When your Nothing Phone (2) starts sending calls straight to voicemail, it feels like you're suddenly invisible. This can happen for a bunch of reasons, but it's almost always something you can fix yourself without too much hassle. I'd start with the quick checks first, as they solve the majority of these issues.
Before we get into the weeds, let's run through a few immediate actions. First, pull down the Quick Settings shade from the top of your screen and make sure Airplane Mode isn't accidentally enabled. If it is, tap it to turn it off. Next, give your phone a quick restart by holding the Power button and selecting restart, or force restart it by holding the Power button for about 10 seconds until it reboots. This clears out any temporary software hiccups.
Also, take a glance at your signal bars. If you're in a basement or a building with thick walls, you might just have poor reception. Try moving to a window or stepping outside. Finally, a quick call to your carrier from another phone can confirm there's no outage in your area or an issue with your account.
Check Your Do Not Disturb and Focus Modes
The Nothing Phone (2) running Nothing OS has several ways to silence calls. Your Glyph Interface might even be lighting up with a pattern, but the ringtone could be off. Swipe down twice to open your full Quick Settings panel and look for the "Do Not Disturb" or "Focus" icon. If it's highlighted, tap it to turn it off.
For a deeper check, go into Settings > Sound & vibration > Do Not Disturb. Here, you can see if any schedules are active or if the mode is turned on. Also, look at the "Allowed people" section to make sure calls aren't being blocked entirely. Sometimes a software update can reset these preferences.
Review Call Blocking and Spam Settings
Your phone or your carrier might be aggressively filtering calls it thinks are spam. Open your Phone app and tap the three-dot menu in the top right, then go to Settings > Caller ID & spam. The exact options here can vary by carrier.
You might see a toggle for "Filter spam calls." Try turning this off temporarily to see if it fixes the issue. Also, tap on "Blocked numbers" to see if any important contacts have accidentally been added to the list. If you find one, tap the minus sign next to it to unblock them.
Disable Any Active Call Forwarding
It sounds obvious, but sometimes call forwarding gets enabled without you realizing it, sending every call directly to your voicemail box. To check this on your Nothing Phone (2), open the Phone app and tap the three-dot menu, then go to Settings > Calling accounts.
Select your SIM card (like "T-Mobile" or "Vodafone") and look for "Call forwarding." Tap it and ensure all the options, like "Always forward" or "When busy", are set to "Turn off" or are forwarding to your own number. If any are set to another number, that's where your calls are going.
Inspect Your SIM Card
A loose, dirty, or failing SIM card is a classic culprit. You'll need the SIM ejector tool that came in the box. Gently push it into the small hole on the SIM tray on the bottom edge of your Phone (2) to pop it out.
Remove the SIM card and give the gold contacts a gentle wipe with a soft, dry cloth. Blow any dust out of the tray slot in the phone as well. Carefully reinsert the SIM, making sure it's seated firmly in the tray, and push the whole tray back into the phone until it clicks. Wait a minute for the phone to reconnect to the network.
Reset Your Network Settings
This is a more thorough step that can clear up persistent network glitches. Be aware that it will erase all your saved Wi-Fi passwords, Bluetooth pairings, and mobile data preferences. To do it, go to Settings > System > Reset options.
Tap on "Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth." Confirm your choice, and the phone will restart. After it boots up, you'll need to reconnect to your Wi-Fi and re-pair any Bluetooth devices like headphones or your car. This often resolves deeper connectivity issues that affect calling.
Update Nothing OS and Your Apps
Running outdated software can lead to all sorts of bugs, including call problems. Nothing is pretty good about pushing regular updates for the Phone (2). Go to Settings > System > System update and tap "Check for update."
If an update is available, download and install it. It's best to do this while connected to Wi-Fi and with your phone plugged into a charger. Also, head to the Google Play Store, tap your profile icon, and go to "Manage apps & device" to see if there are updates pending for your Phone app or carrier services app.
Clear the Phone App's Cache and Data
If the Phone app itself has corrupted temporary files, it can malfunction. This won't delete your call history or contacts, but it will reset the app's preferences. Go to Settings > Apps > See all apps and find "Phone" in the list.
Tap on it, then go to Storage & cache. Tap "Clear cache" first. If the problem persists, come back and tap "Clear storage" or "Clear data." You'll get a warning that this will reset the app to its default settings. After doing this, restart your phone.
Check for Problematic Third-Party Apps
Sometimes, an app you installed can interfere with core phone functions. Think about any call-recording apps, dialers, or heavy system tools you've added recently. Try booting your Phone (2) into Safe Mode to see if the problem goes away.
To enter Safe Mode, press and hold the Power button until the power menu appears. Then, press and hold the "Power off" option on the screen. A prompt will ask if you want to reboot to Safe Mode. Tap "OK." If calls work normally in Safe Mode, a third-party app is likely the cause. You'll need to uninstall apps one by one to find the offender.
Contact Your Mobile Carrier
If you've tried everything on the phone itself, the issue might be on your carrier's end. They can run diagnostics on your line. Call them from another phone and ask them to check for issues like a misconfigured voicemail trigger on your account or network problems in your specific area.
They can also reprovision your line, which is like refreshing your connection to their network from their side. In some rare cases, they might need to issue you a new SIM card, which is usually free if you visit a store. This step is especially useful if you recently switched your number or changed your plan.
