Apple iPhone 8/8+ – Not Receiving Calls – What to Do

Has your iPhone 8/8+ stopped receiving calls?

This issue can come from a mistake in your settings or a software malfunction. Delayed software updates can stop incoming calls, too. Hardware problems can also cause this issue, but this is relatively rare.

Before you take your phone into a repair shop, you should do some tests at home.

Here are some possible fixes:

1. Find Out If Anyone Else Is Having the Same Problem

Your first step is to figure out whether your phone is the only one affected. Ask people in your vicinity to check their own phones. If nobody in your area can receive calls, then there is a network error. All you can do is to wait until your carrier resolves it.

But what if the problem only affects your phone?

2. Make Sure You Don’t Have the Caller Blocked

It is possible that the caller accidentally ended up on your phone’s block list. To unblock a number, follow these steps:

Go into Settings

Select Phone

Select Call Blocking and Identification

Scroll through your blocked contacts. If there’s someone on the list who doesn’t belong there, tap on the red minus sign beside their name. Then tap on Unblock.

3. Turn Off Call Forwarding

Like call blocking, this function can keep you from receiving notifications when you get a call from a particular number. Here is how you can check if call forwarding is enabled:

Go into Settings

Select Phone

Select Call Forwarding

Turn the option off here.

4. Turn Off Do Not Disturb Mode

The iPhone 8/8+ comes with a Do Not Disturb function. If this is turned on, you don’t get notified when you receive any call.

Here is how you can change your Do Not Disturb settings:

Go into Settings

Select Do Not Disturb

Now you can switch both the Do Not Disturb toggle and the Scheduled toggle to off.

It’s important to note that the iPhone 8/8+ can automatically switch to Do Not Disturb mode when you’re driving. To disable this, go to: Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls

5. Turn Airplane Mode On and Off

To turn on Airplane mode, follow these steps:

Go into Settings

Turn On Airplane Mode

After a few seconds, turn it back off.

6. Update Your iPhone

If you’ve ruled out settings issues, your phone might be having software issues because of a delayed update.

Here is how you can update your carrier settings:

Go into Settings

Select General

Tap on About

Select Update Carrier Settings

But it’s not just the carrier settings that can cause trouble. Your phone’s operating system needs regular updates, too. To manually update the OS, follow these steps:

Go into Settings

Select General

Tap on Software Update

7. Check Your SIM Card

Having issues with your SIM card can make it impossible to receive calls.

To check your SIM card, open the card tray carefully. Clean your SIM card and inspect it for damage. Return it onto the tray, and make sure to carefully place it in position.

A Final Word

If none of the above methods helped, there might be a more serious issue going on. The best thing to do is to contact your carrier or an Apple Store. If you want to try more options at home, a factory reset could be useful.