How to allow calls only from a specific SIM during Focus on iPhone

iOS 26 adds a helpful new feature that lets dual SIM users independently limit a SIM for calls when a specific Focus mode is active. This ensures you don’t get work calls during family time or personal calls during office hours.

Let’s say you have two SIM cards on your iPhone:

• One is a personal number for family and friends
• And the other is your office number for colleagues

To maintain a healthy work-life balance, you may not want to entertain calls on your work number when you return home from the office.

To stop calls on your work number, the age-old option is to go to iPhone Settings > Cellular, select your work SIM, and toggle off “Turn On This Line.” However, this completely disables that SIM until you turn it back on (and there is a good chance you’ll forget to turn it back on the next morning, thus missing important calls).

The new SIM-based Focus filter feature in iOS 26 takes a better approach by allowing calls only on the selected SIM when a specific Focus (such as Personal or Family) is active. After this, all calls on the other unselected SIM line (like your work number) are blocked, but you can still use this SIM for SMS, cellular data, and outgoing calls.

Secondly, you don’t have to worry about turning this SIM line back on, as simply disabling the Focus will restore calls to this number. And if you have set a schedule to activate and deactivate a Focus automatically, that’s even one less thing to manage manually.

1) Open the Settings app on your iPhone running iOS 26.

2) Tap Focus and select a Focus mode.

3) Scroll down to Focus Filters and tap Add Filter.

4) Tap Phone Filter Calls by SIM.

5) Select the SIM line you want to keep fully active during this Focus mode, and tap Add. For instance, if you don’t want to get work calls during family Focus, select your personal SIM line and leave the work SIM line unchecked.

From now on, when this Focus is active, people won’t be able to call you on the unchecked SIM number. The person who calls you on your work number will hear the usual carrier-based computerized response, informing them that you are busy. You can, however, use this SIM to make incoming calls, send texts, and use cellular data.

In case you still get calls on your other number after setting up the SIM line filter, return to the Focus mode settings and do the following:

• Turn off Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing
• Make sure that the person isn’t added as an exception under the People tab
• Ensure the person isn’t allowed to bypass silent and Focus modes

Finally, if you change your mind and no longer plan to use this feature, return to Focus mode settings, tap Filter Calls by SIM under the Focus Filters heading, and either turn off “Filter Calls by SIM” or delete the filter altogether.

Will you be using this new Focus filter?

Also, check out: 18 settings to change and new features to try in iOS 26

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/10/31/filter-calls-by-sim-focus-iphone/