Verizon Phone Goes Straight to Voicemail? (Fix In Minutes!)

It can be very frustrating when your Verizon phone goes straight to voicemail. Luckily, there is an explanation and a way to fix it. 

Calls going to voicemail are not the most common issues you’ll face with your Verizon phone. It’s possible to fix this quickly to regain your phone’s call functions.

Don’t know what to do when your Verizon phone goes to voicemail? We’ve got you covered!  

First, ensure your phone has service, and the Do Not Disturb mode is switched off. Then, disable the call-forwarding on your device. If these don’t work, you can manage the call filters on your Verizon account. 

Before we move on to the actual steps of the proven steps to resolve your Verizon going straight-to-voicemail problem, let us explain the causes.  

Top Reasons Why My Verizon Phone Goes Straight to Voicemail

There are several possible reasons your Verizon calls go straight to your voicemail.

Since most of these involve your device’s settings, it is easy to resolve them.

Among the handful of things that might automatically send your call to your voicemail are the following: 

✅ Service Outage

If you don’t have a signal, your caller won’t be able to reach you, but they should still be able to leave a message on your voicemail. Your phone won’t probably ring. 

✅ Do Not Disturb Is Switched On

You may have accidentally switched on the Do Not Disturb Mode. When your phone is locked, it will silence all incoming calls and send them straight to your voicemail. 

✅ Phone Call Forwarding Is Switched On

If this feature is enabled and you miss answering your calls, your phone will forward your calls without allowing it to ring.

You won’t even have the chance to answer your calls.  

✅ Verizon Account’s Call Filters

You must have turned on “Filter spam calls.” Verizon’s call filter feature detects spam and blocks them by forwarding the call to your voicemail.

You can still find the filtered calls in your call history. 

Now that you know why your calls go to your voicemail, let’s proceed to the solutions. 

Full Guide on How to Fix Verizon Going Straight to Voicemail

When your Verizon phone goes straight to voicemail, don’t worry! There are a few things you can do to receive calls again.

But first, make sure you have cell service. Check the signal strength of your network.

If your phone has service but can’t receive calls, check if you enabled Airplane Mode. 

• If Airplane Mode is on, turn it off. 
• If it’s off, turn Airplane Mode on. Wait a few seconds. Then, turn off Airplane Mode again. 

Now, if the problem persists, try restarting your phone. It should clear your device of temporary bugs and glitches that may be causing the issue. 

1. Set Do Not Disturb Off

If your Verizon phone’s calls go straight to voicemail, one of the simplest things you can do is to check the status of the Do Not Disturb mode.

Do Not Disturb silences your alerts and notifications. It can even block your calls to ensure that nothing goes through so you are not bothered.

When switched on, your phone will not be able to accept incoming calls and will redirect them to voicemail.

If you find out it’s activated, you only need to switch it off so your phone can allow them to go through.

Here’s how to turn off your device’s Do Not Disturb mode:

✅iPhone:

1. Swipe down from the top right of your screen to open Control Center.
2. Locate the icon that’s labeled Do Not Disturb.
3. Tap on the icon to switch off Do Not Disturb.
4. Get someone to call you to verify you can take calls again.

✅Android:

1. Swipe down from the top of your screen to open the Notification Center.
2. Swipe down again to see all of the Notification Center options.
3. Swipe right to find the Do Not Disturb item.
4. Tap on the icon to turn off Do Not Disturb.

Note: You can also check your iPhone’s Focus options for more options with the Do Not Disturb mode.

2. Remove Blocked Numbers on Your Phone

Blocking numbers on your phone can certainly come in handy in controlling telemarketers.

However, you can mistakenly block the numbers that you want to go through.

You want to check the blocked numbers list on your phone and remove the numbers you want to receive rather than go to voicemail.

Here’s how you can remove blocked numbers on your phone:

✅iPhone:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Go to the Phone option.
3. Choose Blocked contacts to open your block list.
4. Tap the Edit button at the top right.
5. Select the minus icon to unblock, then Unblock.

✅Android:

1. Open the Phone app on your Android device.
2. Tap More, then Settings.
3. Choose Blocked Numbers.
4. Tap Clear beside the number you want to unblock, then Unblock.

Note: You won’t see any calls from blocked numbers while they’re blocked.

3. Update Your Phone’s Carrier Settings

If your phone has issues connecting to Verizon, it’s likely due to a carrier settings update.

Problems with your phone’s carrier settings can cause it to have a hard time getting your calls and messages from Verizon.

Updating your phone’s carrier settings is quick and easy.

It ensures that your phone gets optimum connectivity with Verizon, so you don’t miss out on any calls or messages.

Here’s how to update your phone’s carrier settings:

✅iPhone:

1. Connect your phone to a stable internet network.
2. Go to your phone’s Settings.
3. Select General, then About.
4. Update your phone carrier settings.

✅Android:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone.
2. Go to More, then Mobile Networks.
3. Choose Carrier Settings.
4. Select Update Profile.
5. Wait for the update process to complete.

Note: You want to ensure your phone is connected to WiFi or a stable mobile network for cellular data.

4. Switch Off the Silence Unknown Callers Options

There are a lot of solutions that you can use to fix your Verizon phone calls going to voicemail.

However, there’s a specific one that works only for iPhones. If it’s turned on, calls from those not saved in your contact list will go straight to voicemail.

If you’re expecting calls from someone you don’t have their number, you must turn on the Silence Unknown Callers option to receive them.

Here’s how to turn off the Silence Unknown Callers feature:

1. Open your phone’s Settings.
2. Go to the Phone option.
3. Tap on Silence Unknown Callers.
4. Toggle the switch to the Off position.

Note: For this solution to work, you must check other options that can block calls, like Do Not Disturb and Call Forwarding.

5. Disable Call Forwarding Features on Your Phone

If your calls go straight to voicemail, you will want to check if Call Forwarding on your phone is activated.

• It’s possible that you’re forwarding all of your calls directly to your voicemail address so they don’t disturb you.

If this is the case, you want to turn off Call Forwarding so the calls will ring you up rather than getting redirected to your voicemail.

Here’s how to turn off Call Forwarding on your phone:

✅iPhone:

1. Open your phone’s Settings.
2. Navigate to the Phone option.
3. Go to the Phone settings section and select Call Forwarding.
4. Toggle the switch for Call Forwarding to Off.

✅Android:

1. Launch the Phone app on your device.
2. Tap on the Menu icon on the top right.
3. Select Settings, then Calls.
4. Choose Call Forwarding.
5. Switch off the options you don’t want.

6. Manage the Call Filters on the Verizon App

If you’ve tried every possible phone setting but still get your calls going to voicemail, you will want to consider looking at your Verizon settings.

Your Verizon account has different call filters allowing you to control every aspect of your incoming calls.

Properly managing Verizon’s call filters is the key to getting calls through to your phone.

You want to ensure they’re set correctly so calls don’t go straight to voicemail.

Here’s how to change your call filter settings on Verizon:

1. Open the My Verizon app on your device.
2. Select the Account tab from the bottom menu.
3. Go to My Devices, then Device Overview.
4. Tap on Manage Device and select your phone.
5. Choose Manage Call Filter and turn off the Auto-block spam calls.

Note: You can also log in to your Verizon account through a web browser if you can’t access the Verizon app.

These proven solutions will help you start receiving calls on your phone. Certain settings will get them to go straight to voicemail.

You want to disable these features and verify that your phone can start receiving calls.

Bottom Line

Now that you know the causes and fixes to your Verizon phone going straight to voicemail problem, you can follow these steps to resolve it.

It’s important that you can receive calls, especially if you’re expecting one, rather than having them go to voicemail.

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