Fix Samsung Galaxy S7 that can’t make and receive phone calls plus other call related issues

  • Learn how to troubleshoot your Samsung Galaxy S7 (#Samsung #GalaxyS7) that cannot make outgoing nor receive incoming calls. Some cases occurred after a firmware update while others occurred without apparent reason.
  • What to do if your S7 shows “Emergency Calls Only” message while using a nano SIM card that was cut from a micro SIM card.
  • Will changing the SIM card fix the dropped calls issues with the Galaxy S7?
  • What to do if calls to your phone number go directly to the voicemail without even ringing your device?
  • What seems to be the problem if callers cannot hear you during calls you can hear them well?

Galaxy-S7-phone-calls-issues

To be able to make and receive phone calls are among the most common purpose of a phone. Such service can easily be done by basic phones whose purpose is to send/receive text messages and calls. Smartphones like your Samsung Galaxy S7 should be able to do it, too, without a hitch but it seems like many of the owners are complaining that many of their phone calls–regardless whether they’re the ones making or receiving them–keep on dropping and there are also times when they just can’t dial a number to call.

We have received a lot of complaints from our readers that’s why we need to address this problem especially that many are expecting us to help them troubleshoot their phones. Below are the troubleshooting steps you need to do in order to fix it. However, there’s no guarantee that your phone will be fixed especially if the issue is related to a faulty hardware or component.

At the later part of this post, I cited some of the issues we received from our readers and addressed them one by one. Read on to learn more about them as you may encounter one of them in the future.

For those who have other issues, you may visit our S7 troubleshooting page and find issues that are similar or related to yours. Use the solutions and/or troubleshooting guides we provided. If they don’t work or if you need more help, then feel free to contact us by completing our Android problems questionnaire. Make sure you provide us with more information so we can give you more accurate solutions.

Possible Causes

  • A temporary glitch with either the firmware or hardware
  • A temporary network issue like an outage
  • The signal dropped in your area
  • Some settings got changed in your phone
  • Some cache or data got corrupted in your phone
  • A more serious firmware or hardware issue

Troubleshoot Galaxy S7 that can’t make/receive calls

It is always very helpful if you knew what caused the problem because you can always find a way to work around it rather than spending most of your time troubleshooting. However, more often, problems like this are minor so instead of going immediately to a shop to get it checked, we suggest you do some troubleshooting first as it might save you from driving several miles and waiting for hours at the shop. So, if your phone difficulties making and receiving phone calls, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Reboot your phone if you haven’t already

Do this especially if it’s the first time the problem occurred. There are times when the firmware and/or the hardware glitches and affects the performance of the device while crashing some of the native services. A reboot has always been effective in fixing minor issues.

It’s easy to do, doesn’t pose a threat to your files and data and you don’t need to have advanced knowledge. After the reboot, try to make a call to any number and see if you can, if still not, then try to call your number from a different phone to see if it rings.

If the phone rings but you can’t make a call, it’s more likely an account issue; call your provider and seek assistance.

However, if the device both won’t dial a number nor receive incoming calls, continue your troubleshooting.

Step 2: Check the signal indicator to see if the phone gets a decent reception

There are different ways to do this but the most basic is to look at the signal indicator on the status bar. You’ll know exactly if your phone is getting excellent, fair, poor or no signal at all. If your phone has a fair or excellent reception and you can neither make nor receive calls, try the other steps below.

However, if your device is showing poor or no signal at all, then that should be the reason why it can’t make/receive calls or may result to random dropped calls.

Poor signal is often caused by a network problem or may be you’re in an area where there really is a poor coverage. Your provider may be able to provide you more information about this as they often have a map that reveals the areas with poor coverage. But if this problem started recently and you actually were enjoying a good service, then it might be a firmware or a hardware issue.

On the other hand, if your phone shows it doesn’t get any signal at all, then here’s what you need to do:

  • Make sure Flight Mode is disabled
  • If it occurred for the first time, reboot your phone
  • If your phone suffered either liquid or physical damage, visit a technician right away
  • If the reception is lost after an update, try doing the next steps

Step 4: Try wiping the cache partition if the problem occurred after a firmware update

System caches get corrupt more often especially after major updates and while the Galaxy S7 hasn’t received any major updates yet, there have already been a few security updates that were rolled since its release. So, if your device got updated recently and then the signal got lost, you should try wiping the cache partition first.

The procedure below will allow you delete all system caches since we can’t delete them one by one. For this, you don’t have to do anything as none of your files, data and settings will be deleted. It is very effective for update related issues and it might just save you from a lot of trouble. Here’s how…

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.
  3. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  4. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.
  5. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  6. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  7. Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  8. Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  9. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Step 5: Try to reset the Network Settings in your phone

So, you already wiped the cache partition and the problem still persists. It’s safe to assume it’s not the system caches that’s causing the problem. Now, it’s time to reset the network settings of your phone as it may have been messed up for some reason. Here’s how…

  1. Swipe down from the top of your screen to pull the Notification Shade down.
  2. Tap the Settings icon that looks like a cog wheel.
  3. Scroll down a bit to find Backup and reset option.
  4. Now tap Reset network settings, then RESET SETTINGS.
  5. Tap RESET SETTINGS again to confirm your action.

Alternatively, you can just open the phone app and dial ##72786# and tap YES to reset the network settings.

Step 6: Try to reset your phone to see if that makes a difference

At this point, you have no other option but to do the master reset to rule out the possibility that it’s just a firmware issue. This procedure clears both the system cache and data, which deletes all third-party files saved in the phone’s internal storage, apps, settings, your preferences, etc. Needless to say, it brings to phone back to its factory settings, although if it has been updated recently, the new firmware remains.

  1. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7.
  2. Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.

NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.

  1. When the Samsung Galaxy S7 shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.
  2. When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.

NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.

  1. Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
  2. Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.
  3. Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.
  4. Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.
  5. The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

Step 7: If all else fails, send your phone in for checkup

After the reset and the problem remains, then it’s time you sent your phone in for checkup. Your service provider may be able to help you or you can go to Best Buy and consult with a Samsung technician. The reset is all you need to do to rule out the possibility of a firmware issue but if it remains after that, then it might have something to do with the hardware. Further tests are necessary to determine what the problem really is.

Related Problems

Q: “I got my phone about a week ago and when i first got it, the sales person cut up my micro sim to nano sim manually so that it can fit to the sim card slot. I noticed then when putting the sim card tray into the device, it takes much more effort than it normally would.

The next day, the phone showed emergency calls only so I restarted the device and it went back to normal. On that night, I checked the phone again and like earlier today, it displayed emergency calls only again, so I tried to restart it again and it went back to normal.

This thing has been going on for about a week now and it’s starting to get annoying as I need to restart the phone almost every hour.

A: Well, it’s easy to cut a standard or micro SIM card to be like a nano SIM card but it has to be done by an expert or someone who has already done it several times. As you said, the SIM card tray cannot be inserted back into its slot without much of an effort so it goes to show that somehow, the SIM card wasn’t really cut the it should fit the tray perfectly.

Now, the fact that the phone shows “Emergency Calls Only” prompt is clear that sometimes it can’t detect the SIM card. We really can’t do further tests on this but it would be worth it if you brought the phone back to the store where you bought it and have a technician take a look at it especially the SIM card. I understand how frustrating it is we really can’t do something about it as I believe it really is the SIM card that has an issue.

Q: “I have had bad connections with losing phone calls. It has nothing to do with my location for either caller. Went to Verizon and they changed the SIM card. Will that take care of this problem? I have only had this phone for one week.

A: Only one way find out… try that new SIM card and see if the problem persists. If so, ask for a replacement as you’re still under the grace period to receive a brand new replacement.

Q: “If you get a busy signal, the hang up icon goes away and you cannot hang up. Very frustrating when you trying to win a radio contest.

A: Busy calls get disconnected automatically but it takes a little time. To work around this, there’s a setting in the phone app that allows you to use the Power key to end calls. Use that make answering and ending calls quicker.

Q: “Daughters phone. When her mom calls her it comes across as voicemail calling. Moms number but name says voicemail. Deleted mom and made new contact but still does same.

A: There’s nothing you can do on your end that could fix this problem. You need to call your provider to report it. More often when this problem occurs, the phone number in question has been deactivate and it takes just a click to fix it but the tech rep has to do it on his/her end.

Q: “When I make a call or someone calls me after a few seconds my call is cut off. I can hear the person  but they can’t hear me. When I get a call through the other party says I’m breaking up.

A: If the call is not disconnected, then it must be the mouth piece or the microphone of your device that has an issue. You should have a technician take a look at it. If the call disconnects, it’s either a network issue or a problem with the hardware. Call your provider and if they say there’s no problem on their end, bring the phone to the store and have them check it.

If the problem started after an update, try wiping the cache partition first and if that won’t work, do the master reset.

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