Find out what to do if your Android smartphone shows the message Emergency Calls Only. Today with this guide we will see what to do if your Android smartphone shows the message “Emergency calls only”. Have you been trying to call a phone number from your Android smartphone lately, but you keep getting the message “Emergency calls only”? The problem then occurs not only with a particular phone number, but with all the numbers of people and that you try to call, what could have happened? If you are already thinking of using WhatsApp or Telegram to be able to make voice calls, you can first try following this guide to better understand what to do if your Android smartphone shows the message “Emergency calls only”.
When you try to make a call and the message “Emergency calls only” appears, it will be virtually impossible to call normal phone numbers, but you will only be able to call emergency numbers such as 113. When the message “Emergency calls only” appears, it is impossible to call your home number or the phone number of a normal phone contact and if you are facing this problem, here are the possible solutions.
Restart the smartphone
As a first thing, it is better to always try the simplest things, so with a restart of the device. Long press the button that serves to Turn On/Off the smartphone, then when the shutdown menu appears, tap the Restart button. Then wait for the device to restart and once the mobile network is restored on the phone, open the address book and try to call one of your contacts.
Make sure you have enough credit to make a call.
If you ran out of credit and forgot to buy a new phone top-up, your mobile operator may have most likely blocked messaging, internet and calling services for your device. That’s why you won’t be able to make calls from your Android phone and will display the message “Emergency calls only”. Check if you have enough credit and if necessary make a new phone recharge as soon as possible to get rid of the “Emergency calls only” message that appears when you try to call someone.
Check the network signal strength.
Many times the network signal is there, but it only gets one or two bars, the result of which is when you try to make a call to someone you get the message “Emergency calls only”. I suggest you to move to a more open place, where the signal gets more bars, then try to make the call and you should be able to call without any more messages that refer to emergency calls only. However, if this is not the solution that works for you, then move on to the next solution.
Try changing the network
Maybe you’re connected to a network that’s giving you problems, so you could try switching from 5G to 2G network for example and see if that way you can make calls without the “Emergency calls only” message appearing on every call attempt. To change the phone network on Android proceed as follows:
- Go to the Settings app on your Android phone
- Select Mobile data
- If you use two SIM cards, select the SIM and then from Preferred network mode and switch for example between 5G and 2G networks.
Reset the network settings
There are smartphones running Android OS, for example Samsung and Huawei branded devices, that are able to be able to restore network settings. Restoring network settings means resetting all network functions, including Wi-Fi, Mobile Data and Bluetooth. If you want to reset your Android smartphone’s network settings, proceed as follows:
- Sign in to the Settings app on your Android smartphone
- Using the search bar on the Settings screen, type in Reset network settings.
- From the Reset network settings screen, if you use 2 SIMs, select the SIM you want to reset its settings for
- Once you’ve selected the SIM, press the Reset network settings button.
check that there are no problems with your carrier
It may not be your fault that you are seeing the message “Emergency calls only”, but it could be due to your carrier. To better understand if there are problems with your operator you can connect to their Facebook or Twitter pages or you can check if other users are experiencing problems with the same phone operator through the downdetector site, for example on this page, you can see if there are malfunctions that have been reported by Vodafone users. If you notice that other users are reporting a malfunction that concerns the operator, there is nothing left to do but wait for everything to be resolved soon. Usually malfunctions on the part of the operator can last from a few minutes to a few hours.
Remove and re-insert the SIM card
The reason why your phone displays the message “Emergency calls only” may depend on the SIM card, so try to remove it from its housing, check that everything is okay and that it is clean, turn on the phone then turn it off and mount the SIM card again. After turning on the smartphone, check if the problem has been solved.
Change the SIM card
If you have noticed that the SIM is very old and even trying to insert it into a new smartphone you get the message “Emergency calls only”, most likely the SIM needs to be changed and you should go to a center that deals with your operator and ask for its replacement, but keeping the current phone number. Doing so should solve the “Emergency calls only” message permanently.
Upgrade your device to its ownÂ
Most smartphone manufacturers that have Android as their operating system, release security patches from time to time that are meant to protect the phone from potential threats, thus making it more secure and fixing bugs. Connect your phone to a Wi-Fi connection and go to Settings > System and updates > Software update. Scan for it and if you find a new one, go ahead and download and install it. After updating your device, if the message, “Emergency calls only,” was appearing due to a bug, you shouldn’t see it appearing now.
Conclusions
When using an Android smartphone displays the message “Emergency Calls Only”, it is practically impossible to make calls, except to emergency numbers. If you keep seeing the message “Emergency calls only” on your phone’s screen, without being able to make calls to your contacts, I hope this guide has helped you to solve the problem you were experiencing. Until the next guide.