Voicemail may not be as popular today as it once was, but it’s still a useful feature; it lets you receive voice messages when you’re unable to answer the phone. Come to rely on voicemail to catch your messages, and it’ll be frustrating when it suddenly stops working.
Voicemail can stop working for a number of reasons, luckily there are several solutions available to you. So if your iPhone voicemail not working, here’s how to fix it.
1. Verify that Voicemail is set up on your iPhone
Before we proceed with the means to fix your voicemail not working on your iPhone, it’s of utmost importance to know if voicemail is set up in the first place.
Some updates may change or reset your configuration and cause new issues.
Therefore, before you proceed, open Phone and tap on the Voicemail tab to ensure that voicemail is set up.
You can also go to Settings → Phone → and make sure you see Change Voicemail Password.
2. Try calling your voicemail directly
Open Phone → Make sure you are on Keypad → Press and hold the number 1 for a few seconds. It will call your voicemail; You can check your voicemails here.
3. Force close and reopen the Phone app
To force close Phone, on iPhone X and later swipe up until you see the apps in task view, then swipe up again on Phone. On iPhone 8 and earlier double press the home button, then swipe up on Phone. You will see all the open app cards.
After that, relaunch the app. This may fix the issue of voicemail not working on your device.
4. Toggle Cellular Service on and off
You can turn off and then turn on Cellular Service from Settings or Control Center.
Launch Settings → Cellular → Toggle off Cellular Data → After 30 seconds, toggle it back on.
5. Switch on and switch off Airplane Mode
You can do this from either Settings or the Control Center.
- On iPhone X or later, swipe down from the top right of the screen (where the battery indicator is). On iPhone 8 or earlier, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the plane icon to turn Airplane Mode ON and disable all connections.
- After 30 seconds, tap the same plane icon to toggle Airplane Mode off.
This will most likely fix the issue of your voicemail not working.
6. Restart your iPhone
“Just turn it off and back on again.” You may have heard this as a joke, but it’s actually advantageous to regularly reboot your devices.
Since you’re having issues with voicemail, we recommend restarting your iPhone—It might fix your voicemail problem.
7. Check for and install a Carrier Settings update
Open Settings → General → About → If there is an update, you will see a pop-up. → Tap Update.
8. Disable Wi-Fi on your iPhone
Some people found success in fixing their voicemail woes when they temporarily disabled
Wi-Fi on their iPhone. Give it a go yourself.
To turn off Wi-Fi, go to the Control Center and tap the Wi-Fi icon. Now try using voicemail.
You can also head to Settings → Wi-Fi → and toggle it off. Now try using voicemail.
9. Reset Time Zone and set Date & Time automatically
For most users, it’s recommended to let your device automatically set the time. To make sure that your time zone and similar settings are correct:
Open Settings → General → Date & Time → Toggle on Set Automatically.
10. Make sure Call Forwarding is off
If you have a call forwarding set up, it is likely to cause conflicts with voicemail. To turn off Call Forwarding or make sure it is not enabled:
Head over to Settings → Phone → Call Forwarding → Ensure the toggle is set to off.
11. Reset iPhone voicemail password
To fix your voicemail not working on your iPhone, another method you can try is changing your voicemail password.
You can do so by logging in to your carrier’s website or contacting customer service for assistance. Some network providers also let you do so via their mobile app.
Additionally, you may reset your voicemail password from Settings.
- Go to Settings → Phone → Change Voicemail Password.
- Enter the new password.
If you forgot your current voicemail password, you’ll have to contact your wireless carrier.
12. Reset Network Settings
Nothing above helped? It’s time to reset your network settings.
Note: This will not delete your stored data.
Navigate to Settings → General → Reset → Reset Network Settings → Enter your password → Reset Network Settings.
13. Contact your carrier
If even resetting your Network Settings couldn’t yield positive results, it’s time to give your carrier a call or visit them.
14. Contact Apple Support
Apple Support is the last resort. You may contact them online or make an appointment at the nearest Apple Store.
These were some of the solutions to fix your voicemail not working on your iPhone. The fact is, voicemail may stop working correctly for various reasons.
I hope one of these solutions was able to solve your problems. Have any questions? Let us know in the comments.
You may like to take a peek at…
- How to Delete All Voicemail Messages on iPhone
- “No SIM” Card or Invalid SIM Issue on iPhone? Try out these fixes
- No Service on iPhone? Try these 10 fixes!
- How to turn off voicemail on an iPhone
Jibin Joseph is the Content Editor at iGeeksBlog and has excellent attention to detail. He is a voracious reader, with interests ranging from philosophy and history to geopolitics and tech. When not reading or correcting grammar, you’d find him engaging in discussions about football. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @4ibin.
Thanks for this article! Resetting number work settings worked for me.
Worked to re-activate my voicemail, thank you!!
12. Reset Network Settings did the trick for me. Thanks for the helpful info!