After you call customer care, friend’s or family member’s office number, and such, you often have to type in an extension. If it is a one-time affair, then no problem. However, if you repeatedly have to call these numbers, instead of manually typing the extension each time, you can have the Phone app do it automatically for you. Let me tell you more about it and show how to dial an extension on iPhone.
Before You Begin:
- After you enter a ‘pause’ [represented by a comma (,) in the phone number], the phone app will pause before dialing the extension. One comma (,) means a pause for 2 seconds. You can enter multiple pauses.
- After you enter a ‘wait’ [represented by a semicolon (;)], the phone app will show the extension (but won’t automatically dial). All you have to do is tap on the Dial “extension number” when on call. This is helpful when you don’t know precisely after how much waiting time the option to enter the extension comes up.
How to Dial an Extension on iPhone
- Open the Phone app and make sure you are on the Keypad screen.
- Press the original phone number you wish to dial.
- Long press on the asterisk key (*) until a comma (,) appears next to the phone number. Now, Press the extension number after the comma. If you want the pause to be longer than 2 seconds, follow this step again to add multiple commas.
To add ‘wait-to-dial’ long-press the pound sign (#) until a semicolon (;) appears. - Finally, tap on the green call button.
How to Add an Extension to Your iPhone Contact
You can also save a phone number with an extension to the iPhone contacts book.
- Open the Contacts app. Or, open the Phone app and tap on Contacts from the bottom row.
- To edit an existing contact, tap on the name and then tap on Edit from the top right. In case you wish to add a new entry, tap on the plus (+) button from the top right.
- Tap on the saved phone number. After the phone number, tap on the +*# button from the bottom left.
- Tap on pause. Doing this will enter a comma (,) next to the phone number. To add more pauses, repeat the process.
To have ‘wait-to-dial,’ tap on wait. Doing this will enter a semicolon (;) next to the phone number.
- After this, type the extension number. Finally, tap on Done.
Note: If you are unsure how many pauses to put, call the number and see after how many seconds the computerized voice asks you to enter the extension. Now, divide that second count by two and enter that many pauses after the phone number.
Signing Off
This is how you can effortlessly dial an extension on the iPhone. I hope this quick guide helped you. If you have an additional question (or something to add to this post), please feel free to put it in the comments section below.
Next, make sure to check other helpful resources that will help you enhance your iPhone experience.
- How to Change App Icons on iPhone in iOS 14
- How to Find Saved Passwords on iPhone and iPad
- Use YouTube in Picture in Picture Mode on iPhone and iPad
- Delete Duplicate Contacts on iPhone and Mac
I have been an Apple user for over seven years now. At iGeeksBlog, I love creating how-tos and troubleshooting guides that help people do more with their iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, and Apple Watch. In my free time, I like to watch stand up comedy videos, tech documentaries, news debates, and political speeches.