Troubleshooting guide: When your phone won’t make a call

 

There are a lot of reasons why your phone or device is having trouble with voice calls. Whether they are dropping calls or you’re stuck in SOS mode, there are a variety of ways to fix your problem. We’ve pulled together some of the top issues that might be causing this problem. For more information, please check out our calling FAQS in Support or use our Troubleshooting Assistant for a step-by-step guide to help resolve your issue.

What are some reasons my phone won’t make calls?

Your phone might not be able to make calls for reasons including:

  1. Signal level
  2. Network resources
  3. Mobile phone plan change
  4. Smart Family restrictions
  5. Phone settings
  6. The number you're calling isn't working 

How can I fix issues that won’t let my phone make calls?

Here’s what you can do if your phone isn’t making calls or your calls are failing:

  1. Signal Level - If you’re indoors, Wi-Fi Calling can help you use your service. If you’re already making calls over Wi-Fi but your Wi-Fi signal is poor, try moving closer to your router.
  2. Network disruptions - If you believe a network outage is occurring, head over to Check Network Status to see if there’s been a reported outage. If not, leave your information so it can be passed along to our Network team.
  3. Mobile phone plan change - Did you change your Verizon phone plan online then have phone issues? Restarting your phone is most often the solution.
  4. Verizon Smart Family restrictions -Check with the owner of the Parent lines to see if restrictions are preventing your calls from going through.
  5. Device settings- Check that Airplane Mode isn’t enabled. If voice quality on your calls is poor but your  connection to the network is stable, you may be able to turn on Advanced Calling (also known as HD Voice or VoLTE).

 I’m still having problems. What other things can I do to make calls?

There are a few more things you can check out to try and fix your issue.

  1. Restart your phone
  2. Check your settings - If the issue is due to a setting, try to narrow it down to a particular app or phone function.
  3. Check your apps - Have you recently added a new app? Try removing it to see if it’s causing a problem. If you’re on an Android device you can use Safe Mode to test if any of your apps or Home screen widgets are preventing you from making calls.
  4. Factory reset - This would be a last resort as it would restore your phone to the state when you first took it out of the package. Make sure you have backed up all your data as a factory reset will erase everything on your device.

If you’re experiencing SOS issues on your apple device please visit our FAQs page to learn more.