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. Stan Kats is a Professional Technologist and the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. He began his career working in the Fortune 500 IT world. Stan founded his companies to offer an enterprise-level of expertise for small businesses and individuals.
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Are your calls going straight to voicemail? If you're trying to receive a call or call someone else, certain call settings can redirect you to voicemail without ringing. Here's what to do if your iPhone or Android phone goes straight to voicemail.
Why Is My Phone Automatically Going to Voicemail?
If your phone goes straight to voicemail without ringing, it can be due to certain call features on your phone, Do Not Disturb modes, or even outdated software. Make sure you have call forwarding disabled and Focus modes turned off. Check with your carrier to confirm your cellular service is still active. If you're trying to call someone, try again in a few hours; they may have Do Not Disturb enabled or no cellular service.
Steps
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Turn off Call Forwarding . This feature can redirect calls to another device. To turn it off, do the following:
- iPhone
:
- Open Settings .
- Tap Phone .
- Tap Call Forwarding .
- Toggle off Call Forwarding .
- Android
:
- Open the Phone app.
- Tap the three-dots icon.
- Tap Settings .
- Tap Calling accounts and select your carrier.
- Tap Call forwarding .
- Set all options to Off .
- iPhone
:
-
Make sure you don't have Do Not Disturb on. This feature can block incoming calls and messages, whether you're waiting for a call or trying to call someone. [1] X Research source
- iPhone : Open the Control Center and make sure the crescent moon icon is not highlighted. If it is, tap it to turn it off.
- Android : Open the Quick Settings menu and tap the Do Not Disturb icon.
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Airplane Mode disables all Wi-Fi and cellular connections. If this is turned on, you won't receive any calls, and they'll go straight to voicemail. Open your phone's settings and make sure Airplane Mode is toggled off.
- If you're trying to call someone and it goes to voicemail, they may have Airplane Mode toggled on.
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Make sure your SIM card is working. If you have a physical SIM card, remove it from your device and make sure there are no signs of physical damage. If you have an eSIM , contact your carrier to make sure it's still active.
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Wait a few hours before calling again. If you're trying to call someone and it goes straight to their voicemail, they may be in an area without service, their phone battery may be dead, or they may be too busy to pick up. In this case, try again in a few hours.
- If the message is urgent, try sending a text instead.