The basic function of a phone is to place calls and receive incoming calls and if that doesn’t work, the user is in a troublesome situation. However, this is a common error faced by many users and so, you’re not alone.
Don’t worry because we are here to help you fix this problem in no time. In this article, we will explain a couple of reasons why your Android phone is unable to make or receive calls and also, provide several solutions to try and fix it.
Why Is My Android Not Making Or Receiving Calls?
1. Network Coverage
Your SIM’s network coverage is most likely guilty of causing this issue. Sometimes, if the network reception is weak or low, phone users face calling issues. You might be in a remote location or some underground parking lot where the network coverage is not good. If so, then, move to a different location to get a better signal.
2. Do Not Disturb mode
If the Do Not Disturb mode is enabled on your phone, that could silence your calls or block them. So, you might miss your incoming calls or not get them at all.
3. System Glitch
Sometimes, a temporary software glitch could be causing this error, especially if you have not turned off your phone for days. Just reboot your phone and check if calls can be made normally after that.
4. Malware
Often, we install third-party apps and are unaware of the problems they come with. A lot of third-party apps come with malware and could be potential threats to your phone. If your problems with calling started after installing a certain app, then, uninstall it and check if things go back to normal.
Other than the above reasons, your Android device’s dialer issues could be due to the incoming call’s number being blocked, call forwarding, swollen battery, dialer cache, etc.
How To Fix Android Not Making Or Receiving Calls Issue: 18 Ways
Given below are some of the best troubleshooting techniques you can try out to fix the Android not making or receiving calls problem.
Note: The methods might need to be tweaked a little bit based on your Android version and phone brand.
- Remove The Phone Cover
- Signal Issues
- Check Airplane Mode
- Check If Phone Is On Do Not Disturb Mode
- Use Safe Mode
- Check If Call Forwarding Is Enabled
- Restart Your Android Phone
- Check If SIM Card Is Inserted Properly
- Reactivate SIM Cards
- Delete the Dialer Cache Data
- Try Using Another SIM
- Battery Issues
- Contact Your Network Carrier
- Blocked Numbers
- Reset Network Settings
- Reset The Access Point Names (APN) Setting
- Android Update
- Factory Reset
1. Remove The Phone Cover
Your phone’s cover may be interfering with your phone’s ability to receive the signal. This usually happens if you have magnetic or metallic phone cases. So, you should try removing the phone cover or any decorative item you have on it. Then, check if your phone is receiving a good network signal.
2. Signal Issues
If your phone is turned on and you cannot make or receive calls, you need to check if the phone is receiving any signal. To do so, you just check the right topmost corner of the phone where you should find the signal indicator. Even if you have a single bar on the signal indicator, that should allow you to make and receive calls.
But, if you see something like “No Service” or the signal keeps dropping out, that explains why you can’t make or receive calls. In this case, try walking around to an area where you can get a stronger signal.
Many people face signal issues at places like underground parking areas, tunnels, etc. So, while looking for your phone signal, go to places on the ground level or above it, and don’t go somewhere remote.
3. Check Airplane Mode
If your phone is on Airplane mode, then, you won’t get incoming calls or make outgoing calls. In this case, you need to disable the Airplane Mode. If you find an airplane icon at the top of the screen beside the battery icon, that means Airplane mode is enabled on your phone.
When the Airplane mode is activated, your phone won’t receive any kind of communication signal, and hence, you are unable to make or receive calls. However, if the airplane mode is disabled and you still cannot receive or make calls, then enable the Airplane mode for a bit and disable it. To do so, follow the steps given below:
- Swipe down on the screen from the top to access Android Quick Settings
- Next, tap on the Airplane icon (should be blue if enabled) to disable it.
- Else, you can also disable the Airplane Mode via the Settings app.
- Go to your android phone’s Settings app
- Tap on Network & Internet
- Then, toggle the Airplane Mode to disable it.
4. Check If Phone Is On Do Not Disturb Mode
Besides checking if your Android phone is on Airplane mode or not, you also need to check if the Do Not Disturb mode is turned on. This won’t stop you from making calls. However, it does prevent you from receiving incoming calls because you won’t be able to hear the phone ringing.
Usually, the Do Not Disturb mode will silence the incoming calls and some settings might also disable the calls.
- To disable the Do Not Disturb mode, swipe down from the top of your phone screen and expand the Quick Settings region.
- Tap on the Do Not Disturb icon which will be blue if enabled and turn to gray as you disable it.
5. Use Safe Mode
The Safe Mode feature will prevent your phone from using third-party apps. So, you can test running your Android phone in safe mode and make a call. If you can make and receive calls while in Safe mode, that means a third-party app on your phone is causing the problem.
Follow the steps given below to turn on the Safe mode:
- Turn your phone off
- Press and hold the Power button until the phone’s model name appears. Release the power button.
- Immediately after, press and hold the phone’s Volume down button and do so until the phone restarts.
- Next, you will get the Safe Mode badge in the bottom left corner of your phone screen. Release the Volume Down button
- Now, try making a call. Or, ask someone to call you. Check if you can make and receive calls. If you can properly make and receive calls while in Safe mode, you need to look into the third-party apps installed on your phone.
- Try thinking of when the error started and if you had installed any third-party app before the “Android not making or receiving calls” started.
- Then, uninstall the recently downloaded apps that may have contributed to the calling issue.
- Lastly, test if calls are working properly now.
6. Check If Call Forwarding Is Enabled
The Call Forwarding feature is really useful on your Android smartphone because it can forward your incoming calls to a different phone number or push them to voicemail.
If you are unaware that the call forwarding or call diverting feature is enabled on your smartphone, that could be a problem. You might not be able to receive calls because they are getting forwarded to some other number.
Try checking whether the call forwarding icon is enabled in the notification panel. Follow the steps given below to disable the call forwarding feature if it is enabled on your phone:
- Swipe down the notification panel and tap “Call forwarding” to disable it if it was previously enabled.
- Another way to disable the call-forwarding feature is as follows:
- Launch the Dialer or Phone app on your smartphone
- Tap on More (the 3 dots on the top-right corner) and choose the SIM card
- Tap on “Calling accounts” and then, choose your SIM
- Next, tap on “Call forwarding.”
- Disable the active call forwarding options if they were enabled previously.
7. Restart Your Android Phone
Sometimes, restarting the Android phone is a great way to fix many temporary software issues with your phone. Many people have claimed that the Android not making or receiving calls problem was resolved after they rebooted their phones. If you haven’t turned off your phone for a couple of days and have been using it at a stretch, this could be a lifesaver.
All you need to do is press and hold your phone’s power button. You will get a prompt with the option to turn off the phone and restart phone. Tap on Restart and your phone will turn off and then, restart.
8. Check If SIM Card Is Inserted Properly
If your SIM card is not inserted properly, your phone might not be able to connect properly to it and hence, is unable to make or receive any calls. Next, eject the SIM card and check if it is placed correctly in your phone’s SIM tray or port. You can try removing it and then reinserting it. Now, check if you can make and receive calls via your android smartphone.
9. Reactivate SIM Cards
If you don’t wish to eject your SIM card and then, reinsert them, try deactivating the SIM card and then, reactivating it. This will also solve conflicts with your phone and SIM card if you are having any.
Note: Remember that you can deactivate a SIM card on your phone only if you have multiple SIM cards in the same phone. Otherwise, you will get an error message, “Error: can’t disable all the SIM cards.”
Go through the steps given below to learn how to deactivate your Android SIM card:
- First, open your Android phone’s Settings app and tap on ‘Network & Internet.’
- Tap on SIM cards
- Now, tap on the SIM card that won’t have problems making or receiving phone calls.
- To deactivate the SIM card, toggle the ON button to OFF. It should turn gray from blue when it is turned off. When prompted with a pop-up question, “Deactivating the SIM. Are you sure?”, tap on OK.
- This will successfully deactivate your SIM card, and you will get a prompt notifying you that the procedure is finished. Hit OK to proceed.
- Next, toggle the SIM card option to ON to reactivate it.
- When the SIM activation is done, a prompt shows up notifying you. Tap on OK. Next, try placing a call and check if the problem is resolved.
10. Delete the Dialer Cache Data
This might also help you get the calling feature to work properly. Don’t worry; clearing your Phone’s app cache data will neither delete your call history nor your contacts, so it’s safe to execute. Let’s go through the steps you need to follow to clear the dialer cache data of your phone:
- Open the android phone’s Settings menu and tap on ‘Apps & notifications.’
- Tap on ‘See All Apps’
- Go through all the Applications and choose Phone.
- Tap on “Storage & Cache.”
- Next, hit the Clear cache option
- Launch the dialer again and check if you can make and receive calls.
11. Try Using Another SIM
If you have a dual SIM phone and have another SIM on your smartphone, try using the other SIM card to make and receive calls. If that works, then your phone is probably fine, and the problem lies with your SIM.
12. Battery Issues
If your battery is swollen or has been reshaped for some reason, that could affect your phone’s SIM card placement along with several other components of the smartphone. So, if the phone has a strange shape now, you must visit a service center and replace it. Don’t try fixing the battery alone because that may lead to more complications.
13. Contact Your Network Carrier
If you have tried all the above methods and your phone still can’t make or receive calls, you need to contact your network carrier. You can do this via another number or any social media channel and confirm that your number and the SIM card in question are still active and not blocked. If your SIM is confirmed to be active, they might provide you with some useful information.
It is a rare case that your SIM gets blocked. Although that can happen if you have consistently failed to pay your phone bills on time. In that case, your SIM can get blocked, and to resolve the issue, you need to contact your SIM’s network carrier.
It is also possible that your phone has a problem with the network carrier. Perhaps, the phone contract was valid for a certain amount of time which is over now.
Or maybe, your plan offered a certain amount of minutes for the current month, and you can’t go beyond that. In this case, you need to contact the network carrier and change your monthly limit.
Prepaid or pay-as-you-go SIM cards usually have these limits regarding the amount of credit you purchase. So, if you don’t have any credit left, you won’t be able to make calls and will need to buy some more credit.
14. Blocked Numbers
The number(s) you expect to call from may have been blocked somehow. If you have previously blocked a number, it will prevent the person from making calls to you. So, check your blocked numbers list, and if the number is on your blocked list, unblock it if you want to receive calls from the specific number. Follow the steps given below to do so:
- Navigate to the Phone app
- Tap on More
- Tap on Settings to enter Phone Settings
- Tap on Blocked Numbers to see the list of blocked numbers on your Android phone.
- To unblock a number, tap on Clear X and then on Unblock.
Note: Keep in mind that unblocking a certain number allows that number to make calls to your phone. However, if you cannot place calls, unblocking numbers will be of no help.
15. Reset Network Settings
You can try resetting the Network Settings to check if that helps resolve the issue of Android not making or receiving calls. As you reset your phone’s network settings, it will clear your phone of all the stored data that might have been interfering with properly working it.
To reset the Network Settings on your Android, follow the steps given below:
- Navigate to the Settings app and then, tap on General or General Management
- Next, tap on Reset / Reset options and then, on Reset Network Settings. The Reset Network Settings could be in the form of Reset Wi-Fi, Mobile & Bluetooth in some Android versions.
16. Reset The Access Point Names (APN) Setting
You can also try resetting the APN setting from your phone. Follow the steps given below to do so:
- Go to your phone Settings and tap on Connections
- Select Mobile Networks and then, tap on Access Point Names
- Tap on the More menu (three dots on the top-right corner) and tap on Reset to Default.
17. Android Update
As a last resort, you can try updating your Android Operating System to the latest version. This might help you if your phone cannot make or receive calls. Given below are the steps you need to follow to update your Android phone to the latest version:
- Navigate to the Settings app of your Android smartphone
- Next, tap on System or General Management
- Tap on Advanced and then, on System Update
18. Factory Reset
This is yet another one of the last resorts you can try if all else fails. You can consider doing a factory reset as a final way to solve any issue or bug with your phone. Here’s how you do it:
- First, open the Settings app
- Then, go to System or General Management
- Tap on the Reset option
- Tap on Erase All Data/ Factory data reset option, which will execute the Factory Reset on your Android phone
Note: Make sure you back up your phone before going forward with a factory reset.
Final Words
The above article discusses several tried and tested ways to solve the Android not making or receiving calls. We hope you go through the methods one by one until you can make and receive calls again. But, if all the methods listed in this article fail, you might need to contact your phone’s manufacturer and inquire about phone repair.
