From the independent developer’s instant messaging miracle to a Facebook-owned mega-project (with sketchy privacy-infringing moves), WhatsApp is still the most used instant messenger in the world. Besides messaging, VoIP and video calls are now more popular than ever. However, for many users, WhatsApp calls are not working on Android.
For some, their phone is not ringing at all and others experience issues during calls. If you are among them, make sure to use the steps below to fix the WhatsApp call issues.
Table of contents:
- Clear apps cache
- Reinstall WhatsApp
- Make sure WhatsApp has all permissions enabled
- Check the connection
- Rollback to an older version of WhatsApp
Why does my phone’s cellular network prevent WhatsApp calls?
If you can’t make WhatsApp calls, be that voice or video calls, first, disable Battery saver (Settings > Battery) and Data Saver (Settings > Connectivity > Mobile data). Of course, ensure that you are connected to a stable and serviceable Wi-Fi or mobile network. If that does nothing, then clear app data, check WhatsApp permissions, reinstall WhatsApp, and check the additional internet connection fixes.
If none of those steps work, roll back to an older version via an APK. Read all suggested steps along with explanations below.
1. Clear apps cache
Let’s start with the simplest of solutions. If the problem is local, the best thing you can do to address is reset the app’s cache. Every app stores it to keep some configuration data locally for more seamless use. However, once it piles up, it might cause some issues with the app.
And that’s why you should clear the cache and look for improvements. If you’re not sure how to do it, check the instructions below:
- Open Settings.
- Choose Apps & notifications.
- Open WhatsApp from the bottom of the list.
- Select Storage.
- Clear cache. You can also clear data but don’t forget to back up WhatsApp before doing so.
- Restart your device and sign into WhatsApp again.
2. Reinstall WhatsApp
Another possible reason why you can’t make calls with WhatsApp might lie in the profile configuration. As you already know, the WhatsApp account is attached to your phone number, and thus any switches might lead to an issue, especially on dual-SIM handsets. That’s why we suggest removing your account and re-establishing it.
The best way to do so is to simply reinstall the app. Just make sure to back up your chat history to Google Drive before uninstalling the app.
Here’s how to reinstall WhatsApp on Android:
- Open Play Store.
- Find WhatsApp and uninstall the app. You may also consider leaving the Beta program as there’s a chance that the current Beta has a bug. Stick with the stable version.
- Restart your device and install WhatsApp again. That way you’ll update WhatsApp, too.
- Check for improvements.
Solution 3 – Make sure WhatsApp has all permissions enabled
To make WhatsApp calls, WhatsApp needs your permission. Making sure that the required permission is granted is your next step. Of course, Camera permission doesn’t have much in common with the problem we’re trying to address today. However, for the sake of troubleshooting, we suggest granting all permissions to WhatsApp.
If you’re not sure where to check permissions, here are the instruction:
- Open Settings.
- Tap Apps & notifications.
- Choose WhatsApp.
- Select Permissions.
- Enable all permissions and try making a call again.
- Get back to the App info screen and open Mobile data. Make sure that WhatsApp can use mobile data in the background.
- Go back and tap Battery. Disable Battery optimization for WhatsApp.
If WhatsApp calls are not working even after this step, move to the next one.
Solution 4 – Check the connection
This is, far and beyond, the most probable reason why you’re not able to make a call on WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, Duo, or any other VoIP app in your hands. If there’s a chance to do a test on an alternative network, do so right away. Switching to mobile data instead of Wi-Fi or vice versa should do the trick. Now, if the problem is persistent, we suggest moving to the final step.
On the other hand, if the other network works as intended but you’re not able to make calls on your own, follow these steps:
- Restart your phone and wireless router.
- Disable the Data saver if you are on mobile data.
- Delete the Wi-Fi network from your device and connect again.
- Disable VPN or proxy.
- Make sure Mobile Data is not disabled on WhatsApp’s App Data Usage.
- Reset your router to factory values.
- Reset the phone’s Network settings.
- Check out our articles about Wi-Fi and mobile data issues on Android for more solutions.
If WhatsApp calls are still not working for you, despite the network being stable, try the last step below.
Solution 5 – Rollback to an older version of WhatsApp
Finally, if none of the previous steps worked for you and the latest version of WhatsApp is not working, the only reasonable solution we can suggest is to roll back the app to an older version via an APK. We wrote extensively about this procedure and deem it one of the best troubleshooting steps there is.
Here’s how to roll back WhatsApp via an APK:
- Navigate to APK Mirror and download an older APK version of WhatsApp. Alternatively, you can try any other version except the one currently installed on your device. Beta versions are also an option but we suggest avoiding them due to stability issues.
- Uninstall the app as explained in solution 2.
- Run the APK and allow app installation from external sources. It’s usually stored in Files > Internal storage > Downloads.
- Install APK, sign in, and look for improvements.
With that said, we can conclude this article. In case you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to tell us in the comments section. Thanks for reading and do pay us a visit on Twitter and Facebook.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in October 2018. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.
