How to Put a Call on Hold on Android — A Quick Guide

Oops! I’m receiving another call, and I’m not yet done conversing with my friend.

Can I put my friend’s call on hold first so I can entertain the second caller?

If you’re an Android user, you most definitely can do this feat — if you know how.

So, if you’re eager to learn the basics of putting a call on hold on Android devices, aside from dialing an extension, continue reading below.

 

How to Put a Call on Hold on Android

To put a call on hold on Android, you only have to tap the “Hold” button. The person on the other end will hear a message stating that he’s placed on hold and needs to wait. But, you need to activate the “Call Waiting” feature first on your Android device before you can enjoy using it.

 

Putting Calls on Hold on Android — The 2 Basic Steps

As mentioned earlier, putting a call on hold on Android is as easy as counting to 3. 

Granting that you’ve already activated this feature on your Android device, here’s how you put a call on hold.

Step 1: Once you receive a notification of an incoming call, politely tell the first person you’re talking to that you’re putting him on hold.

After which, press the “Hold Call” or “Hold” button to place the first person’s call on hold.

Step 2: Once you’re done entertaining the second call, un-hold the first call and consequently carry on with the conversation where you left it.

To do this step, just press the “Hold Call” or “Hold” button again to effectively lift the hold status of the said call.

On other Android devices, you’ll notice the “Hold” button changing its status to “Resume Call” instead of flashing the “Hold” status.

Regardless of what appears, just press the same button to un-hold a particular call.

Very simple, right? Imagine, with those 2 steps, you effectively answered two calls at once. Or, you can finally attend to other things for a bit without being distracted by the current call you’re taking.

But, what if you haven’t activated the call waiting feature yet? Can I still put calls on hold?

Let’s see what the answer is in the next section.

 

Activating the Call Waiting Feature — The How-Tos

If you haven’t activated the “Call Waiting” feature on your Android device, sad to say, you cannot put calls on hold.

So, if you want to take advantage of putting calls on hold, learn how to activate the “Call Waiting” feature in the next steps below.

Step 1: On your Android device’s home screen, locate the “Phone” app and tap it.

Step 2: Once you’re inside the “Phone” app, press the kebab (3-vertical-dot icon) menu on the upper right corner of the screen.

Step 3: On the pop-out menu that appears after tapping the kebab menu, select the “Settings” option by pressing it once.

Step 4: Usually, you’ll be redirected directly to the “Call Settings” page.

But, as Android devices are configured slightly different from each other, you probably need to tap “Calling Accounts” first before you can reach “Call Settings.”

Step 5: Once you’re on the “Call Settings” page, swipe up again until you locate the “Call Waiting” button. Tap it.

On other Android devices, you need to press “Supplementary Services” first before you can search for the “Call Waiting” option.

Step 6: On the “Call Waiting” page, check to see that the toggle button assumes the blue color, which means it’s activated.

But, then again, if it’s in gray, tap on the toggle once for it to turn blue.

With those 6 easy steps, you’ve activated “Call waiting.”

Now you can enjoy putting calls on hold whenever you need such a feature.

 

Frequently Asked Questions about How to Put a Call on Hold on Android

 

How does “Call Waiting” differ from “Call Holding?”

Call waiting means you’re able to receive notifications of incoming calls. Call holding, on the other hand, allows you to put the active call at a pause, or on hold, to either make another call or entertain an incoming call.

 

Is it imperative or a must for me to activate “Call Waiting” first before I can enjoy the “Call Holding” feature of my Android device?

Since you cannot put a call on hold if you haven’t activated “Call Waiting,” then you must follow the 6 steps mentioned above to activate it. After activating the “Call Waiting” feature, that’s the time you can put calls on hold.

 

Will the first person I’m talking to on the phone know that you’re putting his call on hold?

The other person behind the first call will know that you’re placing the call on hold. Once you press the “Hold” or “Hold Call” button, the other person will hear a message stating that his call has been placed on hold and that he’ll need to wait.