Voicemail is a handy feature that helps us keep track of all the important messages someone has to deliver when we cannot attend to their calls. Voicemail can also help in saving you a lot of time by skipping through the useless block spam calls from credit card companies, sales associates, etc., ensuring only the crucial calls make it to voicemail.
Suppose voicemail on iPhone not working, and you are not receiving any voicemails from people even if they are sending them to you. Then this might be related to problems with your network provider and sometimes even the incorrect voicemail settings. This problem can be resolved with the solutions listed in this article, and you will start receiving all the voicemails effectively.
Solution- 1: Make Sure That Voicemail is Set up on Your iPhone
If you have never used or don’t know how to set up voicemail on iPhone, you will not be receiving any messages through it. The first solution for fixing the Apple voicemail not working issue requires you to set up and activate voicemail on your device. You can set up voicemail by the simple process described below.
- First, open the phone app on your iPhone.
- Click on the “Voicemail” option at the bottom right corner of your iPhone’s screen.
- Now tap on the “set up now” button.
- Follow the onscreen instructions and add a voicemail password.
- Record or choose a default greeting message that the callers will hear.
- This process will enable voicemail on your iPhone, and you will start receiving voice messages. The senders will hear the greeting message set by you, which will notify them that the call is being sent to voicemail. After which, they can record their message and send it to you.
Solution- 2: Closing and Reopening the Phone App
If voicemail is already set up on your iPhone, you might still be unable to receive or use this feature. You might be thinking, “why is my voicemail not working on my iPhone.” The solution or answer for this might be as simple as closing the phone app and relaunching it.
Sometimes while launching an application, a glitch or bug might interfere with the application resulting in some actions or features of the app malfunctioning. By relaunching the application, these glitches or bugs can be eliminated, resulting in the elements like the voicemail of the phone app working perfectly.
If you have tried this solution but are still facing the same issue, then go to the next solution in this article.
Solution- 3: Restart Your iPhone
Another simple and practical solution for fixing the voicemail iPhone not working problem requires the users to restart their iPhones. Suppose you use any gadget or machine for a prolonged period. In that case, it results in heating up and overworking the device, affecting the device’s performance and resulting in certain features or apps crashing or glitching.
Hence, restarting your iPhone will allow your device to refresh and restore its resources to its default setting. Restarting your iPhone can be related to humans waking up after getting a good night’s sleep, allowing us to carry out our tasks correctly. To restart your iPhone, go through this procedure-
- Initially, launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Go to the general tab.
- Hover down to the bottom of the tab and tap on the “shutdown” button.
- Now a slider animation will appear on your screen. Slide the bar to shut down your iPhone.
- Wait a few minutes and long-press your power button to boot up your iPhone.
You can also use the power button of your iPhone to restart it. Press and hold or long-press the power button while the device is switched on for a few seconds until the log-out options appear on the screen. Select “restart” and allow your device to restart on its own. Now open or launch the phone app and see if you can access the voicemails.
Solution- 4: Free up Your Voicemail Box
All the voicemails are stored in your iPhone’s storage, dedicated to storing all the received messages. This voicemail storage box needs to be cleaned as it can quickly get full if you receive a lot of voicemails regularly. Hence, if you are worried about voicemail on iPhone not working, it might result from insufficient voicemail storage space.
To clean or delete unnecessary voicemails, you can take the help of the process explained below.
- First, go to the phone app of your iPhone.
- Tap on the “Voicemail” option at the bottom right part of your screen.
- Then, press or tap on the “edit” option at the top right section of this window.
- Select the voicemails you wish to delete and tap on the delete button at the bottom right corner of the tab.
This process or solution will free up the storage space for voicemail, and you will start receiving the messages after completing this process if storage is the issue. If not, move to the next solution of this post.
Solution- 5: Scan For The Network Carrier Updates
A pending network carrier update on your iPhone can sometimes lead to problems with the voicemail feature. Only a few of us know that the network carrier settings must be updated continuously as the device automatically downloads it. Since network carrier settings play a vital role in the proper functioning of voicemail, it is essential to keep these settings up to date.
You might have switched to a new carrier, thinking it would fix the issue, but you face the same issue even after doing that. To restore the problem of your iPhone voicemail not working after switching carriers, follow the instructions given in this section.
- Open or launch the settings app on your iPhone and tap on the general option.
- Look for the “About” setting and tap on it.
- Then go to “Network” and hit the “update” button to download the updates.
If you don’t see the update button in the network panel, rest easy, as it means that all the latest carrier updates are already installed on your iPhone. After updating the carrier settings, try using the voicemail feature to see if this solution fixed your issue.
Solution- 6: Disable Call Forwarding
You won’t receive any voicemails if call forwarding is enabled on your iPhone. Call forwarding is a feature of your iPhone that forwards the call to a different mobile number if your number is unreachable.
Hence, turning off call forwarding is a must for using the voicemail feature on your iPhone. To solve the problem of iPhone voicemail not working after update, stick to the steps given here.
- Head to your iPhone’s settings and click on the “Phone” option.
- From all the settings, click on the “call forwarding” setting.
- Now, move the toggle button to the left side to disable call forwarding on your smartphone.
After completing the above-described solution, call forwarding will be disabled from your iPhone. You can verify this change by monitoring the “phone with arrow” icon vanishing from the top of the screen. Once this is done, all the phone calls you were unable to answer will be directed to voicemails.
Solution- 7: Toggle the Cellular Data Off and On
The voicemail feature uses mobile or cellular data for receiving and downloading messages. So if your cellular data is not working correctly, you will not be able to accept or download the voicemails on your iPhone. This problem can even lead to Verizon voicemail not working on iPhone but don’t worry, as the process below will help you fix this issue.
- Navigate to the settings app of your iPhone.
- Tap on the “cellular” settings tab.
- Toggle the bar next to the “cellular data” indicator to turn it off.
- Wait one minute, turning the cellular data on by toggling the same button.
Since cellular data is also required for receiving visual voicemails (Visual voicemails can be read as text without having to listen to the actual voicemail), this solution will also help you solve the visual issue of voicemail not working on iPhone.
Solution- 8: Change The Date & Time Settings
Another reason why voicemail not working on iPhone can be related to the incorrect date and time settings. The phone app uses the data and time information to keep track of the calls made and received on your iPhone. Since voicemail is part of the phone application, we need to check if the data and time settings are correct for its proper working. Implement the following steps to review and change the date and time settings.
- Go to your iPhone’s settings > general tab.
- Search for the “Date & Time” settings and tap on it.
- Now enable the “Set Automatically” option by toggling the button next to this setting.
Once this setting has been applied, your iPhone will automatically use the internet and GPS data to set your region’s correct date and time. Now go to the voicemails and check if the problem is resolved.
Solution- 9: Turn Off The Bluetooth
If Bluetooth sharing is turned on on your iPhone, it might interfere with the internet connection or network and result in voicemail malfunctioning. So the ideal or most suitable thing you can do is turn off your device’s Bluetooth by following the steps.
- Open or launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Click on the “Bluetooth” settings.
- Finally, turn off your device’s Bluetooth by moving the button to the left.
Solution- 10: Turn On The WiFi Calling Feature
Another exciting and effective solution for solving the issue of voicemail on iPhone not working is to enable the WiFi calling feature on your iPhone. If you have recently traveled or moved to a place that does not have proper cellular reception, it might not be easy to make calls or download voicemails using your cellular data. But if you have a good WiFi connection, you can fix this problem by enabling the WiFi calling feature on your iPhone.
To turn on the WiFi calling feature, stick to the steps listed in this section.
- Navigate to your iPhone’s settings > Phone panel.
- Tap on the WiFi calling option in the phone settings panel.
- Finally, hit the “WiFi calling on this phone” option to enable WiFi calling on your iPhone.
There might be a possibility that the setting or option, as mentioned earlier, might not be available in your iPhone’s settings; this is due to the setting being restricted by your provider or your carrier not supporting this feature.
Solution- 11: Reset Your iPhone’s Network Settings
If you have tested out, all the solutions explained earlier in this post still face the problem of voicemail iPhone not working. The only solution for fixing this issue is resetting the network settings of your smartphone. Follow the instructions given in this section to reset your iPhone’s network settings.
- First, launch the settings application on your iPhone and go to the general tab.
- Now tap on the “Transfer or Reset iPhone” action.
- At last, select the “Reset” option and click on “Reset Network Settings.”
You might be asked or prompted to enter your iPhone’s lock screen password for resetting the network settings. Once you have reset the network settings, go to the voicemails and see if the issue is resolved.
Solution- 12: Test Your Voicemail
A problem with your voicemail service might be the reason for the iPhone voicemail not working after update. To fix this issue, implement the following steps.
- Launch or open the phone app on your iPhone.
- Tap on the keypad at the bottom of the phone app.
- After that, press and hold the number 1 key until it automatically dials your voicemail.
If your iPhone cannot connect to your voicemail, contact your cellular provider to diagnose the exact problem.
Voicemail is an excellent feature that allows us to check all the messages or voicemails received on a busy day without missing out on any vital information.
Hence, enabling and using voicemail can be very beneficial for businesses, corporate employees, and almost everyone to keep a tab of things and avoid spam calls.
We hope this list of simple and effective solutions for fixing the “voicemail on iPhone not working” issue was of help to you. If you have any difficulties, doubts, or queries, do let us know in the comments section below.
