iPhone will not ring, calls go direct to voicemail

It seems totally random when it happens to me. On the one hand, several calls will come through as expected, no problems. Then there will simply be a "voice message" tone and the on-screen message saying that someone had left me a voice message - while the phone sits next to me, fully charged, silent. Does anyone know what the solution to this problem is? Has anyone found a way to make sure that calls come through? I haven't met anyone with an iPhone who does not suffer from this problem. Perhaps it's not a fault; it's a feature.

I'm having the same problem and it seems to be getting worse. I tried all the reset options listed in this thread and none of them have solved the problem.

I add my name to the list. Same problems for me.

I called my provider (Rogers in Canada) and they had me reset things, but the problem continues (not every call, but some that I don't hear the ring).

The other thing it doesn't do is show the call that did come through in the "recents." I just get a voicemail message, sometimes up to 30 minutes after a message was left (even though I don't know I had a call until I get the voicemail notification).

Frustrating. I thought 2.2 may have addressed it, but alas, no.

Same here.

After reading another thread on the same issue, I tried disabling 3G, and immediately was able to receive calls.

If I was a cynical man I'd think O2 where doing it deliberately to make me limit my 3G usage.

I have come accross this problem just now and have found the fix for me. (2 Options)

1. Go to User>Library>Application Support>MobileSync>Backup. You will see numerous folders looking Serial numbers. You can delete these, then reopen itunes and do a restore.

2. Create a new administrator on your computer that will have admin privileges. There will be now previous updates. Log in to this Admin and then restore in itunes, disconnect phone and then log back into your user and revert to backup if you require your sms messages, notes, apps etc.

I hope i kept it simple enough for you and good luck with it.

I have encounted 3 iPhone with the same problem. Once the iPhone goes to sleep for more than one minute. The iPhone will not ring. Just get missed call.

Just doing a restore will not work. I have managed to get all 3 iPhone functional again by either of the 2 options.

1. Create new administrator on computer with admin privileges, log in as this user and then do a restore.

2. Go to your User>Library>Application Support>Mobile Sync>Backups. There you will find your backups. Remove ALL of these backups. There can't be any backups left, then restart itunes.

For some reason, don't ask me why. The backups became damaged or corrupt some how with the 2.1 update.

Once you have restored your iPhone and you can see that it is fuctional again you can try to revert to one of your backups again to get your sms messages, Call logs etc.

This may not alway work to your backup depending on how much damage there is the the file. As Only 2 of the 3 iPhones that I reverted to previous backup for my friends were successful.

Good luck with this I know how annoying this problem is. I tried many different things before finding the solution that worked for me.

I had already tried and failed with: turn off/on iPhone, Restore, erasing all contents and network setting, resetting network setting etc. Thinking that this was a network problem. It isn't. It's an Apple problem. I am sorry to have to say.

Around November 15th, I started seeing some of the same problems on my iPhone 3G (calls not coming through, voicemails & texts getting delayed, unable to make calls / send texts). For me, the problems seem to be related to MobileMe. Those of you that are seeing issues: are you using MobileMe?

Some of the key steps I have taken so far are:

(1) Replace SIM card -- no fix
(2) Replace phone -- fixed
(3) Restore my new phone to a backup of my old phone -- problems return
(3) Restore my new phone to factory settings -- problems disappear
(4) Connect to my WiFi network -- no problems
(5) Add my MobileMe account to the phone -- problems return

The issues are inconsistent--sometimes the phone works fine. However, the following steps always seem to reproduce the issue:

(1) Make sure wifi is connected to a network
(2) Make sure 3g is on (Settings > General > Network > Enable 3G)
(3) Make sure you have a MobileMe account on the phone
(4) Make sure Push is turned on, and that Push is enabled for all MobileMe services (Settings > Fetch New Data > Advanced)
(5) Go to the home screen, let the iPhone fall asleep and then wait 10 seconds
(6) Call your iPhone

Result: The caller hears 2 rings and then gets sent to voicemail, but the iPhone does not ring at all.

I have found that the following things seem to mitigate the problem:

(a) Disconnect from wifi or turn wifi off
(b) Turn off 3G
(c) Delete my MobileMe account -- This has worked several times, but one time did not. I think the key may be to reboot your phone afterwards.
(d) Turn off Push and then reboot iPhone

Apple has acknowledged that this is not an AT&T issue. I gave them the information above today. They are going to do some investigation and get back to me later this week.

Here are some other threads reporting the issue:

http://forums.wireless.att.com/cng/board/message?board.id=apple&thread.id=17433& view=bydateascending&page=3
http://forums.cingular.com/cng/board/message?board.id=apple&thread.id=56769&view =bydateascending&page=1

Hope this helps someone...

Have you checked the O2 3G coverage map?

http://www.webmap.o2.co.uk/

Being able to receive calls on GSM but not on 3G should give a clue......

My wife and I both of the same problems.

I sent her a text message at 7:30pm last night - she got it at 2am.

If I miss a call, I usually don't get the message until the next day, maybe even 2 days later.

I called my wife's iPhone 6 times this morning - she never picked up. I called our regular house line and she picked up. She told me that her iPhone didn't ring at all.

Aside from service issues, Safari STILL crashes, ironically even when I'm browsing this discussion board. Mail is sluggish. Typing is sluggish and not as responsive as my 1st gen iPhone. I sometimes get a weird garbage sound when I try to make a call.

I was at the Apple store last night. They told me that I have a 35% dropped call rate. What?! Isn't this embarrassing? He offered to swap the phone since I was above the dropped call threshold. Instead I went to the AT&T store and swapped out the SIM card thinking this would help. Didn't help, I still have ALL the same problems. And I lost my voicemail greeting - I had a professional voiceover (kinda sounded like James Earl Jones) record the greeting for my business, which had cost me $100. I'll have to see if he'll re-record it for no charge and explain to him what happened.

I have another Genius bar appt tonight. My plan is to swap both phones for new ones. Then I will sell them on eBay as brand new phones, cut my losses and get a Blackberry Storm. I have been a loyal Apple supporter since the 1980's, but it's time to start thinking about what is best for my business. I can't be dropping client calls anymore.

Maybe it's because the phone is made in China by cheap labor, I'm not sure. Maybe it's because Apple got too big, I'm not sure. I am sure that it is time to get out before it REALLY starts having a bad impact on my business.

I do know that my Nokia 9500 Communicator was amazing. It ran Blackberry software and I never had ANY problems. The only downside was that it was bulky and the keypad and screen on the front wasn't up to par with the rest of the phone.

I'm almost convinced the problems are related to MobileMe.

I've never had any problems with my phone until I signed up for the 60-day MobileMe trial. This was about a week after the 2.2 update was installed on my phone.

Basically sometimes calls/texts come through, sometimes they come through hours later. I called AT&T support today, and it appears everything is in working order with regards to my network and SIM card.

I've deleted my MobileMe account from my phone, and performed a hard reset. Hopefully this resolves this issue. Apple should be working hard on correcting this problem, as I'm otherwise very pleased with MobileMe so far.

Wish I could agree with the mobileme problem however I had to fix one of my friends phones that doesn't have a mobileme account or trial and same problem. I have managed to fix the problem with involved restore techniques but the problem comes back after 1 month. I suggest exchanging the iphone for another. I have heard there is a problem with the manufacturing of the 3G chip in the iphone and apple are working on fixing it in software updates. I have not yet heard of this exact problem with the 2G iphone yet.

However not all 3G iphones are presenting this problem. So I do believe the problem is with the phone you have. Exchange the phone and I believe the problem will go with it.

My problem was solved by going to AT&T and asking them to replace the SIM card. So far no problems and all calls are coming through. I told them that I tried the SIM card with another non iPhone and had the same problem, which was true. If your iPhone keep crashing I suggest you do a restore but don't restore from back up. You will loss all your SMS and applications data but at least your iPhone will work.

So far deleting my MobileMe account has got my phone working back to normal. I'm going to put it back on for a few days and see how it does.

Good one. It'such easier to remove the mobile me account off the phone and add it back again rather then restoring. Hope it stays working for you. When working they are a brilliant phone.

This is not related to the G3 network as far as I can tell, I have had my iPhone since the first weekend they were out(old school so no G3), and never had these problems until lately, assuming it was an upgrade to the software.
I have been to the Genius bar at the Apple store, and they tell me they have never heard of it, but got it to happen, then restored my software (which I did many times) and then it worked fine, to which I told them, yes it will for a short time, I did this, and then they told me I am 4 months out of warranty so I would have to buy a new phone. Why would I have to buy a new phone if it's a software situation. I have to turn off sleep mode on my phone to receive calls, which obviously kills the battery.
Seems like Apple may want to check their threads on this situation and resolve the problem.