How to fix an Android phone that goes straight to voicemail

We all want to manage our phone calls. But when every incoming call on your Android phone goes straight to voicemail when you don’t want it to? That’s frustrating, and worse, if you could miss an important call. Stay tuned, we’ll show you some easy fixes. 

Asurion Experts help millions of people make the most of their tech every day, whether you want to set up voicemail or forward calls on your Android device. Here’s our guide on what to do when your Android goes straight to voicemail. 

Why is my Android phone going straight to voicemail? 

Here are a few things you may want to check or turn off if your calls are going right to voicemail: 

• Do Not Disturb mode
• call forwarding
• Airplane mode 
• blocked numbers
• network settings 
• cellular service

Ways to fix calls going straight to voicemail on your Android phone

Try these fixes to stop calls from going directly to voicemail on your Android:

Restart your phone

First, restart your phone for a possible quick and easy fix: 

Samsung: 

1. Press and hold the Power button until the Power off prompt appears. 
2. Tap Restart, then tap Restart again to confirm. 

Other Android phones:

1. Press and hold the Power button until you see the Options menu. 
2. Tap Restart. 

Check for software updates

Make sure your operating system is up-to-date. This could help with an issue like calls going directly to voicemail. Need help? Check out our guide on how to update your Android phone. 

Turn off Do Not Disturb mode

All calls go directly to voicemail if your phone is in Silent or Do Not Disturb mode. Here’s how to turn it off: 

Samsung: 

1. Swipe down from the top of your screen to open the Quick settings panel. 
2. Tap the Do not disturb icon to turn it off (it should be grayed out when off and blue when on). 

Other Android models: 

1. Open Settings. 
2. Tap Notifications > Do Not Disturb. 
3. Check that Do Not Disturb is off. If it’s on, tap the Turn off now button.
4. Check the Schedule settings and other settings to make sure it won’t turn on later. 

Turn off call forwarding

Here’s how to stop forwarding calls and sending them directly to voicemail on your Android phone: 

1. Open the Phone app. 
2. Tap Menu > Settings > Calls > Call Forwarding. 
3. Turn off the forwarding features you want to stop. 

Make sure Airplane mode is off 

Your phone won’t ring and calls will go to voicemail if it’s in Airplane Mode. To turn it off:

Samsung:

1. With your device unlocked, swipe down from the top of the screen to open Quick

Settings and check whether Airplane mode is on. If it is, tap Airplane mode to turn it off (it should be grayed out when off). 

Other Android:

1. With your device unlocked, swipe down from the top of the screen to display your Quick Settings. 
2. Check Airplane mode to see if it’s off. If it’s on, tap the setting to turn it off. 

Unblock numbers

If you’ve blocked someone on your phone, their calls may go directly to a voicemail box for blocked numbers, which is separate from your regular voicemail box. To get incoming calls from this contact, you’ll need to remove them from your Block List. Check out our guide on how to unblock a number on your Android phone. 

Check your SIM card 

If your iPhone has a physical SIM card and it’s damaged or not positioned properly, it could be the reason your Android calls go straight to voicemail. To check it, follow these steps for how to safely remove your SIM card from your iPhone. If your SIM card is damaged, contact your carrier for a new one. Or, consider activating an eSIM on your iPhone. 

Reset network settings

If your calls are still going right to voicemail, resetting your network settings may solve the problem. Note: this will reset all your Wi-Fi, cellular, and VPN settings, so back up your data before you begin.  

1. Open Settings > General. 
2. Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings. 
3. If you have a passcode, enter it when prompted. 
4. Tap Reset Network Settings again. 

Contact your carrier

Still having trouble? You may need to contact your cellular provider. If you’re out of range or if there are mobile network issues, this could cause your calls to go directly to voicemail.