"Screen Unknown Callers" Direct Link Found

[ThioJoe]

This isn't actually an issue, rather a tip that others might find helpful.

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I was frustrated that prefs:root=Phone#SILENCE_CALLS wasn't working so I did some digging and found that this is the one that actually seems to work in 26.2 to get the the "Screen Unknown Callers" settings section:

prefs:root=Phone#INTELLIGENT_CALL_SCREENING_MENU_TITLE

Basically I found it in

\System\Library\PreferenceBundles\IntelligentCallScreeningSettingsBundle.bundle\IntelligentCallScreeningSettingsBundle.loctable

I tried the other keys in there but it seems to only work for the section header one above:

	<key>en</key>
	<dict>
		<key>INTELLIGENT_CALL_SCREENING_MENU_TITLE</key>
		<string>Screen Unknown Callers</string>
		<key>INTELLIGENT_CALL_SCREENING_OPTION_ASK_EXPLANATION</key>
		<string>Calls from unsaved numbers will be asked for more information before iPhone rings. Calling and data rates may apply.</string>
		<key>INTELLIGENT_CALL_SCREENING_OPTION_ASK_TITLE</key>
		<string>Ask Reason for Calling</string>
		<key>INTELLIGENT_CALL_SCREENING_OPTION_NEVER_EXPLANATION</key>
		<string>Calls from unsaved numbers will ring, and missed calls will be displayed on the Recents list.</string>
		<key>INTELLIGENT_CALL_SCREENING_OPTION_NEVER_TITLE</key>
		<string>Never</string>
		<key>INTELLIGENT_CALL_SCREENING_OPTION_SILENCE_EXPLANATION</key>
		<string>Calls from unsaved numbers will be silenced, sent to voicemail, and displayed on the Recents list. Calling and data rates may apply.</string>
		<key>INTELLIGENT_CALL_SCREENING_OPTION_SILENCE_TITLE</key>
		<string>Silence</string>
	</dict>

So that might be good to know for anyone looking for a more universal method for getting to a certain settings menu section. Try the various strings in the loctable (localization table) files, specifically the ones for the section titles.

[colin273]

Interesting, I didn't realize this was a thing!

At least as of iOS 26.2, Apple's own settings search manifest files still list "Silence Unknown Callers" as prefs:root=Phone#SILENCE_CALLS, so the search result for that just takes you to the Phone app page and not to the right position on the page. I was leaning more and more heavily on those manifests to provide the URLs (see the versions directory and generate.py in this repo for the output from that), but it's increasingly looking like those are neither comprehensive nor accurate anymore.