All the Cool iPhone Secret Codes You Should Know

If you are wondering what exactly are secret codes, well, these are USSD codes that bring about some info when you dial them from your smartphone. Android smartphones come with their own set of secret codes but every different smartphone comes with its own set of codes, derived by its manufacturer and thus, it’s a tough task keeping a track of them. On the other hand, there are a handful of cool iPhone secret codes which I think everyone should know about. Curious about them? Don’t be! Here are 10 cool secret iPhone codes that you must know in 2020.

10 Cool iPhone Secret Codes You Shouldn’t Miss Out

Before taking a peek at all the codes for iOS devices, keep in mind that most of them are carrier-specific. And most importantly, they don’t work everywhere in the world due to either restriction or unwillingness of carriers to embrace those codes. So, don’t be surprised if some of those interesting codes fail to work for you. With this little disclaimer out of the way, let’s get started, shall we?

1. Field Test Mode

Code: *3001#12345#*

This secret code on the phone triggers the Field Test Mode, which brings you a lot of technical details around your network. That’s not all though, as you can also use this code on your iPhone to get a more granular look at your network’s signal strength. The bars are a good way to view signal strength but if you want to know the exact strength, you can use this code to view signal strength in decibels. So, here’s how to do it:

In iOS 10 or Earlier

When you enter the code in your iPhone’s dialer and hit the call button, you will be taken to the Field Test page, where you will find various network details. Then, just press hold on the Power/Lock button unless you get the “Slide to turn off” option. Once you are on the power off-screen, just press and hold the home button and you will see the bars replaced with the network strength in decibels.

Once done, wait for 20-30 seconds for the network to settle down. Then, you can take a note of your signal strength, If the number is above -80 (-70,-60..), the signal strength is close to full and if it’s below -110 (-120,130..), the network has a pretty weak signal. It’s important to note that the signal strength will vary depending on if you are connected to a 3G or 4G network.

To disable the decibels and get back the usual network bars on your iPhone, you can open Field Test page again with the secret code and tap on the top-left edge, which says “Phone” or you can simply press the home button once.

In iOS 11, 12, and 13

With the introduction of iOS 11, Apple slightly tweaked the functionality of “Field Test Mode.” For a change, it no longer shows the numerical dBM (decibel milliwatts) cell signal indicator in the status bar of the iPhone. But fret not, there is still a way to check out the actual cellular signal as numbers on iPhone with the Field Test Mode in iOS 13, iOS 12, and iOS 11. To get started, make sure your iPhone has an active cellular connection so that it can access and use Field Test Mode to measure the signal strength. Simply open the Phone app enter the following number and dial it.

*3001#12345#*

Now, the hidden Field Test Mode will open on your iPhone. Tap on LTE and then select “Serving Cell Meas.” After that, find the rsrp0 and the corresponding number which will be the numerical measurement of the iPhone cellular signal strength in dBm. For those unfamiliar, RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) is considered to be the variation of RSSI measurement. As for the RSRQ, it stands for Reference Signal Received Quality. While rsrp0 is the preliminary cell tower, the rsrp1 is your next closest cell tower.

2. Hide Caller ID

Code: *31#mobile number

If you have a carrier unlocked iPhone or a carrier that supports hiding your caller ID, you can use this secret code to present your caller ID as “Unknown” or “No Caller ID”. All you need to do is use the code that works in your country and add the mobile number you want to call anonymously and press the dial button.

Here is a list of the codes that work in different countries:

We tried the code to mask our caller ID but it failed to work for us, so we will suggest you keep your expectations low.

3. Check SMS Center

Code: *#5005*7672#

Every text message that you send from your phone first goes to a server or SM S center number, which then sends it to the number you send it to. If you have been facing a few issues regarding SMS, it’s best to check the SMS center number and you can use this secret code to do exactly that. You can just enter the code in the iPhone’s dialer and press “call”.

4. Call Waiting

Code: *#43# (Check Status) 
*43# (Enable Call Waiting)
#43# (Disable Call Waiting)

As you might have guessed, this iPhone secret code simply lets you check the status of Call Waiting and enable or disable it with ease. This should come in handy if you just can’t seem to find the Call Waiting options on your iPhone.

5. Call Barring

Code: *#33# (Check status) 
*33*pin# (Enable Call Barring)
#33*pin# (Call Barring)

Call Barring lets you block all incoming or outgoing calls on your phone and if you want to check its status or enable/disable it on your iPhone, you can use this code. The “pin” here is the SIM Pin, which is the lock on your SIM card. You can enable it in iPhone Settings->Phone->SIM PIN.

6. Call Forwarding

Code: *#21# (Check Status)
*21# (Enable or Disable Call Forwarding)
*21mobilenumber# (Divert Calls to this Number)

Don’t want to be disturbed by a phone call while you watch your favorite sports team fight it out? Well, for people unaware, Call Forwarding is a feature that lets you divert incoming calls to your other number or even a voicemail and you can use these secret codes to check its status on your phone or to enable it and divert calls to another number.

7. Calling Line Presentation

Code: *#30#

If the recipient of your calls isn’t able to view your mobile number, there might be a problem with your number’s Calling Line Presentation. In that case, you can use this code to check if Call Line Presentation is enabled or disabled.

8. IMEI

Code: *#06#

Chances are, you already knew about this code, didn’t you? For people unaware, all phones come with their unique identification number and you can use this USSD code to check it on almost any phone. For more details on IMEI and its use, you can check out our detailed article on the same.

9. Show Your Number on Caller ID

Code: *82 (followed by the number you are calling)

This code is primed for the folks who make all of their outgoing calls anonymously. Well, if you are one of them, then you can use this code to show your number on the caller ID. Notably, it can also come in handy in a situation where you want someone to know it’s you that’s calling. While *82 works for most carriers, T-Mobile has a separate code (*31#) for this purpose.

10. Get Local Traffic Information

Code: 511

In an era where you have a ton of top-notch navigation apps such as Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze, and more always ready to keep you in the loop about the traffic information, this code might seem useless to many. But I would still tell you to save it for the times where you don’t have an internet connection and badly want to get the accurate traffic information to reach your destination without getting stuck in jampacked traffic.

Bonus: View Your Cellular Data Usage

AT&T: *3282#
T-Mobile: #932# 
Verizon: #3282

If you often find your cellular data running out of gas, then this code might just turn out to be your savior. Using this code, you can quickly find out the data usage and burn your plan accordingly so that it doesn’t end before the deadline. Again, the code is carrier-specific, so you should contact your carrier provider to enquire about it.

Like the Cool iPhone Secret Codes?

So, these were some of the cool secret iPhone codes that you can use. You will find a number of other codes for the iPhone across the web but we can assure you that they don’t really work as they claim to. We tried out the aforementioned codes and they work. So, try them out on your iPhone and let us know if you find them helpful. As we are talking about interesting hacks, I would also recommend you to check out the 50 cool Siri commands and awesome Google tricks since they are equally intriguing. Have any feedback? Sound off in the comments section below.