Wi-Fi Calling Not Working on iPhone? Here’s How to Fix & Troubleshoot

Wi-Fi Calling is great iPhone feature that allows you to make regular phone calls over your Wi-Fi network. It comes in handy when you’re indoors but your cellular signal strength is poor, or even nonexistent. Assuming wi-fi calling is enabled on your iPhone, your carrier will automatically switch to the active Wi-Fi connection to improve the call quality and ensure uninterrupted phone calls.

Typically, Wi-Fi calling should work seamlessly as switching between the carrier signal and Wi-Fi network for phone calls is an automatic process. However, you could sometimes face issues getting Wi-Fi calling to work as intended on your iPhone. This could be due to several reasons, ranging from simple networking issues, to carrier compatibility. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to identify the underlying problem, and with a little effort you should be able to troubleshoot and remedy any issues with wi-fi calling fairly quickly.

If you’re one of those unlucky iOS users who can’t activate Wi-Fi calling or get it to work properly, we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll be discussing exactly how you can fix and troubleshoot Wi-Fi calling on your iPhone.

Troubleshooting & Resolving Wi-Fi Calling Issues on iPhone

As long as your iPhone is running a recent version of iOS, you can follow these basic troubleshooting methods whenever you’re facing issues with Wi-Fi calling on your device.

0. Force Restart

Before beginning any other troubleshooting methods, you can try force restarting your iPhone. Note that this is different from a regular restart. If the Wi-Fi calling issue is due to some quirk, an iPhone’s buggy behavior, or minor software-related issues, a force restart can fix it in most cases.

On iPhones with a physical home button, force restart can be performed by simply holding the power button and home button simultaneously until you see the Apple logo on the screen.

If you’re using a newer iPhone with Face ID, you’ll need to click the volume up button first, followed by the volume down button, and then hold the side/power button until you see the Apple logo to initiate a force restart.

When the iPhone has booted back up again, check to see if wi-fi calling works as expected. Otherwise, proceed with the troubleshooting steps below.

1. Disable and Enable Wi-Fi Calling

This may seem silly, but the issues that you’re facing with Wi-Fi calling may be temporary and could be easily resolved by turning the feature off and on again. Certain software issues or buggy behavior could hinder Wi-Fi calling at times. To do this, simply head over to Settings -> Cellular -> Wi-Fi Calling and use the toggle to quickly enable and disable the feature.

2. Check Wi-Fi Connection

The next thing you need to do is to check the Wi-Fi network you’re connected to. Wi-Fi calling requires an active internet connection to make calls, so if you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network that’s not connected to the internet, you won’t be able to use this feature. To check this, go to Settings -> Wi-Fi and see if there’s a “No Internet Connection” warning below the connected network’s name. You’re good to move on to the next step if you don’t see anything.

3. Enable / Disable Airplane Mode

Now you might be wondering what Airplane mode would have to do anything with Wi-Fi calling. By enabling and disabling Airplane mode on your iPhone, you’re effectively restarting features like cellular connection, Wi-Fi connection, and Wi-Fi calling. This should fix Wi-Fi calling if it’s a networking-related problem. You can enable/disable Airplane mode by using the toggle in the iOS Control Center.

4. Check for Carrier Settings Update

Your network provider may release new carrier settings to update their network on a regular basis to improve cellular network connectivity and performance. If your carrier just recently started to roll out support for Wi-Fi calling or if you upgraded to a new iPhone, you may have to check if you have a carrier settings update on your iPhone.

Fortunately, you can easily do this by going to Settings -> General -> About. Here, you’ll get a pop-up if new carrier settings are available.

5. Carrier Compatibility

It’s worth keeping in mind that not all carriers support Wi-Fi calling feature. This also depends on where you live if you’re using a multinational network provider. The best way to know if your service provider supports Wi-Fi calling is by simply getting in touch with your carrier’s customer support. Alternatively, you can check this Apple support page to quickly check if Wi-Fi calling is a supported feature for your carrier network.

6. Reset Network Settings

Common networking issues with your iPhone could also likely be the reason why you’re unable to successfully activate and use Wi-Fi calling. However, this can be easily resolved by resetting your network settings. Be mindful that you’ll lose your saved Bluetooth connections, Wi-Fi networks, and passwords once you reset these settings. In order to do this, go to Settings -> General -> Reset -> Reset Network Settings on your iOS device.

By now, you should’ve resolved Wi-Fi calling issues that you were facing on your iPhone. The phone calls you make indoors should use your internet connection rather than your cellular signal, especially when the signal strength is low.

We hope you were able to finally activate and use Wi-Fi calling without any problems on your iPhone. Which of the troubleshooting methods we discussed here worked for you? If not, did you contact your network provider’s customer support for help with service-related issues? What was the solution that you found? Share your personal experiences and thoughts in the comments.