Everything was working perfectly fine but all of a sudden, your Iphone 8 cannot make or receive calls after the iOS 13 update. If you need help resolving the same post-update problem on your iPhone 8, then this post is for you. Read on for more information.
Emerging among the widespread issues encountered by many iPhone owners following an iOS update installation is on calling errors. And to address this concern, I’ve gathered a few potential solutions and tweaks to eliminate the usual triggers. Find out what to do if your iPhone 8 cannot make or receive calls in iOS 13.
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Troubleshooting an iPhone 8 that cannot make or receive calls in iOS 13
Something in the recent iOS update has likely ruined your phone’s calling functions. To rule out all possible triggers, performing these subsequent solutions can help. Don’t forget to place a test call after carrying out every procedure to determine whether or not the iOS 13 phone bug is fixed.
First solution: Reboot your iPhone (soft reset).
Some services would stop working after a major system transition. Oftentimes, the emerging symptoms are just minor and so they can easily be remedied by simple procedures. The first recommended solution to minor software issues like the iOS 13 phone bug is a soft reset or device restart. It clears out random errors and errant caches from your phone’s internal memory. This won’t delete any of your personal information saved on the internal memory so you can do it right away even without backing up files to iCloud or iTunes.
If you haven’t already, follow these steps to soft reset your iPhone 8:
- Press and hold the Top or Side button until the Power off slider appears.
- Drag the slider to the right to turn your phone off.
- After 30 seconds, press and hold the Top or Side button again until the Apple logo appears.
Wait for your phone to finish rebooting and then place a test call to check and see if the problem is fixed. If you still can’t make or receive calls on your iPhone 8, continue to troubleshoot and eliminate other culprits.
Second solution: Toggle Airplane Mode on and off.
Post-update problems affecting wireless services can also be remedied by this old trick. It works by giving a simultaneous restart on your phone’s wireless radios and relevant services. Random errors affecting the phone’s calling functions are likewise eliminated in the process. If you wish to give it a shot, then follow these steps to carry out the Airplane Mode trick on your iPhone 8 to fix and get rid of any phone call bug:
- Tap to open Settings app from the Home screen.
- Scroll to and tap on the Airplane Mode menu.
- Tap the Airplane mode switch to turn it on. Doing so will disable your iPhone’s wireless radios including cellular network services.
- While the Airplane mode is enabled, perform a soft reset on your phone.
- Once the phone is finished booting up, go back to Settings-> Airplane mode then toggle the switch to disable the feature.
Allow your device to re-establish wireless signals and once they stabilized, place a test call to your iPhone 8 using a different phone and see if it’s working already.
ALSO READ: How to fix iPhone X iOS 13 No service error, cannot send/receive text messages
Third solution: Update carrier settings to fix your iPhone 8 that cannot make or receive calls in iOS 13.
Carrier updates released by your service provider/carrier also contain network patches that are programmed to address network-related errors including those inflicted by the recent iOS 13 update. Some carrier updates are mandatory or installed automatically while others require manual implementation. If your iPhone doesn’t have any problem connecting to the internet and your Wi-Fi is stable, follow these steps to update carrier settings straight from the settings menu:
- Tap Settings from your Home screen.
- Select General.
- Tap About.
Navigate to the carrier section to view any pending carrier settings update for your device. If an update is available, follow the onscreen commands to download and install it on your device.
You can also use iTunes to manually install carrier updates on your iPhone. This can be considered an alternative solution if you need to update carrier settings but your phone doesn’t have a stable internet connection. Here’s how it’s done:
- Connect your iPhone to the computer using the original USB cable/Lightning cable that came with it.
- Open iTunes on the computer.
- Wait for the syncing process to complete.
- Then click on your iPhone 8 icon in the left-side of the screen.
- Navigate to the Summary section then hold down the Shift key on the keyboard.
- Then click Check for Update. Doing so will prompt you to install an iOS image (*.psw).
- Change the file type to iPhone/iPad Carrier Configuration File (*.ipcc).
- Select the desired folder/directory where you want to save the file.
Turn off your device when finished and then turn it back on again. This will help ensure proper update implementation.
Fourth solution: Turn off restrictions to fix your iPhone that cannot make or receive calls in iOS 13.
When enabled, restrictions may also hinder calls from and to your phone. To make sure this isn’t causing you this trouble, disable restrictions on your iPhone 8 then try placing a phone call while the feature is turned off. If calls are working as intended while restrictions are not activated, make sure adjustments and include the phone app in the list of allowed apps. Doing so will lift any restrictions for the Phone app. Just follow these steps:
- From the Home screen, tap on Settings.
- Tap Screen Time.
- Select Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- Navigate to the list of Allowed apps and make sure that the switch next to the Phone apps is enabled.
Try and see if that solves the iOS 13 phone bug on your iPhone 8 or not.
Fifth solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone.
Network-related issues that could not be resolved by the previous procedures are usually dealt with by performing some software resets. There are several types of resets you can do on your iPhone. Since the problem you’re dealing with is network-related, performing a reset on the network settings of your device is recommended. Here’s how it’s done:
- From the Home screen, tap Settings.
- Scroll to and tap General.
- Tap on Reset.
- Select the option to Reset network settings.
- Enter your passcode if prompted.
- Tap to confirm that you want to reset network settings on your iPhone.
When the reset is finished, your phone should reboot automatically and then loads up the default network values. You’ll need to re-enable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Cellular services individually after the reset so you can use them again on your phone.
ALSO READ: How to fix iPad Pro 2018 iOS 13 notification bug, alert sounds play in silent mode
Sixth solution: Remove then reinstall your SIM card.
SIM card issues such as corrupted SIM data, damaged or dislodged SIM card are also among the underlying causes. To clear this out, reinstalling the SIM card on your iPhone can help. Here’s how ‘s done:
- Turn off your iPhone completely.
- Insert the SIM card ejector tool into the small hole on the SIM tray.
- Gently push the tool until the tray pops out.
- Remove the SIM card from the tray.
- Examine the card for any visible signs of damage like liquid traces and scratches.
- If the SIM card looks good, place it back into the SIM card tray in the same orientation before it was removed.
- Then push the SIM tray back into the phone until it locks.
You can turn on your iPhone after securing the SIM tray in place.
If you see any visible signs of damage on the SIM card, report it to your carrier or service provider so that they can assist you further in getting a new SIM card replacement. A damaged SIM card must only be replaced by your carrier to ensure that it’s properly provisioned with the correct service.
Last resort: Erase your iPhone and restore factory default settings.
The last possible solution you can try if all else failed to fix the iOS 13 phone call bug is a factory reset. This erases everything from your iPhone system including complex system errors that caused the phone system to halt. But before you do, be sure to back up all your important files so you can still recover them later. After securing your backup, you may proceed and follow these steps to factory reset your iPhone 8 through settings:
- Tap to launch the Settings app from the Home screen.
- Tap General.
- Scroll down to and then select Reset.
- Tap on the option to Erase all content and settings.
- Enter your device passcode if prompted.
- Then tap to confirm factory settings reset on your iPhone.
Default settings are then restored on your device. To use your phone again, you will need to set it up as new. You can use the start-up wizard to use automatic settings and configurations.
ALSO READ: How to fix iOS 13 slow internet browsing problem on your iPhone 8, websites loading very slowly
Still cannot make or receive calls in iOS 13?
Perhaps the problem is not on your end. Software-related errors that caused the phone system to stop working from the recent iOS update are usually addressed by any of the above procedures. But if none of them worked, it’s very likely that the problem is from within your network service provider’s end. There might be some temporary outages or technical difficulties affecting network services and thus calling services are currently unavailable. To clear this out, contact your carrier or network service provider to verify network status as well as your account services. If an outage is ongoing, then there’s not much can be done on your end but to wait until it’s over and the network services resume.
Otherwise, contact Apple Support for further assistance and official recommendations. If this is found to be an iOS 13 phone bug that requires a dedicated fix patch, you can restore your iPhone from a previous backup until the fix patch is finally rolled out. There are two restore options for you to choose from. You can start with a recovery mode restore or immediately perform the deepest type of iOS restore called a DFU mode restore. This will place your device in an advanced state wherein it’s still able to sync and communicate with iTunes even when the boot loader isn’t activated. Complex iOS errors including corrupted operating system can be remedied by this procedure. The main downside however is that you will lose personal information afterwards. If you wish to proceed, then you can refer to a more detailed walkthrough on how to perform a DFU mode restore on an iPhone 8, found in this site’s tutorials section.
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