What To Do If Your iPhone Can’t Receive Calls Anymore

Over 2 billion iPhones have been sold since the very first generation was introduced. Since then, they have gone from simple touch screen phones to much more complicated machines.

Despite all the new and cool features and apps your cell phone might have though, at the end of the day, it is still a phone. And if you can’t make calls on it, you are going to have a really frustrating relationship with your mobile device. Luckily, having issues with making or receiving calls isn’t an impossible problem to solve.

If your cell iPhone can’t receive calls anymore, don’t worry. Continue reading and we will walk you through everything you need to know to get your phone back to normal.

What Went Wrong

There are a few common causes as to why your iPhone can’t receive calls anymore. First, you may have certain settings either turned on or off that are affecting your phone’s function. Another common cause is that you have not updated your software.

Many iPhone users are reluctant to update their software. This is either because they are worried that the phone’s interface will change on them or that they might end up getting a bug. Unfortunately, Apple is determined to get you to update your iPhone. As they continue to introduce new software, they will phase out older versions until they are completely unusable.

Lastly, you might just be having an issue with your service provider. No matter what is causing your problem, we will show you the most common solutions and help you start receiving calls again in no time.

Check Your Service

First and foremost, you should check your phone’s signal. If you don’t have any service, try to move to another area that has better service. You should also contact your carrier. Confirm that your account is set up to use your iPhone. Also, make sure that there aren’t any outages in your area that may be causing the problem.

Restart Your Phone

This should be your first troubleshooting method for pretty much any problem that you encounter on your phone. First, try to do a soft reset to repair your phone. To do this, you will have to:

1. Press and hold the Power button for several seconds
2. When the Slide to Power Off option comes up, release the buttons
3. Move the slider all the way to the right
4. Wait 30 seconds after your phone has shut down and then press and hold the Power button until the Apple logo comes on

Restarting your phone helps to reset its internal processing and can often fix a variety of glitches that happen by accident. If the soft reset doesn’t work, next you will want to try a force restart:

1. Press and hold the Power button and either of the Volume buttons for several seconds
2. Once the phone turns off, you can let go of the buttons and let it reboot

Try to have a friend call your phone. If it comes through, great! If it does not, continue to the next step.

Airplane Mode

When you turn on Airplane Mode, you cut all of the cellular service going to your phone. Toggling this on and off can have a similar effect as restarting your phone.

1. To try this method, go to Settings-> Airplane Mode menu, then tap the icon to enable the feature.
2. Wait 30 seconds and then turn Airplane Mode off.

Update Your Phone

Even if you do not want to, it is imperative that you update your phone’s software.

1. To check for new updates, go to Settings-> General-> Software Update and then click Install Now, assuming that there is new software available.

To install a new update, you will need to be connected to the internet and have at least 50% battery or have your phone connected to a charger. Alternatively, you can connect your phone to your computer and update your software through iTunes.

Reset Network Settings

Before resetting any settings, make sure that the data on your phone is backed up. Resetting the network settings means that your settings will go back to how they were when your phone was first purchased. All of your passwords and saved wifi networks will be lost. If your phone is having trouble connecting to a network, this could solve it.

1. To do this, go to Settings-> General-> Reset-> Reset Network Settings.

Take It to the Apple Store

If none of these troubleshooting methods work, your best bet will probably be to take it to the Apple store. The Apple Geniuses there are trained to identify problems like these and get your phone working again.

They have special diagnostic equipment that can more precisely point out the problem and lead them to a better-equipped solution. Unfortunately, sometimes they can’t fix your phone at the Apple store. When this happens, they will most likely tell you that you can pay a lot of money to have it shipped to a facility that can fix your phone or they will suggest just to buy a completely new phone.

Go Nuclear

As a last resort option, you can decide to Erase All Content and Settings. Choosing this option will set your phone back to its original factory state. None of your data will be saved on your phone and you will only have the default apps left.

This is a drastic measure because you will have to re-install all of your old data after performing this operation. With that said, it can be an effective solution to a variety of iPhone issues.

To do this, go to Settings-> General-> Reset-> Erase All Content and Settings.

Understanding What to Do if Your iPhone Can’t Receive Calls

If your iPhone can’t receive calls, you should consider trying all of the methods listed above before deciding to get a new phone.

If you are having an issue with your iPhone, sometimes a third party repair service can help in ways that Apple can’t. Contact us today to learn more!