Phone Rings Once Then Goes to Voicemail [Easy Fix]

When a phone rings once then goes to voicemail, there is definitely something going on, preventing the call from reaching the receiver.

The majority of you rather text than having a voice conversation but calling is still the fastest way to reach someone in urgent cases.

It is fundamental to be able to receive calls, and this is why in this post we are going to troubleshoot your voicemail issue on both Android and IOS.

There are several occasions in which the phone will ring once and then go-to voicemail.

Whether you’re calling or receiving calls in order for the issue to appear, the first thing you should do is to ensure that both devices have their “Do not disturb mode” disabled.

This is one of the most common occasions of this issue and if both devices have this mode disabled, you should troubleshoot further.

Why Phone Rings Once Then Goes To Voicemail?

If you are asking yourself “phone rings once then goes to voicemail am I blocked?”, yes, you might be. But this is not the only circumstance where a certain phone goes to voicemail.

Here are examples to illustrate some of the possible causes:

You are blocked

If you are hearing just one ring before the voicemail activates when calling someone, this is a clear sign that you are blocked.

However, a formation is always a possibility and you might not be blocked at all.

However, ensure that the participant in the call did not block you by a misclick which is a common solution to some of the forum conversations we have read.

Poor cellular coverage

If the participant you are trying to reach is located in a place where the cellular coverage is poor, you might hear a single ring at your end before the voicemail starts.

It is a rare occasion but still, wait a few minutes and call again to be sure.

On the top corner of your smartphone screen, you can see a small staircase alike graph, and usually, the name of your carrier stands beside it.

If it is empty it means that the carrier traffic is nowhere to be found nearby and when someone is calling it is highly likely for them to be sent straight to your voicemail.

Enabled “Do not disturb mode”

As we mentioned in the introduction having the “Do not disturb mode” enabled in a device participating in a phone call, it is well known for the phone to ring once and then go to voicemail for both Android and iPhone.

On most smartphones, the “Do not disturb mode” can be found in the home screen menu docs on most phone types, and the setting usually has a “moon” icon.

Enabled “Airplane Mode”

Airplane mode is a good example where your call will be sent straight to the voicemail (if available).

The majority of smartphone users occasionally use “Airplane Mode” when they are at work, meeting, or gatherings instead of the dedicated “Do not disturb mode”.

This often leads to forgetting that the setting is enabled resulting in a voice mail redirection when the phone is reached.

Ensure that both devices are not in “Airplane Mode” as this is a circumstance that aligns with your issue perfectly.

Carrier Maintenance

Well, carrier maintenance is a really rare occasion, but it is possible that the provider is having a hard day.

You can either quickly check with somebody using the same cellular provider to identify if they experience the same issue or simply navigate to the official carrier website for maintenance alerts.

If this is not the case, then you might be out of service or your issue could be related to some possible causes that we are going to discuss next.

How to Ensure That Phone Won’t Go To Voicemail?

If you have applied all of the above recommendations and tips, it is time for you to perform some troubleshooting and hopefully restore your smartphone’s fundamental ability.

Whether your phone rings and goes to voicemail on Android OS or iPhone, we have prepared a list of troubleshooting applying on both.

Tip: Execute the below provided steps in numerical order and perform a test phone call after each step to prevent unnecessary troubleshooting.

Step 1 – Check blocked list

If the number that is trying to reach you accidentally ended up in your block list, it is highly likely for them to be sent straight to the voicemail when calling you.

Contact with the participant any way around and both ensure that each other phone numbers are not in the blocklists.

Step 2 – Restart your phone

Restarting your phone should be one of the first actions to take after you ensure that the participant that is trying to reach you is not blocked.

After all, these computers that we carry around in our pockets age over time, and many glitches are starting to occur.

A simple restart will reboot all services and hopefully restore your phone to normal.

Step 3 – Update your Phone

If your phone rings once and goes to voicemail iPhone, it is possible that your OS is not up to date.

Especially if you have missed a firmware update, your phone most certainly will not be able to receive calls.

Here we are speaking of years of not updating, which makes this a rare occasion but it is worth mentioning as some of you might be trying to revive a really old device.

This issue has not been reported for Android users but it is worth updating your system to the latest possible firmware in order to avoid similar complexities.

Step 4 – Phone Damage

If your phone recently experienced a severe drop or water exposure for longer than recommended, it is possible that your device is damaged.

If any similar event has happened, visiting a local phone service might save you a lot of effort troubleshooting something else.

Damaged hardware issues are really hard to troubleshoot from home if you are not well familiar with the phone integration.

You also need specific tools if you are going to manually repair an iPhone for example, where Android is slightly easier to disassemble.

The recommendation here is to seek professional attention as smartphones’ hardware can be easily damaged further by an inexperienced approach.

Step 5 – Check with your Carrier

If nothing so far has managed to resolve your issue the problem might be coming from your SIM card or phone itself.

The first step would be to check your SIM card on another device and if it does not work, you should visit a local carrier.

If the SIM card does work on the other device, you can always contact your phone brand official support to acquire more model-specific issues and how to resolve them.

You might have to follow a list of troubleshooting steps that you will be provided after contacting the support team after which you will receive personal attention.

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Bottom Line:

We hope our post was able to resolve the phone rings once then goes to voicemail issue and if you still experience any sort of issue that is related, ensure that you have followed our guide carefully.