Receiving phone calls on your devices shouldn’t be hard as long as you have a good signal reception on your phone. However, there are times that this functionality acts up and you cannot receive phone calls at all. There are few reasons why you’ll get this issue and it could be due to a problem on your carrier provider’s end, service outages or maintenance, or a signal reception error on your device.
Few iPhone X users have reported an issue on their devices that cannot receive phone calls after updating to iOS 13.2. To help out those affected users, I’ve mapped out some effective procedures that could fix the problem. If that’s the reason why you landed on this page, feel free to perform the process that you can find below.
Troubleshoot iPhone X that cannot receive phone calls after installing iOS 13.2
Connectivity errors such as cannot receive phone calls may have been triggered by software bugs from the recent update. If this is the first time that you’ve encountered the issue, there’s a great possibility that glitches inflicted by the software update have manifested on your phone’s system and affects certain functions to work properly. If you have not performed a reboot on your device, it might be beneficial to do so as it removes minor software errors and is one of the oldest methods in resolving problems on smartphones. Just follow the process below to execute a soft reset and reboot your iPhone X:
- Press and hold the Power/Side button and either of the Volume buttons simultaneously for a few seconds.
- Release both buttons once Slide to Power off prompt appears on the screen.
- Drag the Power off slider to the right to turn off your phone.
- After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power/Side button again until you see the Apple logo.
If this did not fix the problem, follow the methods below that could help eliminate the issue on your iPhone X that cannot receive phone calls.
First solution: Toggle Airplane mode on and off on your iPhone X.
Random bugs that could have been affecting the phone’s system and caused connectivity errors can be cleared by refreshing the connections on your device. This simple process has been proven effective in dealing with such problems and could resolve the iPhone X that cannot receive phone calls. Toggling airplane mode on will cut off all wireless signals on your device while toggling it off after will resume those wireless radios, thus giving a quick refresh on the connections. To this procedure, here’s how:
- Access Settings from the Home screen.
- Check Airplane mode. If toggle is currently turned on, tap on it to switch it off. If not, tap the toggle to turn it on.
- While the Airplane mode is enabled, perform a soft reset on your device.
- Wait for your phone to go back online after the reset then access Settings > Airplane mode. Tap the switch to disable the feature.
Just wait for your device to establish all signals and connections then perform a test call to your own number and see if your phone can receive phone calls this time.
Second solution: Update carrier settings to fix iPhone X that cannot receive phone calls.
Errors like cannot receive phone calls might be due to outdated carrier settings on your device. This could happen if your device has not received any push updates from your carrier provider. If that’s the case, perform a manual update of carrier settings on your iPhone X by following these steps:
- Access Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap on General.
- Select About.
- Wait for a few seconds for the update notification to appear on your screen. If there is an available carrier update, you’ll see a pop-up option to update your carrier settings.
If you’re able to update the carrier settings successfully, perform a soft reset to implement necessary changes and refresh the system. Then check if the issue has been resolved.
Third solution: Check and manage Do Not Disturb and call forwarding feature on your iPhone X.
One common cause on why most iPhone users cannot receive phone calls is due to misconfigured Do Not Disturb or DND feature. This option will allow you to mute certain notifications and if it has been accidentally turned on or has been overridden by iOS 13.2, it might might cause relevant symptoms to occur. To ensure that this is disabled, follow the steps below:
- Access Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap Do Not Disturb.
- To enable Do Not Disturb feature completely, simply toggle the switch to turn it off. Notifications for incoming calls, messages and some apps are now activated.
Another option that could prevent your iPhone X from receiving phone calls is call forwarding feature. This will allow you to route the calls to a certain number instead of your own phone number. It might have also set accidentally or iOS overrides altered this option. Follow these steps to disable call forwarding option on your iPhone X:
- From the Home screen, access Settings.
- Scroll down to and tap Phone.
- Toggle switch beside call forwarding option to enable it, if necessary.
- Perform a soft reset while call forwarding is enabled.
- Once the phone is up and running, head back to Settings > Phone and then toggle switch to disable call forwarding option.
Just perform a test call and see if the issue has been rectified.
Fourth solution: Reset network settings on your iPhone X.
iOS overrides does not affect one certain settings on your device. It could also affect the network settings and invalidate some information that could cause network connectivity errors. To remove this from the possible culprit, delete all customized network settings on your device and revert them to its default values and options by performing reset network settings. If you want to give this a shot, here’s how:
- Access Settings from the Home screen.
- Tap General.
- Scroll down to and then select Reset.
- Tap the Reset Network Settings option.
- Enter your device passcode once prompted.
- Then tap to confirm network settings reset.
Your phone will reboot automatically after the reset is done. Wait for the complete boot up process and then check if this resolves the problem.
Fifth solution: Remove then reinsert the SIM card on your iPhone X.
This method is often neglected but it is actually effective in removing firmware issues on your device that may have caused cannot receive phone calls problem. Removing then reinstalling the SIM will clear glitches that might have been hindering proper call functions and re-calibrates the hardware to the software algorithm. Here’s how it’s done properly:
- Turn off your iPhone completely.
- Get the SIM ejector tool then insert it into the small hole on the SIM tray. The SIM tray is found on the side of your iPhone.
- Gently push the ejector tool until the tray pops out.
- Remove the SIM card from the tray and inspect it for any signs of damage like liquid traces and scratches. If there’s none, place the SIM card back into the tray in the same position and orientation before it was removed.
- Push the SIM card tray back into the phone until it’s locked.
Turn on your iPhone X after securing the SIM card. Once its up and running, check if you can now receive phone calls on your device.
Still having an iPhone X that cannot receive phone calls?
If you have confirmed with your carrier provider that there’s no ongoing service outages and server maintenance that could affect call functions, you might need to contact Apple support for additional information and official recommendations on how to fix the iPhone X that cannot receive phone calls after iOS 13.2 update. Just inform them about the complete details and the solutions that you’ve performed on your end.