15 Simple Fixes to iPhone Voicemail Not Working in iOS 16/15

Voicemail is a helpful feature which enables you receive voice messages when you’re unable to answer the call. It can be frustrating if the voicemail is not working on your iPhone, since you can’t tell how many important messages you could be missing out on.

The cause for iPhone voicemail not working could be anything right from misconfigured voicemail settings to a network glitch. Fortunately, there are various ways to fix this voicemail problem and we’ll share them all in this article. Keep reading!

Why Is My Voicemail Not Working on My iPhone?

There are multiple causes for voicemail not working on iPhone. The most common one is a poor or ill-functioning cellular network. Although not often, outdated software or a bug can also cause iPhone voicemail not to work. There could be other reasons but these are the usual suspects.

How Do I Get My iPhone Voicemail to Work?

Now that you know some of the possible causes, below are the workable solutions;

1. Check Out the Availability

Some may overlook this but being clear if a certain feature is available is always a good place to start before proceeding to look for any fixes. This is true especially in this context because not all carriers offer Voicemail, Visual Voicemail, and also Voicemail transcription services.

Furthermore, these features are not always available everywhere. With that in mind, the first thing you should do is to confirm that your carrier offers Voicemail service.

2. Ensure Voicemail Is Set Up

Another important thing to do is to confirm that voicemail is set up correctly. Sometimes updates can change or reset the configuration of your iPhone and cause some issues.

So, open the Phone app on your iPhone, and tap the Voicemail option to confirm that voicemail feature is enabled and properly set up. Alternatively, you can open Settings and go to Phone where you should see the Change Voicemail Password option.

3. Empty Your Voicemail Box

Almost all modern iPhones come with plenty of space for storing data. However, the voicemail storage is usually limited hence often fills up fast, especially if you frequently receive spam calls.

Sometimes when your voicemail box becomes too full, it will stop receiving new voicemails. In this case, you need to make more space by deleting previous voicemails.

• To do that, open the Phone app and click Voicemail, and then click Edit (top right-hand corner).
• Next, select all voicemails your wish to delete and then tap Delete (bottom right-hand corner).

Your voicemail box should now have enough free space to receive voicemails.

4. Force Close and Restart the Phone App

Try force closing and reopening the Phone app to see if it helps.

• For iPhone X, 11, and newer models, force close Phone app by swiping up on iPhone screen. The Task view will appear. Locate the Phone app, now swipe up on it to force kill it.
• For iPhone 8, 7 and earlier models, double-click on home button and then simply swipe up quickly on the Phone to display the Task view showing open app cards. Now, just swipe up again the Phone app card.

Relaunch the Phone app. This should fix the voicemail issue on your iPhone.

5. Ensure Cellular Data Is On

Visual voicemail can only work effectively when there is strong cellular data – it enables you to read a voicemail without actually listening to it. Receiving voicemails equally requires cellular data in most cases. Furthermore, only a carrier can provide the voicemail feature, so connecting to cellular data guarantees that your voicemails will be delivered.

In case your iPhone visual voicemail is not working and the cellular data is off, then turning it on could fix the issue. Launch Settings, go to Cellular, and then just tap Cellular Data. That will enable it. If you’re working with a limited data plan, try exploring options that’ll keep your data usage low and still allow you to get voicemails.

6. Turn Cellular Service Off and On

Toggling your cellular service off and then back on again could just do the trick. You can do this from Control Center or Settings. Open Settings, go to Cellular, and then tap Cellular Data to switch it off. Wait for 30 seconds, then switch it on.

7. Toggle Airplane Mode On and Off

Switching on and off your Airplane Mode is another simple trick that can solve voicemail not working on iPhone problem. This can be done through either Control Center or Settings.

• For iPhone X and newer models, swipe down starting from the screen’s top part (right side where there’s battery indicator). For iPhone 8 and other older models, just swipe up starting from the screen’s bottom part.
• Locate the small plane icon and tap it to toggle on Airplane Mode. All connections will be disabled. Wait for 30 seconds and turn off the Airplane Mode by tapping again the small plane icon.

8. Turn Off Call Forwarding

Call fowarding can sometimes lead to iPhone voicemail not working. Therefore, ensure its turned off if you have it set up.

To disable it, launch Settings, go to Phone and then Call Forwading. Make sure the toggle is switched to off.

9. Reset iPhone’s Time Zone

Voicemail is likely to ill-function when the date and time are incorrect. We would recommend you allow the automatic date and time settings on your iPhone to ensure they are always correct.

To do so, launch Settings, go to General and then Date and Time. Now enable Set Automatically by tapping the toggle next to it.

10. Reset Voicemail Password

The next method that can help to fix iPhone visual voicemail not working is changing the password of your voicemail. It can be done over the website of your carrier or by contacting their customer service to assist you. You can also do it via the mobile app of your network provider if they have one. Another alternative is doing it from Settings.

To do so, open Settings, go to Phone and then to the option for changing voicemail password. Put your new password. In case you don’t remember your old voicemail password, contact your network provider for assistance.

11. Reset Network Settings on iPhone

Try resetting the network settings next if the voicemail issue is still not solved. None of your data will be deleted. Open Settings, head to General, then Reset. Now, tap Reset Network Settings. Put your password and then tap Reset Network Settings.

12. Restart Your iPhone

Stuck programs and minor software glitches could lead to voicemail issues. Restarting your iPhone can fix this and have your voicemail working again.

Launch Settings, go to General and tap Shut Down (at the bottom of the list). Toggle the Slider that appears to power off the iPhone. Let it shut down completely. Wait for a minute before restarting it.

13. Check for Carrier Settings Update

Outdated carrier settings can sometimes cause iPhone voicemail to stop working too. Carrier providers usually release updates to enhance performance and as well fix network-related issues. Therefore, you should update your iPhone’s carrier settings if there’s any.

To do the update, launch Settings, go to General, and then About. Check if updates are available. If there’s any, update the carrier.

14. Fix iPhone Voicemail Issues with iOS Repair Tool

Using iOS Repair Tool is your best option if the iPhone voicemail not working problem still persists. Fucosoft iOS System Recovery is the top on the market. It can solve many various iOS system issues fast and effectively without data loss, including the voicemail issue. It’s easy to use too and can work with all iOS versions (iOS 16/15) and all iPhone, iPad or iPod models.

Steps to fix voicemail not working on iPhone problem without data loss;

Step 1: On your Mac or Windows computer, download and install Fucosoft iOS System Recovery software.

Launch it and connect your iPhone to the PC using its original Apple USB cable. Click Start on the screen once your iPhone is detected.

Step 2: You’ll see two options. Select Standard Repair (won’t cause data loss) to continue.

Step 3: Now click Download from the firmware download page that appears next.

Step 4: Once firmware download is finished, click Start Standard Repair to begin system repair.

15. Contact Carrier or Apple Support

The last resort if none of the above methods work is contacting your cellular carrier or Apple Support. Contact you carrier first or visit them to ensure there’s no problem with your account. If everything is okay on your carrier’s end, then contact Apple online via its website or visit a nearby local Apple Store. You may need to make an appointment first though.

The Bottom Line

If you’ve tried the above basic solutions, your iPhone voicemail not working problem should be fixed now. If it’s not, we suggest you use the Fucosoft iOS System Recovery tool. It’s the best and reliable way to resolve voicemail not working on iPhone issue or any other iOS issue that may be causing your iPhone voicemail not to work. Give it a try and let us know how it goes.