Voicemail not working on your iPhone? Here's how to fix it

Voicemail may be becoming a bit archaic due to the prevalence of other forms of messaging, such as email and SMS. But it is still around, and many people still use it. But if your voicemail suddenly dies on you, do you have options? Before resigning yourself to having to talk to others, here are some things you can try if voicemail is not working on your iPhone.

Check to see if voicemail has been activated

Let’s start with the obvious. Is your voicemail even switched on? There’s an easy way to check. Go to Settings > Phone and scroll down. If you see the option Change Voicemail Password, then voicemail is on.

If you don’t see it, then voicemail is off, and you need to enable it. You do this by going to the Phone app and tapping Voicemail at the bottom.

Force-close the Phone app and re-launch it

If voicemail is on, the next possibility is that the Phone app is malfunctioning. In that case, it is time to force-close it and reopen it. Yes, I know it sounds like a cliche, but restarting things does work in the vast majority of cases.

To force-close the Phone app, swipe up from the bottom of the screen, and you will see floating windows of each open app. Swipe left or right until you find the Phone app, then swipe it up to close it. Now exit to the main screen and tap on the Phone icon again to re-launch it.

Toggle mobile data off and on again

Is your iPhone voicemail still not working? Then, the next step is to see if there is an error with your mobile data plan. You can do this by toggling the mobile internet data off and back on again. This can be done by going to Settings > Mobile Data and toggling off and on the Mobile Data option on the next screen. In the US, it’s called Cellular Data instead of Mobile Data. It’s a European thing.

If the mobile data comes back on without a hitch, then that isn’t the issue. If it doesn’t come back on, maybe pay your phone bill?

Check for iOS software updates

Next up, does your iPhone need an operating system update? Sometimes, some device features are temporarily disabled until an iOS update is applied, especially if it’s beta features involved. Go to Settings > General > Software Update to see if anything awaits.

Restart your iPhone

Now, try restarting your iPhone. Yes, that old restarting cliche again, but it’s better to try it and rule it out. Your voicemail may need a small kick in the right direction, and quite often, a device restart is all it takes to flush the gremlins out.

Check that call forwarding is off

If voicemail is still rolling over and playing dead, the last “easy” thing you can try is seeing if call forwarding is off. If it’s on, then calls are redirected to another number, and voicemail cannot be reached. It would also explain why your phone is not even ringing in the first place.

Call forwarding can be checked at Settings > Phone. Scroll down to the Calls section and tap Call Forwarding.

On the next screen, if the toggle is set to green, then call forwarding is on. Toggle it off, so the green turns grey.

Contact your phone carrier

If you’ve reached this far, the problem is more complicated and technical than a few minor fixes. The reason your voicemails are not showing up on your iPhone is potentially related to your phone carrier. As a result, it’s a good idea to call their helpline to find out if the voicemail service is down and, if so, when you can expect it to return. Alternatively, if the issue is related to your line in particular, the carrier may have to perform a reset on their end to reenable your voicemail.

We can’t go any further into this specific topic as there are countless phone carriers worldwide, and we can’t possibly cover every single one. But just go to your carrier’s website and find the customer support section. They usually have an online chat option, so you may not even have to talk on the phone to someone.

We have covered how to set up and use voicemail for the three big US carriers, including T-Mobile and Verizon.

Voicemail still not working? Contact Apple Support

If all else fails, and you still can’t access voicemails on your phone, the last thing to do is contact Apple Support. Maybe there is an issue with the voicemail software on your phone? Maybe the latest iOS update has done a number on your voicemail (see what I did there?)

It can’t hurt to fire off a quick message to them and make sure the problem isn’t at the Apple end. You can even contact them through the Apple Support iOS app.

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