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When you grab your phone and dial a number, you expect to reach the person you call or get their voicemail. In some cases, you might get a message saying the wireless customer you are calling is unavailable. Learn what this message means and a few ways to fix it to get through to the person you need to contact.
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What Does this Message Mean?
Have you ever heard your phone ringing but couldn’t reach it before the caller hung up? If you have voicemail set up, they can leave a message to let you know why they called. Not everyone uses voicemail or even checks the messages they get.
One reason you get a message claiming the customer isn’t available is that they did not answer the phone and do not have voicemail.
Other common reasons why you get this message include:
- The person you called is in an area with poor reception.
- Their provider does not have network coverage.
- You called someone who has their phone turned off.
- They are in the middle of a network outage.
- The caller blocked your number.
- You called someone who has a phone with a loose battery.
Fixing the Problem
Don’t give up just because you called someone and heard an automated message claiming the caller isn’t available. Waiting is the best course of action. You never know when you call someone who turned off their phone or switched to airplane mode because they were in a meeting.
There’s also a chance that they broke their phone and cannot use it or that the battery died and they forgot to charge it. Wait a bit instead of calling multiple times and getting the same message. Try calling once an hour or every few hours.
Waiting is also necessary if the person is in an area where they have little to no cell service. Despite what you might think, cell phone providers do not have service all around the world. You’ll even find places in the United States where service is spotty.
If you have a friend or loved one camping in a national park or living in a rural area, they may only have service a few times a day. Don’t waste your time calling multiple times. Make a note of when they call you and call them back around the same time.
Many people hear this message when they call someone who blocked them. Do you have a friend who loves to talk for hours until your battery is empty?
You might block them temporarily and take a short break from their calls. The people you call might block you on purpose or by accident. Many phones make blocking others easy.
They can try to block the number above or below yours and choose your number by mistake. If you have mutual friends, let them know what happened and see if they can tell you why that person blocked you. You can also call the person’s provider, but the company will only tell you if you’re blocked and not why they blocked you.
Do not hesitate to call your phone provider or the provider of your friend. Let the company know that you tried to reach someone multiple times and had no luck. The company should help you find out what happened.
Reps can tell you if there is a network outage or if you called a number that is no longer in service. Some people habitually change their phone numbers often and do not always remember to tell their loved ones. While you won’t get the person’s new phone number, you’ll at least know why you got this message.
Other Things You Can Do
Trying to call someone and getting “the wireless customer you are calling is not available” is a pain. Whether you have important news you want to tell them or you want to catch up, you don’t want to wait days or weeks to speak to them. If you gave them time and still get the same message, you can do a couple of other things.
Try Texting
Many people turn their phones to silent when they’re busy and miss a few calls. If you tried calling multiple times and kept getting the same message, text the number. If the person you know does not have that number, you might get a text back from the new owner.
The chances are good that your loved one will read your message and either send one back or give you a call. Sending a text is also helpful if you call someone in the middle of a bad area with no reception. They’ll reach out as soon as they have service again.
Check Your Phone
You may get this message because of a problem with your phone. Always check the numbers you blocked in the past before you do anything else. Many phone providers will keep you from calling a number that you blocked.
You will need to remove the number from your blocked list before you can get through. Make sure that you call a few different numbers, too. This lets you know if the problem is with the other person’s phone or your phone.
Make sure you pay your phone bill, too. Most cell phone providers today give you until midnight on your due date to pay your bill.
If you don’t pay by this date, they will shut off your service until you pay it. Waiting longer to pay may also result in a late fee added to your account.
When you try to make a call, you usually hear a random noise and a message that your phone is off or you no longer have service. There’s a chance that your provider always issues messages that the other customer isn’t available.
Checking your phone also gives you a chance to restart it. Use the slider bar or the power button on your phone to pick the shutdown option. You will then open the back and remove both your battery and SIM card.
Wait a few minutes for your phone to reset before inserting the SIM card and battery. Turn the phone back on and let it go through all the required steps before your home screen appears. Open your call log and try to call the number again.
Often, you hear this message because your SIM card slipped out of place or there was an error with your phone. If you still get the same message and can call other people, you need to look at alternate ways to get in touch with the individual.
Conclusion
Finding that you cannot reach your loved ones might make you worry that something bad happened to them. You should not worry, though, because there are many reasons why you hear the message you do. The wireless customer you’re calling isn’t available often happens when you call someone with limited service or someone who blocked you.
