Self Call
Tutorials › Prepared call

Prepared call

A call you set up in advance and trigger later with three quick presses of the power button. No unlocking, no app, no tapping around while someone is watching. The phone can be back in your pocket before it rings.

FreeAndroid 7.0+

How it works

A prepared call has three parts:

  • The call itself: caller, audio message, ring mode, ring duration, and a delay. The delay is how long after the gesture the phone should ring.
  • The Quick Settings tile named Prepared call. Tapping it arms or disarms the gesture.
  • The gesture: press the power button three times quickly. A short vibration confirms the trigger.

While armed, Self Call keeps a small listener running (you'll see a persistent notification saying Prepared call gesture active). It stays armed until you disarm it, so you can use the same prepared call again and again.

Step by step

  1. Prepare the call

    Open the More tab → Settings, scroll to Prepared call and tap Set up prepared call.

    • Pick the caller: a stored profile, a favorite, or someone from your device contacts.
    • Under Call options, attach or record an audio message and choose the ring mode and ring duration if you want something other than the defaults.
    • Tap a delay chip: Now, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute… This is the time between the gesture and the ring. Thirty seconds to a minute works well: long enough to put the phone away, short enough that you are not left waiting.

    The app confirms with "Prepared call saved" and shows the summary on the Settings screen. You can re-enter the setup to change it, or tap Clear to remove it.

  2. Add the tile to Quick Settings

    On the same Settings screen tap Add tile to Quick Settings. On Android 13 and newer the system asks you to confirm and places the tile for you.

    On older Android versions, add it by hand: open Quick Settings (swipe down from the top twice, or once with two fingers), tap the edit (pencil) button, find the Prepared call tile and drag it into the active tiles. Drag it near the top so it is visible on the first swipe.

  3. Arm the gesture

    Open Quick Settings and tap the Prepared call tile. It switches to Armed and a notification appears: Prepared call gesture active. Press the power button 3 times quickly to trigger your prepared call.

    You can arm it hours in advance, before the meeting or the date starts. Nothing happens until you perform the gesture.

  4. Trigger it

    When you need the call, press the power button three times quickly, roughly within a second and a half between presses. The phone gives a short vibration to confirm. Put it away. The call rings after the delay you chose, using your ringtone and your phone's real call screen.

    The screen does not need to be unlocked, and the app does not need to be open. Three presses is the pattern because a single press is just the screen turning off in your pocket.

  5. Disarm when you are done

    Tap the tile again, or tap Disarm on the notification. The prepared call itself stays saved for next time. To remove it, open Settings → Prepared call → Clear.

Tips

  • Test it once at home. Arm, press three times, put the phone face down, and see how the delay feels. Adjust the delay to your pace.
  • Combine it with an audio message. A voice in your ear when you answer makes the "sorry, I have to take this" much more convincing. Audio messages.
  • After a trigger there is a 10-second pause during which more presses are ignored, so the ringing call's own screen changes cannot trigger a second call.
  • If a double press of the power button opens your camera, keep pressing anyway. The gesture tolerates a press being swallowed by a camera shortcut.
  • Armed and the phone restarted? Arming does not survive a reboot. Tap the tile again after restarting.

Nothing happens when I press the power button

  • Check the tile shows Armed and the notification is present. If the notification is missing, your phone's battery manager has stopped the listener. See battery settings for your brand.
  • Make sure the calling account is switched on (setup). Without it the triggered call cannot be shown.
  • Press faster. All three presses must land within about a second and a half of each other.

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