My iPhone Won’t Make Calls but Will Text! Find the Fix Here

Your iPhone, like every piece of technology, can sometimes behave unpredictably. One way you may experience strange behavior is when your iPhone won’t make calls but will text. If you can send and receive texts, shouldn’t you be able to make and receive phone calls too? Let’s go over how to troubleshoot this odd occurrence in the article below.

Jump To:

• Quick Fixes for When You Can’t Make Calls
• Further Troubleshooting Steps

Quick Fixes for When Phone Won’t Make Calls but You Can Text

If your iPhone can’t make calls but can text, there could be an issue with your network connection or it could be a hardware problem with your iPhone. Firstly, double check that you have a strong network connection. If your connection seems fine, there are a few quick solutions that may help resolve the issue or at least narrow down the cause. For more iPhone troubleshooting advice, be sure to sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter. Now, here’s what to do when your iPhone won’t make calls but you can text.

Restart Your iPhone

When troubleshooting strange iPhone bugs, like long-distance FaceTime calls not working on iPhone, the first thing I always do is restart the device. You can do this by pressing and holding both the side button and either the volume up or down button. Once the power options menu appears, just tap and drag the power slider to the right to turn off your iPhone. After a few seconds, you can press and hold the side button again until the Apple logo appears.

Check for Updates

If restarting your iPhone didn’t help, the next step is to make sure your iPhone is up-to-date. Apple regularly releases software updates to fix bugs and add new features, so if your iPhone can’t make calls but can text, a quick update might just be what it needs.

Turn Airplane Mode On & Off

Network issues can sometimes be fixed by giving your iPhone wireless signals a quick refresher. Turning Airplane Mode on will temporarily disable all wireless connections from your device, and turning it back off re-enables them. You can control Airplane Mode from the Control Center. Simply tap the airplane icon to turn it on (it will be filled in and orange when activated) and tap the icon again to turn it off.

Troubleshooting Why Your iPhone Won’t Make Calls but Will Text

If none of the above quick fixes resolved the problem and you’re still wondering, “why do my calls keep failing?”, the issue may be with your wireless provider or your iPhone carrier settings. Here are some settings to check to make sure the issue is not with your iPhone.

Check for Carrier Settings Update

Your wireless provider can sometimes release updates to its carrier settings. Normally, your iPhone will update these automatically or prompt you to update them. However, you can manually for carrier settings updates:

1. Open the Settings app, and tap General.
   
   
2. Tap About.
   
   
3. If there is an update, you should be prompted to download it. You can also scroll down to Carrier and see which version you currently have installed.
   
   
4. You can tap the version number multiple times to see additional information about your carrier settings.
   
   

If you had a carrier settings update, try making a phone call to see if the issue has been resolved.

Reset Network Settings

Resetting your iPhone’s network settings should be a last resort, as this option will wipe your saved Wi-Fi passwords and any other wireless settings. Your iPhone’s data will be safe, but just be aware that your saved Wi-Fi networks will be gone.

Here’s how to reset your iPhone’s network settings:

1. Open the Settings app, and tap General.
   
   
2. Tap About.
   
   
3. Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.
   
   
4. Tap Reset.
   
   
5. Tap Reset Network Settings.
   
   
6. Enter your device passcode.
   
   
7. Tap Reset Network Settings again to confirm.
   
   

Once your network settings have been reset, try making a phone call and sending a text message to see if the problem has been resolved.

Contact Your Carrier

Your iPhone still won’t make calls but will text? If none of the solutions above worked out for you, the issue may be with your wireless provider. In that case, you will need to reach out to your carrier to find out if there is an issue with the network or your SIM card.