When you are trying to call a subscriber, and you get “the number you have dialed is not in service” intercept message, there would be so many different things that could cause it. While the chances that the subscriber you are calling has you on their blocklist is one we should consider, there may be lesser-known causes, and these we will be exploring in this article.
What causes “the Number You Have Dialed Is Not in Service?”
- What causes “the number you have dialed is not in service” call intercept message to play when trying to make a phone call? When you get the “the number you have dialed is not in service” intercept message, one of the many causes is that the number that you are trying to call is disconnected from the network provider or that it is incorrect, say you miss one or more numbers or you have switched the digits for themselves.
- Even if you didn’t misdial the number yourself, there is a chance that the system misdialed you, leading to this intercept message playing. This happens when trying to call numbers under an area code at certain times of the day, mostly when the pressure on the phone lines is much. Even repeatedly calling at the same time might return this call intercept message, but we recommend that users give it some time and try redialing the number, as long as you’re sure you have the correct number.
- Still, on calling the wrong number, we should also add that while you might get the correct number, and in some cases the phone lines working just fine, the recipient might have given you the wrong number. So if it’s a love interest or business deal who doesn’t want you to reach them, getting this call intercept message after some time will mean you just might have been given the wrong number.
- If a person’s phone service was cut off, with the most popular reason being that the person hasn’t paid their phone bills, you will be getting the “the number you have dialed is not in service” call intercept message when trying to call them.
- We have gotten call intercept messages when trying to call a number that was newly issued and hasn’t been included in the routing tables. The main explanation for this is called Number portability, basically that a given number doesn’t belong to the carrier any longer and hasn’t been added to another carrier. It might go on for some time, but generally, waiting for between a few minutes to a few hours to call back should clear this.
- There are also those times when you are calling a number left on your Caller ID by someone you don’t know. If that is the case, you want to consider that the phone number is likely spoofed. When you try calling the number, it’ll return the “the number you have dialed is not in service” call intercept message because it’s a fake number. You’d also want to know that certain businesses and hospitals make it that you’re unable to call them back, so you want to investigate this before reaching any conclusions.
- In the majority of cases, though, when you get the “the number you have dialed is not in service” call intercept message, irrespective of what may be the case – whether the phone number was misdialed, the customer has not renewed their phone bills, the telecom company has disconnected their phone number from service or the recipient lost their phone – is an indication that the customer isn’t technically permanently out of service, or that the issue would not make you permanently unable to reach the recipient as long as you have the correct phone number, so you would want to retry the phone number at a later time and see if it goes through.
Fix 1: Report the Spam Number
If you get this “the subscriber you have dialed is not in service” call intercept message when trying to call a number that was left on your caller ID, then chances are that you were either Robo called, spam called, or called by a telemarketer.
If you are calling back to opt out and the call doesn’t go through, you can always report the number to your carrier to block the number, as it’s a violation of government regulations not to be able to opt out of their spam calls.
Fix 2: Confirm That It Isn’t Call Forwarding
You can look at the phone screen as you dial and see if it shows “call forwarding”. If this is the case before you get the “the subscriber you have dialed is not in service” call intercept message, then chances are that the subscriber has their calls forwarded to an invalid number, and sending a text across can help you reach them.
Fix 3: Retry After Some Time
This will be the case if you are calling a phone number you know is correct, and you’re sure isn’t out of service.
Since the “the subscriber you have dialed is not in service” call intercept message is sometimes a result of overloaded phone lines, waiting for between a few minutes to a few hours to retry a number should be able to fix things for you.
This will also be the case if the subscriber in question is porting their number to another carrier.
Fix 4: Confirm That the Number Is Correct
You generally would want to confirm that the number you have is correct. If a number or two is missing or has been swapped, you will get the “the subscriber you have dialed is not in service” call intercept message.
You would also try contacting the number with another phone to see if the intercept message plays.
If none of these work, it’s generally best to reach the subscriber via any other means and let them know you’ve been trying to get across to them. They sure would have an explanation and be able to reach their carrier to get this fixed if there is any need.