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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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Does your iPhone say your voicemail is unavailable and to try again later? If your mobile carrier says your voicemail is enabled, you may be experiencing a software bug. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to troubleshoot it. Here's what to do when you see "Voicemail Unavailable" on your iPhone.
Why Is My iPhone Voicemail Unavailable?
In most cases, your mobile carrier may have disabled your voicemail. Contact your carrier to fix issues with your voicemail. You can also try updating your carrier settings, disabling call forwarding, restarting the Phone app, or updating your iPhone.
Steps
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Make sure your carrier has Voicemail enabled. Voicemail is managed by your carrier, and most issues can be fixed with a simple phone call. Confirm that it isn't an issue on their end. If it isn't, continue to the next method.
- AT&T : 1-800-331-0500
- Sprint : Dial *2 or 1-888-211-4727
- Verizon : Dial *611 or 1-800-922-0204
- Cricket Wireless : 1-800-274-2538
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Force-close the Phone app and open it again. To force-close an app, swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or double-press the Home button). Swipe up on the Phone app to close it.
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Turn off Call Forwarding. This feature can direct calls to another linked device. To turn it off, do the following:
- Open Settings .
- Tap Phone .
- Tap Call Forwarding .
- Toggle off Call Forwarding .
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Check for a carrier settings update on your iPhone. Generally, you'll be notified if an update is available, but you can manually check to ensure you're up-to-date. Do the following:
- Make sure you're connected to Wi-Fi.
- Go to Settings .
- Tap General .
- Tap About .
- Follow the on-screen instructions to update.
- If you don't see instructions, your carrier settings are up-to-date. [1] X Research source
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Disable Wi-Fi and turn it on again. This can be done in your settings or Control Center . Open the Control Center and tap the Wi-Fi icon until it turns grey. Then, tap it again to turn it on.
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Restart your device. A quick restart can fix common issues. Do the following:
- On iPhones without a Home button, press and hold the Power button and Volume Up button until the Power slider appears.
- On iPhones with a Home button, press and hold the side button until the slider appears.
- Slide the slider with your finger and wait for your iPhone to turn off.
- Wait 30 seconds, and then turn it back on.
- On iPhones without a Home button, press and hold the Power button and Volume Up button until the Power slider appears.
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Make sure your iPhone is updated . Software updates include the latest bug fixes, so be sure your device is up-to-date. Do the following:
- Go to Settings .
- Tap General .
- Tap Software Update .
- Tap Download and Install .