How to Fix Voicemail Not Working on iPhone

Looking for a fix for Voicemail not working on your iPhone? 

When you think of the iPhone’s Voicemail feature, you might think of it as an irrelevant feature that isn’t as popular as it once was. However, many people rely on voicemail to filter out spam and important calls. Even though emails and messaging are excellent alternatives to voicemail, losing the feature might be inconvenient.

Now, there are many potential causes that can lead to your Voicemail feature not working properly. For example, a problematic network carrier, outdated carrier settings, or internal glitches in the device’s software can result in Voicemail not working on iPhone.

To help you resolve this issue, we’ve gathered all the possible fixes to get the Voicemail feature working again. After identifying the root cause, try any of the methods below. If the problem remains, take your iPhone to a nearby Apple store and have a professional look at it.

So, let’s start!

1. Ensure Voicemail Is Set Up.

Let’s start with the basics. While there may be some kind of an issue with your Voicemail, its configuration could be incorrect as well. Thus, you must ensure that it is enabled on your device, especially if you’ve recently changed your carrier or plan.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to the Phone app from your iPhone.
2. Next, select the Voicemail tab from the bottom bar of the screen. 
3. If your voicemail has not been set up yet, you will see Set Up Now on the screen. Tap on it to start setting up voicemail. 

4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. 
   
   

2. Empty Your Voicemail Box.

Even if you have a lot of free storage in your device, Voicemail is allocated only a certain space and thus may get full occasionally. If you receive too many spam calls, the Voicemail box can exceed its capacity earlier than usual. If you think it’s the case, start emptying your Voicemail box more frequently. 

Follow the steps below to do so:

1. Head to the Phone app from your device. 
2. After that, go to the Voicemail tab from the bottom. 
3. Now, tap on Edit from the top-right corner of the screen. 

4. To empty your voicemail box, tap on all the voicemails and select Delete from the bottom-right corner. 
   
   

3. Restart the Phone App.

Since the Voicemail feature is associated with the Phone app, any problem in the app will also affect the functionality of the Voicemail. To fix this, your best option is to restart the Phone app, which will refresh all associated services and settings, hopefully fixing the issue.

Use the steps below to force quit the app and relaunch it after a while:

1. Start by swiping up from the bottom of the screen to access App Launcher. 
2. Then, swipe right to head to the Phone app preview. 

3. Once there, swipe up from it to force quit the app. 
4. To restart, launch the Phone app from the home screen of your device.
   

4. Update Carrier Settings.

Not enough people are aware of this, but your carrier settings also require occasional updates. By installing it, any potential error in the associated features will be eliminated, including whatever is causing the issue of Voicemail not working on iPhone.

Here’s how to check for carrier settings updates on iPhone:

1. Open Settings from your iPhone. 
2. After that, tap on General.  

3. Swipe all the way down and choose About to access carrier settings.

4. You will only receive a carrier update if they have requested an update. Tap on Update to install it on your device. 

5. Restart Cellular Service.

In case you’re sure the Voicemails are being delivered, but you’re not receiving them or are unable to play them, a simple reset of your cellular service might fix the issue. You can do this by restarting your device or turning the Airplane mode on and off.

Here’s how to restart your iPhone:

1. Press and hold the Side button or one of the Volume buttons. 
   
2. Let go once the slider appears on the screen. 

3. Now, drag the slider to the right to turn off your device. 
   
4. Restart it by pressing and holding the Side button again, and release it once you see an Apple logo on the screen. 

Follow these steps below to turn Airplane mode on and off. 

1. Head to the Control Center from your iPhone. You can do this by swiping down from the top-right corner in new iPhone models or swiping up from the bottom in older iPhone versions. 
   
2. Locate the Airplane icon and tap on it to turn it on. 

3. Now, the Airplane icon should turn blue. Wait for a while, then tap on it again to turn off the mode. 

After you’re done restarting the cellular services, consider calling your device from another phone. Check and see if the voicemail is working or not. If it’s still not working, move to the following method from this guide. 

6. Ensure Cellular Data Is Enabled.

In case the Voicemail is not even being delivered, you need to ensure that Cellular Data is enabled on your device. This is also mandatory for the Visual Voicemail feature to work, which lets you read the message instead of listening to it.

Follow the steps below to check your Cellular Data settings:

1. Open Settings from your iPhone. 
   
2. Tap on Cellular. 

3. Finally, turn on the toggle for Cellular Data. 

7. Ensure Date & Time Is Enabled.

1. Start by launching the Settings app on your iPhone. 
   
2. Go to General.
   
3. Swipe down and choose Date & Time. 

4. Finally, switch on the toggle for Set Automatically. Also, ensure the Time Zone is set to the correct location.

8. Enable Wi-Fi Calling.

If your region often encounters issues with cellular coverage or your iPhone receives weak signals, you’d have a hard time downloading Voicemails and receiving calls timely. For such a situation, we recommend you enable Wi-Fi calling. This will provide a better connection and resolve all the stated issues. 

Here’s how to do it:

1. From the Settings app, swipe down and go to Phone.
    
2. Next, select Wi-Fi Calling. 

3. Lastly, turn the toggle on for Wi-Fi Calling on This Phone. 

9. Ensure Call Forwarding Is Disabled.

Call Forwarding is another iPhone feature that forwards any unreceived call to another device without taking the caller to your Voicemail. If this is enabled, you will not receive any Voicemails to be played in the first place. Therefore, ensure you don’t have it enabled on your device.

Below are the steps you need to follow:

1. Go to Settings.
   
2. After that, swipe down and select Phone. 
   
3. Under the Calls section, tap on Call Forwarding. 

4. Lastly, turn the toggle off for Call Forwarding. 

10. Reset Network Settings.

In case you have previously changed some settings, it’s possible you messed things up, resulting in Voicemail not working on your iPhone. But don’t worry, as you can bring these settings back to default without losing any important data.

Here’s how:

1. Start by opening Settings from your device. 
   
2. Afterward, go to General. 
   
3. Swipe all the way down and tap on Transfer or Reset iPhone. 

4. Then, tap on Reset. 

5. At last, select Reset Network Settings. 

11. Dial Your Voicemail Directly.

Your carrier might be experiencing some kind of issue resulting in Voicemail not working on iPhone. To verify this, you can dial your Voicemail directly the old-fashioned way.

Follow these steps:

1. Open the Phone app.
   
2. Access the keypad from the bottom.
   
3. Long press the 1 key until it takes you to your Voicemail.

In case you don’t hear your Voicemails, it’s time to contact your carrier and have them check for the issue.

This concludes our guide on how to fix Voicemail not working on iPhone. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us in the comment section below. We’ll respond to you as soon as possible.

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