- Incoming calls on your android can go directly to voicemail for a variety of reasons, including issues with your phone’s sim card or bluetooth and do not disturb settings.
- There are five quick and easy ways to troubleshoot when calls go directly to voicemail.
- If none of these fixes work, you should contact your cellular service provider for help.
Incoming calls on your android phone that inexplicably go straight to voicemail without ringing is a mundane, yet frustrating problem. but there is an explanation and more importantly a way to fix it.
While there may be several possible causes, almost all of them are related to your phone’s settings, so it’s usually easy to fix the problem. Among the handful of things that could automatically send your calls to voicemail are your phone’s do not disturb mode, blocked numbers, call forwarding, bluetooth connections, and your phone’s sim card.
If you accidentally activated any of these phone features or forgot you activated them, don’t worry. Restoring your android to default settings to receive calls again can be a quick process.
how to troubleshoot your android when incoming calls go directly to voicemail
Here are five things to troubleshoot when your calls go straight to voicemail, and the one thing to do when nothing else works.
turn off do not disturb mode on your android
If your phone is set to “do not disturb”, most or all of your calls will go directly to voicemail. so it’s worth checking if the phone has been accidentally put into that mode.
1. swipe down on your phone’s control center from the top of the screen.
2. check that the do not disturb icon is not enabled.
for more information, read our article “how to activate and customize do not disturb settings on your android phone”.
remove a number from the list of blocked numbers in android
Are you using your phone’s call barring feature? It can be useful for stopping telemarketers and other unwanted calls, but you may be accidentally blocking phone numbers you want to ring. you can disable this in your android phone app.
1. start the phone application.
2. tap the three dots at the top of the screen.
3. From the dropdown menu, select “settings”.
4. select “block numbers”.
5. Remove any phone numbers from the list that you don’t want to send to voicemail right away.
For more details, please read our article “how to block a number on any android phone to stop receiving unwanted calls”.
disable any call forwarding features
Not all android phones support call forwarding, and it depends on your cell phone provider, but you may be able to forward your calls directly to your voicemail or another number. disabling any of the call forwarding features of your android device may solve the problem.
1. start the phone app.
2. Tap the three dots at the top left of the screen.
3. select “settings” or “call settings”.
4. choose “calls”.
5. tap “call forwarding”.
6. uncheck any of the four options listed: “always forward”, “forward when busy”, “forward when no one answers” and “forward when no one talks”.
turn off your bluetooth connection
Sometimes your phone’s bluetooth connection can get confused and think it’s connected to a device when in fact it’s not. You may have experienced this when you turn off your bluetooth headset and the audio doesn’t switch to the phone’s speaker. instead, all you hear is silence. Fortunately, the remedy is simple.
1. swipe down on control center from the top of the screen.
2. tap the bluetooth icon to turn it off completely.
3. Wait a moment and then touch it again to turn it back on.
replace the sim card of your android phone
Sometimes a faulty or damaged sim card can cause strange problems, and it’s more likely to be the culprit if you remove and replace the sim card frequently. in other words, the more you drive it, the more likely it is to be a problem.
You can try removing, reseating and inserting the sim card to fix the problem. But to be 100 percent sure that’s the reason your calls are going straight to voicemail, you need to contact your cell phone provider and replace the card with a new version. You can apply for a new SIM card without changing your phone number or making any changes to your service.
check your coverage and talk to your mobile provider
If none of these simple solutions solved your problem, it is more likely that the problem is not related to your android phone but to your cellular service.
Try looking at a coverage map from your carrier to see if you have reliable service, or try your service with another phone. if your coverage is very weak, incoming calls can go directly to voicemail. You can also try calling your cell phone provider’s customer service for additional troubleshooting assistance.
related technical reference coverage:
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‘why won’t my bluetooth device connect?’: how to fix common bluetooth connection problems
how to block a number on any android phone to stop receiving unwanted calls
how to enable and customize do not disturb settings on your android phone
how to turn off safe mode on your android phone or tablet in 2 ways
5 easy ways to free up storage space on an android phone or tablet