Android settings
How to Change Default Dialer on Android, and How to Switch Back
How to change default dialer on Android takes about a minute in Settings. The Auto Dialer explains what the setting controls, the steps, and the way back if you change your mind.
Basics of how to change default dialer on Android
Android lets exactly one app at a time hold the default phone role, and that app runs every ordinary call on the handset: it places outgoing calls, draws the in-call screen and rings for incoming ones. The role can move between apps whenever you like. Google's Pixel help, read on 4 October 2026, gives the path as Settings, Apps, Default apps, then the default you want to change. Changing it does not move or wipe anything, because the call history and contacts belong to the system, not to the dialer. The Auto Dialer asks for this role during its guided setup because its calling sessions rely on it: holding the role is what lets it call a list of numbers in turn and show the lead record while the phone rings. If you would rather keep your current dialer, the app's CRM team mode runs alongside it instead.
Steps for how to change default dialer on Android
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Open the Settings app
Start from the phone’s own Settings app, not from inside any dialer. The default phone app is a system choice, and only Android can hand it from one app to another.
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Go to Apps, then Default apps
On a Pixel and on phones close to stock Android, the path is Apps, then Default apps. Other brands rename or move the menu; if you cannot see it, type “default” into the search bar at the top of Settings.
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Tap the Phone app entry
This entry, sometimes labelled Phone or Calling app, decides which app places calls, shows the in-call screen and answers incoming calls. Only apps built to handle calls appear in its list.
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Choose the new dialer and confirm
Pick the app you want. Android may show a short confirmation explaining what the app will be able to do; accept it. The change takes effect straight away, with no restart.
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Make a test call
Call a colleague or your own second number. Check that the call screen you expect appears, that the right SIM is used, and that an incoming call rings through the new app.
Settings table: how to change default dialer on Android
| Step | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Open the Settings app | Home screen or app drawer | Seconds |
| 2. Go to Apps, then Default apps | Settings | 30 seconds |
| 3. Tap the Phone app entry | Default apps | Seconds |
| 4. Choose the new dialer and confirm | Phone app list | Seconds |
| 5. Make a test call | Any contact | 1 minute |
Brand menus: how to change default dialer on Android
The idea is the same on every Android phone; only the menu wording moves. Brand guides walk through each skin: setting a dialer on Samsung One UI, vivo and iQOO phones, OPPO's ColorOS and replacing the Phone app on a Pixel. On OnePlus handsets running OxygenOS and realme UI phones the default apps menu may carry its own label, while Motorola's near-stock Android keeps the layout close to the steps above. The overview of every brand is on choosing a dialer app for Android.
Switching back after how to change default dialer on Android
- Through Settings. Open the same Phone app entry and pick the original app. Best when you are giving up the new dialer for good.
- Through CRM team mode. Hand the role back to the built-in dialer but keep logging calls with the after-call sheet. Best for people who like their stock dialer and only want the CRM.
- Through uninstalling. Removing a dialer app returns the role to another phone app. Best only if you are sure you will not need its records on this phone; synced data stays in the account.
Example of how to change default dialer on Android
Imagined team and rounded figures, included only to show the choices in practice.
A field sales manager in Lagos onboards 5 new reps on a Monday morning. Three accept the default phone app prompt during auto dialer setup and are calling within minutes. One has a phone whose Settings call the menu something else, so he searches Settings for "default" and finds it. The fifth prefers her stock dialer, so she switches back and uses CRM team mode; her calls are still logged through the after-call sheet. By ten o'clock all five are working, each set up the way that suits them.
Limits of how to change default dialer on Android
A phone managed by an employer's device policy may block changes to default apps; ask whoever manages it. iPhones handle phone apps differently and are covered in the iPhone auto dialer comparison and in the iPhone calling walkthrough, the counterpart of how to auto dial on Android. If the new dialer is set but calls still will not start, see the fixes in auto dialer not working.
FAQ on how to change default dialer on Android
11 questions, answered
How do I change my default dialer?
On Android, the switch lives under Settings, Apps, Default apps: tap Phone app and pick the dialer you want. If your phone uses different menu names, search Settings for “default”. Apps can also ask for the role themselves, and Android then shows a confirmation.
How to set default dialer in Android?
Either accept the prompt when a dialer app asks to become the default phone app, or set it by hand under the default apps menu in Settings. Both routes do the same thing, and the second one also lets you undo it later.
Will I lose my call history if I change the default dialer?
No. Android keeps the call history and contacts in the system, not inside one dialer, so the new phone app reads the same records. Switching back later shows the same history again.
Which app should I set as the default dialer on Android for sales calls?
The Auto Dialer is built for that role: once it is the default dialer on Android, every ringing call displays where that person sits in your pipeline and your latest note about them, and a sheet for logging the result follows each call.
Is The Auto Dialer a default dialer app or an add-on?
It can be either. The Auto Dialer can replace the default dialer on Android, with calls, contacts and history working as before, or sit beside the stock dialer in CRM team mode, where its logging sheet still pops up once every call is over.
How do I switch back to my original phone app?
Return to the same Phone app entry under Default apps and select the phone app your handset came with. Nothing is deleted, and you can switch again at any time.
Why can’t I change the default phone app?
Three causes are common. The app you want may not be built to handle calls, so it never appears in the list. A work phone under an employer’s device policy can block the change. Or the menu carries another name on your brand; search Settings for “default” to reach it.
How to reset the default phone app on Android?
Pick the original app again under Default apps, Phone app. On a Pixel and phones close to stock Android, Google also documents a wider reset per app: open the app’s page under Apps, then Open by default, then Clear default preferences, after which the phone asks which app to use.
What are the default apps on Android?
They are the apps Android hands everyday jobs to without asking: the home screen, the browser, messaging, the phone app and others. Each slot holds one app at a time. For calling, the phone app slot is what counts, since it places, shows and rings every ordinary call.
Why do my default apps keep changing?
Usually because a newly installed app asked for the role and someone tapped accept, or because a system update reset a choice. Look at the Phone app entry under Default apps after installing any calling app or updating the phone, and put your dialer back if it moved.
Does changing the default dialer affect WhatsApp calls?
No. WhatsApp calls run inside WhatsApp, not through the phone app, so this setting leaves them as they are. When The Auto Dialer holds the role, it also logs internet calls such as WhatsApp calls in its call history, next to the ones made on the SIM.
Stuck on the default app screen?
Message us the phone model and we will walk you through the setting on a quick call.