Voicemail is a useful feature of iOS that lets you communicate seamlessly through voice messages. When you need to contact a person on call immediately but your call isn’t connecting, in such a situation Voicemail comes into play. You can take advantage of this pretty handy communication tool to reach out to a person with utmost ease. While this notable feature is quite reliable, there are times where Voicemail seems to be unavailable on iPhone, or for that matter, it doesn’t work properly. That’s why we’ve come up with 13 best fixes to deal with a Voicemail unavailable iPhone.
Pro Tips to Fix Voicemail Not Working on iPhone Issue
If you are wondering what prevents Voicemail from working properly on iOS, let me tell you that sluggish cellular connection is the biggest culprit. However, hidden software bugs and incorrect time zone are no less responsible. Oh yes, availability is also a major reason why Voicemail unavailable iPhone issue crops ups. Having considered all these reasons, we’ve jotted down the tips that are quite effective in resolving Voicemail not working on iPhone problem. So, without making any more ado, let’s get started with the guide!
1. Make Sure Your Carrier Supports Voicemail
Since not all carrier supports voicemail, voicemail transcription, and visual voicemail, make sure to check the availability upfront. You can contact your carrier provider to find out whether or not the feature is available for your network. Besides, keep in mind that Apple Voicemail doesn’t exist in every country and region.
2. Check Voicemail Setup on your iPhone
The first step is to verify whether Voicemail has been set up or not. If not, make sure to set up the voicemail feature on your iPhone. When you launch Voicemail for the first time, you are asked to set a password and your voicemail greeting.
1. Open the Phone App on your iPhone and tap Voicemail at the bottom right corner.
2. Now, tap Set Up and then create a voicemail password.
3. Next, select either Default or Custom greeting. Bear in mind, you need to record a new greeting if you select Custom.
3. Turn Off/On Airplane Mode
Poor connectivity might be hindering Voicemail from working properly on your iPhone. Turning off and on airplane mode refreshes the cellular network and can bring up stable connectivity. So, try out this little nifty trick to fix iPhone voicemail not working issue.
1. If you are using the iPhone with the home button, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access the Control Center. On iPhone without the home button, swipe down from the top right corner of the screen to bring up the Control Center.
2. Now, tap the airplane icon to turn on airplane mode. After that, wait for a few seconds or a minute and then turn it on.
4. Turn Off/On Cellular Data
If Voicemail is still ill-functioning, turn off/on cellular data and also hard reset your device. Many a time, you can get rid of common iOS issues by just force restarting the device.
1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and head to the Mobile Data/ Cellular.
2. Now, turn off the toggle right next to Mobile/Cellular Data.
Now, force restart your iPhone. Do note that the process is not the same for all iPhone models. Therefore, make sure to check the steps below.
a. To Force Restart iPhone 8 or later models
1. First off, press and quickly release the volume up button.
2. Then, press and quickly release the volume down button.
3. Next, keep pressing and holding the side button. Once the Apple logo appears, release the button.
b. To Force Restart iPhone 7/7 plus
1. Keep pressing and holding both the volume down and Sleep/Wake buttons at the same time.
2. Release both the buttons once the Apple logo appears.
c. Force Restart iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, or earlier model
1. Keep pressing and holding both the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons at the same time.
2. Release both the buttons once the Apple logo appears.
Once your iOS device has rebooted, head into the Settings app – > Mobile Data/Cellular and then turn on the Cellular data. Now, try to send a voicemail to check if the voicemail error on iPhone has been sorted out.
5. Ensure That Call Forwarding is Disabled
The Call Forwarding feature tends to interfere with voicemail. So, make sure to turn off call forwarding if it is enabled on your iOS device.
1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Scroll down and tap Phone.
2. In the ‘Call‘ section, tap on Call Forwarding and turn off the toggle right next to Call Forwarding.
6. Reset Time Zone/Set Date & Time Automatically
Incorrect date and time is also one of the major reasons why Voicemail doesn’t work on iPhone. Therefore, make sure it’s set correctly on your device.
1. Go to the Settings app on your device and tap on General.
2. Head over to Date & Time. Then, turn on the toggle right next to Set Automatically.
It’s worth pointing out that turning on the location services can help you set Time Zone correctly.
To turn on Location Services on your iPhone:
1. Open the Settings app and tap Privacy.
2. Tap on Location Services and turn on the toggle next to Location Services.
7. Update Carrier Settings
Is Voicemail still not functioning properly on your iOS device? Fret not, updating carrier settings can help you fix the Voicemail not working issue. Carrier providers often release new updates with several bug fixes and performance improvements. Thus, it makes sense to update the carrier settings.
1. On your iPhone, launch the Settings app and tap General.
2. Now, tap on About. If your carrier provider has released any update, you will get a prompt to update the carrier. Just tap Update in the carrier settings update popup to complete.
8. Force Quit Phone App
When an app starts misbehaving, force killing comes into play. Considering how effective this iPhone hack has been in fixing an ill-functioning app, we would recommend you to give it a go as well.
To Force Quit an App on iPhone with Face ID
- Swipe up from the bottom of the home bar and hold along the middle of the screen. Then, swipe up the app that you want to force quit.
To Force Quit an App on iPhone with Home button
- Simple, double-press the home button and swipe up the app you want to force quit.
9. Reset Voicemail Password
Quite a few users who had faced the same issue reported that resetting voicemail password worked for them. Therefore, it wouldn’t be wise to not give this tip a chance.
- Head over to the Settings app on your iOS device and tap on Phone. Next, you need to tap on Change Voicemail Password and then reset it.
Note: If you have forgotten the Voicemail password, you need to contact your carrier service provider to reset the password.
10. Reset Network Settings on your iPhone
If the issue is yet to be solved, you must try this radical troubleshooter that is well-known for fixing network-related issues. Bear in mind that it will wipe out your Wi-Fi passwords and VPN settings. Hence, be prepared set them up all over again.
1. Open the Settings app on your iOS device and go to General. Then, scroll down to the bottom and tap on Transfer or Reset iPhone.
2. Next, tap on Reset at the bottom of the screen. And finally, hit the Reset Network Settings option.
3. Up next, you need to enter your password and then Confirm resetting the Network Settings.
To reset network settings on iOS 14 or Earlier, head over to the Settings app on your iPhone > General Reset and then hit the Reset Network Settings option.
11. Contact Your Carrier
If none of the tips mentioned above has fixed the Voicemail not working problem on your iPhone, you should contact your carrier. If your carrier networking is going through an outage, it could be the major reason. Thus, contact your carrier to find out if there are any issues with the network.
12. Update Software on your iPhone
Knowing how buggy the recent versions of iOS including iOS 15 have been, you should never take your eyes away from a hidden software bug. The good thing is Apple is up to the mark when it comes to spotting issues and releasing timely updates. Hence, it’s keeping the software updated in order to ward off bugs and also boost the overall performance of the device.
1. Launch the Settings app – > General – > tap on the Software Update and hit the Download and Install option and you are pretty much done!
13. Factory Reset your iPhone
When you are left with no option, factory reset is the last step you take to get rid of any issues on your device. In most cases, it is able to troubleshoot even complex iOS issues. For those unfamiliar, factory reset cleans up the entire existing settings of the device, putting it back to the factory default. However, this radical solution doesn’t harm your media and data.
1. Launch the Settings app – > General – > Transfer or Reset iPhone. Now, tap the Reset and select the “Reset All Settings” option in the menu.
2. Up next, enter your passcode and tap on Reset All Settings to confirm.
To factory reset on iOS 14 or earlier, go to Settings app – > General – > Reset – > Reset All Settings.
Fixed Voicemail Not Working Issue on iOS!
That’s it! Check out if you have finally overcome the voicemail not working on iPhone problem. Since these hacks are quite effective in resolving this issue, we don’t see any reasons why they won’t work for you. Let us know your valuable feedback about this guide and also make sure to shoot any questions related to the issue.
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