How to fix your Samsung Galaxy Note 8 that cannot make or receive phone calls (easy steps)

Problems on making or receiving phone calls are among the most prevalent issues transpiring in different types of smartphones from basic to mid-range and even with the highest-tiered smartphones to-date. Many factors can trigger these problems to occur. Oftentimes, network errors are to blame. Other possible culprits are account issues, invalid settings, bugs and software glitches on the device itself. For calling issues that are related to account problems, you will need to contact your service provider or carrier to settle whatever there is that needs to be settled in your account for your services to resume. For other factors that are associated with the phone system like incorrect settings, system bugs and firmware glitches, troubleshooting would be necessary.

If you happen to deal with the same issue on your Samsung Galaxy Note 8 that cannot make or receive phone calls for some reasons, then this post might be able to help you out. I have mapped out a few simple solutions and recommended workarounds you can refer to whenever you’re set to troubleshoot software problems on your Note 8 that might have caused you these errors.

For smartphone owners who found our site while trying to find a solution, try to see if your phone is one of the devices we support. If it is, then visit the troubleshooting page for that device, browse through it to find issues that are similar with yours and feel free to use our solutions and workarounds. However, if you still need our help after that, then fill up our Android issues questionnaire and hit submit to contact us.

How to troubleshoot Galaxy Note 8 that can’t make / receive phone calls

Before you start troubleshooting, make sure that your phone is getting a good signal. If your phone has no service or shows no signal bars, then you will need to deal with signal issues first. You should have at least 2 bars to be able to make or receive calls on your phone. If the signal is strong but you still cannot make or receive phone calls, then continue and try these workarounds.

First solution: Reboot your phone (soft reset).

Performing a soft reset can help wipe out minor glitches that might have interfered with your phone’s calling functions. This won’t affect any of your data stored on the internal memory of your phone so you don’t have to create backups. If you haven’t already, then here’s how a soft reset is done on your Galaxy Note 8:

1. Press and hold the Power button until the Power Off prompt appears.
2. Tap the option to Restart.
3. Tap Restart again to confirm.

Give your phone at least 90 seconds to complete the restart and then try to make a call to see if it is already working as intended.

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Second solution: Remove and reseat the SIM card.

Calling issues in mobile devices are usually attributed to network errors, either on your service provider’s end or on your device itself. If you happen to see any error prompts including SIM card errors, then reseating the SIM card can help. It’s also a way to refresh the SIM functions on your device. If you wish to try it, then here’s how it’s done:

1. Insert the ejection pin into the tiny hole on the tray to loosen it. Make sure that the ejection pin is perpendicular to the hole to prevent causing damage to your device.
2. When you hear a slight click, it means that the tray has popped out.
3. Gently pull out the tray from the slot.
4. Remove the SIM or USIM card from the tray.
5. Check the SIM card for any signs of damage. If everything looks good to you, then place it back into the tray in the same way when you took it.
6. Insert the tray back into the tray slot. Make sure it’s fully inserted into the slot to prevent liquid from entering the device.

When everything is secured in place, turn your phone on and then do some test calls.

Third solution: Clear cache and data on Phone/Dialer app.

Cached files are helpful when it comes to fast reloading of similar information. However, these files can also get corrupted at some point and when that happens, there is a higher chance that your phone’s system functions are affected. Cache can be found in individual apps while others in the system cache partition of your phone. To make sure that issue is not tied to corrupted cache, try to clear cache on your Phone app first. Here’s how:

1. Swipe up on an empty spot from the Home screen to open the Apps tray.
2. Tap Settings then select Apps.
3. Tap the Phone app.
4. Go to Storage.
5. Tap the option to Clear Data then tap OK. Selecting this option will delete any stored data in the app including settings and other saved information thus it’s optional.
6. Tap Clear Cache. This option clears temporary files or cache files from the Phone app.

Restart your device when you’re done and then try to do some test calls to see if they’re working now.

Fourth solution: Reset network settings on your phone.

How you configured your network settings will affect network functions of your phone. If the problem started after making some changes to your phone settings, then most likely it has something to do with it. There might be some settings or options that you’ve configured incorrectly and that should be corrected. But the thing is, identifying which settings or options to modify is a bit of a challenge. As alternative solution, you can reset your phone’s network settings instead. Here’s how:

1. Open the Apps tray by swiping up on an empty spot from the Home screen.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap General Management.
4. Tap Reset.
5. Select the option to Reset network settings.
6. Tap Reset settings.
7. When prompted, enter your device credentials like PIN or password.
8. Tap Reset settings again to confirm.

When the network settings are reset, your phone will reboot automatically. If not, then you will need to manually trigger your phone to restart. After it boots up completely, set up your Wi-Fi networks and other necessary features to use them again on your phone. See if that fixed the problem.

Fifth solution: Update your phone software to the latest version available.

Software updates usually contain security enhancements or fix patches to get rid of any bugs that might have caused certain issues to occur on a device. If your Phone app is affected by certain bugs, then failure to make or receive calls can be the transpiring symptom. Should this be the case, installing the latest software update on your device will likely be able to deal with it. Here’s how to get started:

1. Open the Apps tray.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Software update.
4. Select the option to Download updates manually.
5. Tap OK.
6. Tap Start.
7. If prompted with a restart message, tap OK to instigate device reboot or soft reset. Doing so will apply the new changes from the recently installed update on your device.

When your phone has booted up, open the Phone/dialer app and do some test calls to see if you’re now able to make and receive phone calls on your device.

Other options

• Master reset. You may resort to performing a factory data reset or master reset if your Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is still unable to make or receive phone calls after exhausting all prior methods. There might be a more complex system issue that requires tougher solutions. But please note though that this reset will wipe everything from your phone including your critical data, personal information and other contents. Should you wish to proceed, don’t forget to back up all your important data.
• Technical support. If nothing works and you already run out of options, then you can seek further assistance from your carrier or network service provider’s technical support people. Give them a call and report the problem for other options and recommendations. Also care to check and ensure that your account status is good and that there are no network outages or ongoing technical issues that might have caused network service disruption in your place.
• Contact Samsung Support. If the problem started after installing a new software update, then most likely it’s a post update issue that usually needs a fix patch. In this case, you may contact Samsung Support for them to further assess if the problem you’re dealing with is indeed a post-update issue or not.

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