You Can Stop Your iPhone's Side Button From Ending Calls - Here's How

One thing you might not know about your iPhone's power button is that pressing it automatically ends an active call. This is the default behavior in iOS. But users have long complained about the functionality, and Apple introduced a toggle to disable it within the Accessibility settings in iOS 16. Keep in mind that having the side button hang up ongoing calls isn't necessarily a bad idea. It's an easy way to end a phone call without looking at your iPhone's screen. 

The convenience is hard to argue with. But for many, this convenience comes at a cost, and they may end up accidentally hanging up on an important conversation without meaning to. If this has happened to you, the good news is that Apple has made it straightforward to stop the side button from ending calls on iPhones. And the entire process takes less than a minute.

To stop the side button from ending calls on your iPhone, open "Settings," go into "Accessibility," navigate to the "Touch" section, and enable the "Prevent Lock to End Call" toggle. Remember, the option is only available on iPhones running iOS 16 or later. After making the changes, pressing the side or power button during active calls no longer ends them. Instead, you'll have a chance to see all the cool things your iPhone's lock screen can do, while the call continues. 

There's one downside, though. After you disable the power button from hanging up calls, pressing it twice during an incoming call won't decline one either. However, pressing this button once will still silence incoming calls, as it is the default functionality. This choice on stopping the side button from ending calls is one of the lesser-known tricks that'll change how you use your iPhone. If you're unsure which way to go, consider enabling the "Prevent Lock to End Call" option for a week and see how it goes. You can always switch it back.