the Home Office or for the merged phone call with the family from the couch you can use the following instructions. Here you can find out how to create an iPhone conference call, add contacts to the conversation, terminate the connection and speak to a participant individually during the conference.

Starting an iPhone conference call: Here's how!

You cannot call all participants in the conference at the same time. Making the joint call via the phone function of the iPhone (i.e. not via Slack, WhatsApp or any other messenger or telephony app) only happens step by step. And these are the step-by-step instructions for the conference call on the iPhone:

1. Call one of the people you want to join the conversation
2. Now tap on the plus symbol "+" on the display, under which "Add call" is written
3. Selects a contact from the phone book or dials a number
4. Now tap on the arrow symbol under which "Conference" is written
5. Repeat the last steps until you have added every person to attend

Add the incoming call to the iPhone conference

If you want to add someone, but this person is currently unavailable and then want to join the conversation by calling back, that's no problem. If the person calls you while you are in a telephony conference on the Apple smartphone, simply tap on "Hold & Accept" to accept the call. Then tap on "Conference" to add this individual call to the group call. 

Connection to individual persons: "Quit" or "Private"

If you tap the info button (circled "i") on your Apple iPhone during a conference call, you will get an overview of the people taking part. In this overview you can remove participants from the conference by tapping on “End” under their names. If you want to use the one-on-one conversation function with the person, then tap on the button to the right that says "Private".

Who can see the names of the contacts in the telephony conference?

The person starting the conference (i.e. you when you started the first call) can see the names and numbers of all participants. If someone from the group adds another call, that person as well as the starting person (you) can see the contact details of the newly added person. That means, as the initiator of the group call, you can see all contacts - regardless of who is adding them to the conversation.

How many participants are possible in the iPhone conference call?

Im Support document, which Apple provides on the subject, clearly states that the maximum number of participating contacts in a conference call on the Apple smartphone depends on the cellular provider. So it is not up to Apple, but to Telekom, Vodafone, Telefónica (o2) or a third-party provider if your group telephony cannot be fully completed due to a limit. "Contact your wireless service provider for more information about what conference call options are available to you“, It says in the linked article on the Apple website.

Your experiences with iPhone group calls

What experiences have you had with the iPhone conference call function? Can you perhaps show where the limit for the number of participants is with your provider / tariff? Or do you generally only use a messenger with conference function or another app for conference calls on the iPhone? I am curious to see what solutions you have on iOS to call several people at the same time. So please leave a comment;)

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.