⚠️ Telstra's 3G network has now shutdown. Text '3G' to 3498 to check your device. Incompatible handsets will be blocked from accessing the network, more info here
As much as there is to do on a smartphone these days, when it comes right down to it, a mobile phone is there for one fundamental reason: making phone calls and receiving them.
However, there are times when phones don’t function quite as intended, making it impossible to make or receive calls. Luckily, much of the time this issue stems from a common cause that can be easily fixed. In this article, we take a look at some of the most common reasons for not being able to make and receive calls on your phone app, and how to resolve them.
Airplane/Flight Mode
Perhaps the simplest reason why you may have difficulty making or receiving calls is that your phone has been set to airplane mode, otherwise known as flight mode. This setting effectively disables your phone’s wireless capabilities including calls, SMS, and mobile data. A quick fix, however, just go into your phone settings and disable flight mode accordingly.
Similarly, for both iPhone and Android phone users, it can also be a good idea to check that the ‘Do Not Disturb’ setting is not enabled.
SIM card issues
It’s possible that your SIM card may have been knocked out of place, preventing both outgoing and incoming calls. It’s also possible that dust or other debris may be obstructing your device from reading your SIM. In any case, you can try turning off your device, removing the SIM, cleaning it with a cloth, reinserting it and turning the device on again.
Network Coverage
It might be the case that you are in an area with poor signal/network coverage. Typically, you can tell how much signal you have by looking at the bars at the top of the phone screen. If you can see that only 1 or 2 bars are illuminated (or that they’re all blank), try moving to another location. At times, a poor signal can be a result of temporary network issues such as maintenance or even unexpected events like outages.
Luckily when you sign-up with MATE, poor network coverage will be a thing of the past. That’s because MATE mobile plans use parts of Telstra’s 5G, 4G and 3G mobile networks. The Telstra Wholesale mobile coverage area footprint reaches more than 98.8% of the Australian population and covers more than 1.6 million square kilometres of the Australian landmass.
Your mobile account
Are you all up to date with your mobile plan payments? If not, your service provider may have issued a billing-related block to prevent incoming and outgoing calls. In this case, it’s a good idea to get in touch with your service provider.
Call Forwarding
Regardless of whether you use an iPhone or an Android device, call forwarding can be a common culprit in the case of inbound call problems. Call forwarding – the feature that redirects incoming calls to an alternate number – should be turned off via your device’s settings to see if it solves the issue.
Reset Network settings
Sometimes it can be good to start afresh. By going into your Android smartphone or iPhone’s Settings > General > Reset, and then proceeding to tap Reset Network Settings, you can remove all stored networking-relating data. It’s important to note that this will erase previously saved Wi-Fi passwords, VPN settings, Bluetooth settings and preferred mobile networks. With any luck, this reboot will allow you to make and receive calls immediately.
Factory Reset
As a final resort to getting your phone back to good health and able to freely make and receive phone calls again, performing a factory reset might be the way to go. Make sure you back up all files, images, videos, messages, etc. before your factory reset. Since everything – everything – will be erased. But again, this is a last resort, so it’s best to run through all potential solutions with your service provider first.
Sign-up with MATE
Of course, before you can even think about making a call you’re going to need a mobile phone plan that gives you the freedom to do just that. With MATE we have a range of SIM-only plans suitable for whatever your data needs might be, ranging from 10GB to 120GB/month. There are even 5G mobile plans available and all plans come with 500GB data bank!
Did we mention that all our plans include unlimited talk & text to standard Aussie numbers, no lock-in contracts, and no plan change fees? Mate, what are you waiting for?
