How to fix voicemail unavailable on iPhone

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voicemail

Is your voicemail suddenly unavailable on iPhone? Don’t worry. We have several troubleshooting solutions that could help you get voicemail back on your iPhone, fast.

Unfortunately, since it’s hard to pinpoint the reason for your voicemail unavailability on iPhone, you’ll have to try each of the options until the problem is solved. So, without wasting much time let’s go straight to the solutions.

Activate voicemail on your iPhone

Voicemail may be unavailable on your iPhone because it’s not activated. Follow the process below to activate it:

  • Tap the “Phone app” on your home screen.
  • Select “Voicemail” from the lower-right corner.
  • Tap “Set Up Now”.
  • Enter password and tap “Done”.
  • Re-enter the password and tap “Done”.
  • Tap on “Custom” if you want to record a greeting.
  • Select “Record” then start speaking.
  • Tap “Stop” when you finish.
  • Finally, tap “Done” or “Save”.

Read Also: iPhone visual voicemail is currently unavailable? Fix

Restart your iPhone

The simplest solution to most software-related issues on iPhone is to restart your device. Especially if you’ve updated the iOS recently.

To power OFF, go to “Settings”, followed by “General”, then scroll down and tap on “Shut Down”.

You can also hard restart using the following procedure for different iPhone models:

iPhone 8 and later models

  • Quickly press and release the Volume Up button, then the Volume Down button.
  • Next, press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.
  • If it doesn’t restart, charge it for an hour before repeating the process above.

iPhone 7 or 7 Plus

Press and hold the sleep/wake button and the Volume Down button simultaneously until you see the Apple logo on your screen.

iPhone 6, 6s Plus, or the SE First Generation

Press and hold the home button and the sleep/wake button at the same time until the Apple logo appears on your screen.

NOTE: You should quit all apps, including those running in the background before you restart the device.

Switch on mobile data

Make sure mobile data is enabled on your iPhone. While at it, you can disable the Wi-Fi network on your iPhone. This is because voicemail works perfectly with mobile data. The process of switching ON mobile data is as follows:

  • Open “Settings”.
  • Tap on “Cellular”.
  • Toggle ON “Cellular Data”.
  • Also, scroll down and toggle ON “Settings” and “Phone”.
  • Go back and check if voicemail is available. You could restart your device first.

Read Also: How do you fix an iPhone that says voicemail is full?

Install pending carrier updates

If there are pending carrier updates, install them immediately. The same way Apple updates iOS to fix bugs and other issues, your carrier also provides updates to enhance connectivity and functioning of texts, calls, voicemails, and other services.

  • Go to “Settings”.
  • Tap on “General”.
  • Select “About”.
  • If there are installations available, follow the on-screen instructions.

Enable and disable airplane mode

Enabling and disabling airplane mode refreshes your iPhone’s connection to your carrier network. This could help to fix an unavailable voicemail on iPhone.

  • Swipe up on your screen.
  • Look for the airplane icon.
  • Tap on the icon to turn ON airplane mode.
  • Tap on it to turn it OFF again.

Ideally, you can also:

  • Go to “Settings”.
  • Toggle ON “Airplane Mode”.
  • Toggle it OFF again.

Contact carrier support

Reach out to your carrier support to help you with voicemail unavailability issues. Especially if it’s a recurring problem. They will be able to guide you accordingly and provide a lasting solution.

Reset all network settings

In case you accidentally meddled with your network settings, or a new system update happens to override the current network on your iPhone, hence interfering with voicemail, you’ll have to reset the entire network setting to fix the problem.

Follow this guide:

  • Open “Settings”.
  • Tap on “General”.
  • Select “Reset”.
  • Then “Reset Network Settings”.
  • Enter your passcode.
  • Tap on “Reset Network Settings” again to confirm.

You should note that this action will cause your device to forget all the saved Wi-Fi networks passwords, joined Bluetooth devices, and VPN configurations too. All the network settings will be set to default.

Change your time zone

A simple change of the date and time zone on your iPhone could be what’s needed to make voicemail available. Especially if the two settings are incorrect.

Here’s how to change the time zone:

  • Open “Settings”.
  • Tap on “General”.
  • Select “Date & Time”.
  • Toggle ON “Set Automatically”.

Reset voicemail password

Changing your Voicemail password can also help to fix the problem. you should try it out using the guide below:

  • Launch “Settings”.
  • Go to “Phone”.
  • Tap on “Change Voicemail Password”.
  • Enter your new password.
  • Re-enter the new password.
  • Tap on “Done”.

Disable Wi-Fi on your iPhone

Since voicemail doesn’t need a Wi-Fi connection to work, you should disable it to see if voicemail will become available. Follow the steps below to disable Wi-Fi:

  • Open your iPhone settings.
  • Tap on “Wi-Fi”.
  • Toggle OFF the switch.

Read Also: How to record an incoming call without an app?

Update iOS

Using an outdated iOS version could be the reason your voicemail is unavailable. Make sure you update to the latest version using the following guide:

  • Open “Settings”.
  • Tap on “General”.
  • Select “Software Update”.
  • Tap on “Update”.

Alternatively, you can set the software updates to automatic so that you don’t have to keep checking.

  • Open “Settings”.
  • Tap on “General”.
  • Select “Software Update”.
  • Turn ON Automatic Updates.

Call voicemail the old way

If none of the solutions has fixed your problem, consider calling voicemail the old way to hear your messages. Make sure you remember your voicemail PIN.

Ensure your iPhone knows your phone number

  • Open “Settings”.
  • Go to “Phone”.
  • Tap on “My Number”.
  • Confirm that your number is correct. It should have the international dialling code.
  • Tap “Save” on the top-right corner.

Switch off your voicemail then back on

For this option, you’ll have to check the procedure on your carrier website since it varies from one carrier provider to the next.

Change SIM cards

Try and put another sim card from the same carrier into your iPhone to see if it solves your voicemail problem. In case the other sim card works, reach out to your carrier.

If it doesn’t work, take your sim card and put it in another iPhone. If the sim card works on the other iPhone contact iPhone support.

Factory reset

Lastly, you can factory reset your iPhone to change everything to default. Your data will be erased in the process, so you should consider backing it up beforehand.

  • Open “Settings”.
  • Tap on “Erase All Content & Settings”.
  • You’ll be asked to enter your passcode.
  • Tap on Confirm.

Hopefully, one of these fixes solves your voicemail unavailable error on iPhone. Let us know the one that worked for you, and share this article with friends who are dealing with a similar problem.