Why is my voicemail unavailable on my iPhone?

An iPhone device can give you access to lots of content and a great display. If you have been using an iPhone device for a while and sometimes cannot access voicemail, you should find out why it is unavailable.

The problem could be with the settings of the device. Your carrier may also be restricting your voicemail box. If your voicemail box is full, the feature may be unavailable. Software problems after a new update can also make voicemail unavailable on an iPhone. Working on either of these causes can help you solve the problem. Find out how.

The importance of voicemail on an iPhone

Voicemail is an essential function in this device since it can help you view your messages and get information regarding when every message was left and who called. It also has a speaker that allows you to listen to messages easily. Voicemail controls allow you to create a personalized greeting message for your contacts. It is an easy to customize feature that should be available on an iPhone.

Why voicemail is sometimes unavailable on an iPhone

• Your carrier is restricting the voicemail box

Sometimes, carriers try to restrict voicemail boxes. This can prevent you from using voicemail for some time. If you suspect that this is why you cannot access voicemail, you should contact the carrier. Your carrier can help you fix such voicemail issues since it can offer FAQ tools or support pages that you can use to solve the problem.

You should also consider updating the carrier settings. For you to do this, you need to click on settings on your device then pick general.  Look for a section labeled about and click on it. If there is an update for cellular service that needs to be installed, it will show up here.

• Software problems after an update

If you have installed a new software update, sometimes, you may not be able to access your voicemail as usual. You should consider restarting the iPhone after the software update installation. Doing this can make voicemail show up so that you can continue viewing messages. The process of restarting an iPhone is simple.

You only need to locate the wake/ sleep button on the device. Press and hold on to it until a red slider appears. Once it does, you should drag it to power off. Give it a few seconds, then hold on to the wake button one more time until the Apple logo shows up on the device. Once you have restarted the iPhone, software issues may no longer prevent you from accessing voicemail.

• iPhone settings

When you notice that voicemail is not available on an iPhone, you should suspect this device’s settings. Resetting network settings on this device can make the voicemail show up and start working as expected. To reset them, you need to navigate to Settings on the device and click on general. Once you do this, you will see a section labeled reset. Click on it, then on reset network settings. This action erases the current network credentials on the iPhone and restores them to default. You should come up with new wifi passwords since any saved passwords will disappear. Resetting network settings on the device can, however, make voicemail available.

Apart from working on the network settings, you can also confirm if the iPhone’s time zone is correct. Adjusting this can help you start receiving voicemails on the device. You can change the time zone through the iPhone settings. Click on general, then go to data and time. Click on the section labeled set date and time automatically.

• The voicemail box is full

When the voicemail box is full, the iPhone may not show the voicemail feature. Emptying the voicemail box can help you start using this feature as usual. An iPhone keeps voicemails for at least 30 days before deleting them. If you have been receiving many voicemails and suspect that the box is full, you should consider deleting them manually.

You can also delete your voicemails through airplane mode. This can help resolve issues with unavailable voicemail. Open settings on the iPhone so that you can turn on the airplane mode. Tap on the toggle switch next to airplane mode to turn it on. When the airplane mode is on, every wireless communication radio will be off. You can now delete and clear read voicemails to create space for more. Once you do this, you should turn off the airplane mode to force the device to reconnect with the cell tower. Once the voicemail box is no longer full, it can now show up on your device.

A summary of why voicemail is not available on the iPhone

Conclusion

If you are using an iPhone, you should be able to access your voicemail without any problems. When voicemail does not show up on the device, you should try to find out why it happens. Identifying the specific cause can help you figure out how to resolve this issue. Let the points above guide you into fixing the problem so that you can continue enjoying using voicemail.

FAQs

How can I activate voicemail on an iPhone?

On the home screen, click on the phone app then voicemail. Tap on set up now. You will also need a password to activate the voicemail. Once you do this, you can record a greeting and save.

How long does updating carrier settings on an iPhone take?

This should take less than 30 seconds. You will get a pop-up message once the carrier settings are updated.