To get your voicemail icon back in the Phone app on the iPhone, there are several things to try. You need to ensure your SIM card is working properly, try restarting your device, update your iPhone, reset network settings, or even reach out to your carrier.
Voicemails are a great way to keep important information around and hold onto sentimental messages. Unfortunately, there may come a time when you go to listen to a voicemail, and are unable to see the voicemail icon where it usually resides.
This guide is going to take a closer look at what you can do if your voicemail icon is mysteriously missing.
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Key Takeaways
- A few quick things to try include making sure your SIM card is inserted correctly/not damaged, and restarting the phone.
- You can also reset your network settings and see if there is a software update on your device.
- If all else fails, consider reaching out to your phone’s carrier to see if they can help. This is because voicemail is a service offered by your cell provider, not the phone company.
1. Make Sure Your SIM Card is Inserted Properly
While many people think voicemail is a feature on your iPhone that is provided by Apple itself, it’s actually offered by your cell phone carrier.
As a result, it could be your SIM card that is responsible for why your voicemail icon is nowhere to be found. First and foremost, you want to make sure the SIM card is inserted correctly. The way to check this is to eject the SIM card and reinsert it.
On Apple iPhones, the SIM card tray is either on the left side of the iPhone (iPhone 12 and later) or on the right side (iPhone 11 or earlier). If you have an iPhone 3G, 3GS or the original, the SIM card is located on the top of the device.
To eject the SIM card, use a SIM ejector tool to pop open the tray, remove the SIM card, and then reinsert it, making sure to put it in correctly.
After making sure that the SIM card can fit and be inserted properly into your device with no issues, it’s a good idea to make sure it’s not damaged. A damaged SIM card may not fit quite right, or damage to it could lead to the information on the card being lost.
If the SIM card isn’t bent and doesn’t seem to have any damage and fits fine, then the issue likely stems from another problem within your device.
2. Restart Your iPhone
Another quick option to try is to restart the iPhone and see if that brings the icon back. Restarting phones, computers, and other devices often fixes strange issues like this because it gives the device a clean slate to work from.
It closes all files and programs, clears the memory, and can often deal with any weird background issues that were occurring. In order to restart your iPhone, you need to hold down the power and volume down buttons until the power-off slider shows up.
Simply drag the slider to the right to turn off your device. After it’s been off for around 30 seconds, hold down the power button until you see the Apple logo to turn it back on.
This method is for those with an iPhone X or newer, but if you have an older version, you simply need to hold down the power button, not both the power and volume down buttons in order to bring up the power-off slider.
3. Reset Your Network Settings
Resetting your network settings can be another method to try in order to bring your voicemail icon back. Problems with your device’s network settings aren’t uncommon, and it can lead to issues like this taking place.
The process for resetting the network settings is quite simple and begins with going to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset. After choosing Reset, click on Reset Network Settings from the list of options provided and confirm the reset.
Your network settings will now be reverted back to the defaults, and hopefully your voicemail icon has reappeared as a result.
4. Update Your Device
If that doesn’t work, updating your device is the next thing to try. New iOS updates are generally full of bug fixes and repairs to certain issues that can impact the functionality of the phone, such as the voicemail icon being gone.
In order to update your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update. If a new update loads on this page, you can click Download and Install to begin the updating process. This can take a few minutes, but it depends on the size of the update and your internet speed.
5. Reach Out to Your Carrier
If no fix seems to work and the voicemail icon is still missing from your Phone app, you could consider reaching out to your carrier to voice your concerns. The carrier themselves may be experiencing a network issue related to the voicemail function and this could be to blame.
They also might be able to send you a new SIM card to try or will have other troubleshooting steps in place that you can attempt. Keep in mind that not every carrier or plan includes voicemail, so it’s possible your carrier no longer offers it, as well.
Final Thoughts
Missing your voicemail icon can keep you from accessing important information, and is certainly an annoying problem to deal with. I hope this guide and the fixes included in it have been able to help you get the icon back.
Is there something you feel I should have mentioned in this guide but didn’t? If so, I’d love to hear from you in a comment below.
