Top 5 Fixes for Android Not Making or Receiving Calls

Can’t keep in touch with your friends and family because your Android smartphone isn’t making or receiving calls? In times like today, when it’s important to stay in touch with people, this can be quite cumbersome. We will explain several possible reasons why this is happening and solutions to fix them. Of course, we know the Android models out there are falling apart, and our solutions cover a wider range of models, if not all.

The first culprit for this issue is network coverage. Check the cellular network bar on your smartphone to see the signal strength at your location. If network reception is low/poor, try moving to another location for better network reception. You should also check that the ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature is not enabled on your smartphone as this can block/silence incoming calls.

Also, if you are unable to receive a phone call from a particular contact, check that you have not blocked the phone number. Conversely, if you are unable to call a particular number, check that that person has not blocked you; call the person with another number, maybe. The problem can also be caused by some basic glitches that a simple device restart can fix. So, reboot your phone and see if things get back to normal.

Malware can also be responsible for this problem. If you have noticed that you cannot make or receive calls after installing an application, uninstall the application and check if everything is back to normal. If your Android smartphone is still not making or receiving calls after doing all of the above, move on to the methods in the next section.

1. Disable Airplane Mode

Make sure Airplane Mode is disabled on your device. If it is disabled but your Android phone still cannot make or receive calls, try enabling Airplane Mode and disable it after a few seconds.

Disable Airplane Mode from the Android Quick Settings drawer or go to Settings > Network & Internet > Airplane Mode.

If your Android smartphone is still unable to make calls after enabling and disabling Airplane Mode, try the next solution.

2. Check SIM Card

Your Android device may not be able to make or receive calls if the SIM card(s) on it is incorrectly inserted. You can choose to physically remove your SIM card(s) and check if it is properly inserted into the SIM tray/port as specified by the manufacturer. You can remove and reinsert the SIM card and check if you can now make phone calls.

3. Reactivate SIM Cards

Instead of removing your SIM cards, you can disable and reactivate your SIM card. This can help resolve any phone-SIM card conflicts that prevent you from making or receiving phone calls. Follow the steps below to disable a SIM card on your Android device.

Stage 1: Launch the Android Settings menu and select ‘Network & Internet’.

Step 2: Tap SIM cards.

Stage 3: Now tap on the affected SIM card that is not making or receiving phone calls.

Step 4: To disable the SIM, turn the On switch and tap OK at the prompt.

This will disable the SIM and you should get a prompt when the process is complete. Tap OK to continue.

Note: You can deactivate a SIM card only if you have more than one SIM card in your phone. When you try to disable the single SIM card in your phone, you get the error message “Error: cannot disable all SIMs”.

Step 5: On the same SIM configuration page, open the SIM card to re-enable it.

You should get a prompt when the process is complete. Tap OK to continue. Now try doing a search and check if the solution solves your problem.

4. Clear Dialer Cache Data

Clearing the cache data of your dialer app can also help you get your phone back to making and receiving calls.

Stage 1: Launch the Settings menu and select ‘Apps & notifications’.

Step 2: Tap on ‘See All Apps’.

Stage 3: Scroll through the list of applications and select Phone.

Step 4: Select the ‘Storage and cache’ option.

Step 5: Tap on the clear cache icon.

Now launch the dialer and check if you can make (and receive) calls now.

Note: Clearing the cache data of the phone app will not delete your call history or contacts, so there is no need to fear.

5. Contact Network Carrier

If your phone is able to make and receive calls with another SIM card, you should contact your network operator with another number or via social media channels to verify that the affected SIM card is active and not blocked. If the SIM is enabled, you may be provided with useful information to solve the problem with your SIM card.

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If all the above solutions fail to fix the problem then you will have to factory reset your phone. And if that also fails, the problem is definitely hardware related. The problem could be caused by a faulty antenna or a damaged SIM port. Who knows? Visit an authorized smartphone repair center to have your device checked for possible hardware damage.

Next: Do you often miss important phone calls? Read the article linked below to know some helpful tips to ensure you never miss a phone call on your Android smartphone.