CODEWITHSUNDEEP
htmliosurl-schemephone-call
jpiasetz
jpiasetz

Reputation: 1772

How to use tel: with * (star, asterisk) or # (hash, pound) on iOS?

I'm trying to initiate a call on the iPhone with the tel url that has a * in it. It properly brings up the call dialog but drops back to safari when you click call.

<a href="tel:123*12">Test</a>

Upvotes: 26

Views: 14606

Answers (4)

sschale
sschale

Reputation: 5188

The approved answer is not correct, at least anymore. I've tested both as a web page and in app being able to dial using the special character # and *. What you do have to do if you wish to use those characters in either instance though is to encode them.

In HTML, # becomes %23 and * does not need to be escaped

If using Swift, you can encode your link and press it from an app using this function:

//number format example (commas are pauses): 123-456-7890,,555#,1234
fileprivate func callNumber(_ number: String) {
    let dialString = "telprompt://" + number
    if let escapedDialString = dialString.addingPercentEncoding(withAllowedCharacters: .urlHostAllowed) {
      if let dialURL = URL(string: escapedDialString) {
        UIApplication.shared.openURL(dialURL)
      }
    }
  }

Upvotes: 5

Husam
Husam

Reputation: 8568

iOS11 now allows us to call number with * or #

Swift Example code

let number = "*111*12345#"
let app = UIApplication.shared
if let encoded = number.addingPercentEncoding(withAllowedCharacters: .urlHostAllowed) {
    let u = "tel://\(encoded)"
    if let url = URL(string:u) {
        if app.canOpenURL(url) {
            app.open(url, options: [:], completionHandler: { (finished) in
                
            })
            return
        }
    }
}

Upvotes: 12

Marcos Molina
Marcos Molina

Reputation: 39

If you want to add * to href typed as "tel" you need to use the utf-8 encoded version - %2A

Reference : W3

For example

<a href="tel:%2A1234"> Phone me <a/>

Upvotes: 0

Mahesh
Mahesh

Reputation: 34625

This documentation from Apple should be helpful:

To prevent users from maliciously redirecting phone calls or changing the behavior of a phone or account, the Phone application supports most, but not all, of the special characters in the tel scheme. Specifically, if a URL contains the * or # characters, the Phone application does not attempt to dial the corresponding phone number.

UPDATE (Jan 2, 2018): The information mentioned here may be outdated. Please refer to new documentation if Apple has relaxed these rules in their newer SDKs. Refer to Husam's answer.

Upvotes: 33

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