How to call 2 digit phone number in IOS 6 7 8 using tel links

Question

I wonder why 2 digit phone number won't open phone app after tapping "call"

<a href="tel:555">555</a> // shows alert, tap on call opens phone app

<a href="tel:55">55</a>  // shows alert, tap on call won't open app

Answer 1

If this isn't possible using the tel scheme, then Apple's implementation doesn't conform to RFC2806 (which they reference in their documentation for Phone Links ), which states:

It should also be noted that implementations MUST NOT assume that telephone numbers have a maximum, minimum or fixed length, or that they would always begin with a certain number. Implementors are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the international standards.

I'd file a bug.

Answer 2

I don't think 2 digit phone numbers are functional numbers. Apple does not allow you to call numbers shorter than 3 digits.

Answer 3

According to spec, a valid telephone number should consist of the first digit of the area code being between 2 and 9, followed by at least 2 digits. Therefore, the smallest valid telephone number is at least 3 digits long.

If your attempting to do something like dial a number, and then dial an extension you can define a pause with p like this:

tel:234p55

w can also be used to specify a wait-for-dialtone.

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I do not know if this will work or not but you may be able to dial a 2 digit number using phone-context

<a href="tel:55;phone-context=+234">55</a>