Sometimes you may experience an unusual problem where your iPhone 18 Pro cannot make or receive calls while texting still works. This is an unusual situation because it appears that your iPhone is still connected to a cellular network since you can still send SMS messages. But some other problems are preventing you from making calls. We will cover some possible scenarios and their fixes.
If you experience this problem, you may get Call Failed error messages when you try to call someone. You may also see “SOS Only,” “Searching” or ” No Service” notices in the status bar.
Are you blocked?
The first question you should answer is whether you are having this problem with all of your outgoing calls or just with certain calls. If your iPhone 18 Pro won’t make any calls, move to the next fix. But if most of your calls are working, there is a possibility that you may have been blocked.
If only certain calls fail, the person you are calling may have blocked you. When someone blocks a contact on iPhone, that contact can’t communicate with them in the Phone, Messages, and FaceTime apps.
Can you send SMS messages?
First, let’s ensure that you can really send SMS messages and that you are not confusing them with iMessages. We need to distinguish this to pinpoint the root of the problem. SMS and iMessages are different and can easily be recognized. If the messages appear in blue bubbles, they are iMessages, while if they appear in green bubbles, they are SMS, MMS, or RCS messages.
On your iPhone, you can send iMessages and SMS messages. You simply compose your message and tap Send. Your iPhone will decide if it will be sent as an iMessage or an SMS message automatically.
iMessages can only be sent to other Apple devices, while SMS messages can be sent to any device. The other difference is that iMessage texts can be sent over Wi-Fi or cellular service and don’t count against your SMS, MMS, or RCS allowances in your cellular messaging plan. You might not be able to make or receive calls on your iPhone if you have certain settings turned on, if your software isn’t up to date, or if there’s a problem with your network. We will address fixes for these.
Update your iPhone and carrier settings
Ensure that your iPhone is using the latest version of iOS. Also, ensure that the latest carrier settings updates are installed on your device. Carrier settings updates are released by your cellular company. Here is how you can check this:
- Update iOS: Go to Settings > General > Software Update.
- Carrier settings update: Settings > General > About, then follow the onscreen instructions to install your carrier update.
Restart your iPhone
Simply reboot your iPhone. Your calling problem may be a simple issue that can be fixed with a restart. Press and hold either volume button and the side button until the power-off slider appears. Drag the slider, then wait 30 seconds for your device to turn off. To turn your device back on, press and hold the side button (on the right side of your iPhone) until you see the Apple logo.
Contact your service provider to learn about your plan and ongoing outages
When your iPhone 18 Pro won’t make calls, the issue could be with your service provider. Contact them. Most of this info can also be obtained through the cellular provider’s mobile app or online account service if you are using them. There can be several issues you may need to address.
- Ensure that your account is still in good standing. Perhaps your account has been suspended because you have not paid your last bill.
- Ensure that there are no local outages affecting your account. Perhaps a storm damaged the cell towers around you.
- Ensure that you are not over your plan limit. You may be on a plan with limited call minutes and a limited number of texts. If you have used up all of your minutes while you still have text message rights, you won’t be able to make calls again until the next billing cycle comes, or you buy extra minutes even though you can still text without an issue.
Go to your carrier’s website or open its app and follow its support procedures.
Check your iPhone settings
- Turn Airplane Mode on and off. Wait five seconds between turning Airplane Mode on and off.
- Make sure Do Not Disturb is off: in the Settings app, tap Focus and then Do Not Disturb.
- Make sure Call Forwarding is off: in the Settings app, tap Apps and then Phone, then tap Call Forwarding.
- Check for any blocked phone numbers: go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Blocked Contacts.
Reset all settings
If your problem continues, try resetting all of your settings. This will erase and restore various settings such as network, privacy, location and so on. It is important to mention that your data and content will not be deleted. For example, your photos, videos, music, and files will stay. On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset and then tap Reset All Settings.
If you are still facing this problem, contact Apple support for further help.
