You can end up missing important calls, if the incoming calls on your iPhone are going straight to voicemail and not ringing or vibrating on your device. The reason for this issue could be due to your device being in Driving mode, Do Not Disturb mode, Airplane mode and various other reasons.
- Do Not Disturb: Diverts calls directly to voicemail and prevents call and message notifications from appearing on the screen of iPhone.
- Driving Mode: Depending on the settings, iPhone can automatically switch to Driving Mode and divert calls to voicemail.
- Airplane Mode: Disables all wireless connections; which results in calls going to voicemail.
- Silence Unknown Callers: Automatically diverts calls from those who are not in your Contacts List to voicemail.
- Call Forwarding: Diverts calls to voicemail, home phone or another phone number.
In addition to above, iPhone can end up diverting calls to voicemail due to blocked numbers, software glitches, outdated iOS/carrier settings, poor or intermittent network connectivity and also when it goes out of range of the service providers network.
Prevent Calls From Going Directly to Voicemail on iPhone
Now that we have identified the most common reasons for calls going directly to voicemail, we can go ahead and systematically check, identify and eliminate the reason for this issue and restore regular call behavior on your iPhone.
1. Check Airplane Mode
If you have been travelling start by making sure that your device is not in Airplane mode. Airplane can also get accidentally enabled or manually enabled to prevent calls and forgotten.
1. Open the Settings App on your iPhone.
2. On the Settings screen, make sure slider next to Airplane Mode is set to OFF position.
Once Airplane mode is disabled, you should find calls ringing on your device and not being directed to Voicemail.
2. Check Do Not Disturb Mode
If your iPhone is in Do Not Disturb mode, you should see a crescent moon icon at top-left corner of the screen. You can disable the Do Not Disturb mode on your device by using these steps.
1. Go to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb.
2. On the next screen, scroll down and tap on your current DND Schedule.
3. On the next screen, you can either disable the current DND schedule or select Delete Schedule option (if you are not using it).
3. Disable Silence Unknown Callers
As mentioned above, the Silence Unknown Callers feature sends calls from people who are not in your Contacts List directly to voicemail. Missed calls show up in “Recents” tab on iPhone, which may lead you into wondering whether certain calls on your device are being diverted to voicemail.
1. Go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers.
2. On the next screen, scroll down to “Screen Unknown Callers” section and select the Never option.
After this, you will find your device ringing or vibrating for all calls made to your device.
4. Disable Driving Mode
If the Driving mode setting on iPhone is set to “Auto”, it can automatically switch to Driving mode, even if you are travelling as a passenger by public transport, car, train and not actually driving.
1. Go to Settings > Focus > Driving > scroll down and tap on While Driving.
2. On the next screen, select the Manually option.
This will prevent your device from automatically switching to Driving Mode and driving calls to voicemail.
5. Check Blocked Numbers
This could be the reason, if certain calls on your iPhone are always being diverted to voicemail.
1. Go to Settings > Apps > Phone.
2. On the Phone screen, scroll down to “Call Filtering” section and tap on Blocked Contacts.
3. On the next screen, check the Blocked Numbers and unblock them by tapping on Edit.
6. Disable Call Forwarding
If you do make use of the call forwarding feature, make sure it has been disabled.
1. Go to Settings > Apps > Phone.
2. On the Phone screen, scroll down to “Call” section and tap on Call Forwarding.
3. On the next screen, disable Call Forwarding by moving the slider to OFF position.
7. Install iOS & Carrier Updates
Make sure that your iPhone is up-to-date with the latest available iOS and carrier updates.
1. Go to Settings > General > Software Update.
2. On the next screen, tap on Update Now to install the available updates (If any).