Ugh! You’re just about to make a call, but your phone keeps bombarding you with a pesky “emergency calls only” message. Try not to worry—as frustrating as this issue is, it’s more common than you think, especially for Android phones. We’re here to walk you through a variety of possible issues and solutions, so you can get back to business.

1

Your SIM card isn’t inserted properly.

  1. Remove and reinsert your SIM card correctly into your phone. The SIM card is pretty much the backbone of your phone, and it needs to be installed correctly for your phone to work properly. [1] You can typically find your SIM card in either a side tray or near the battery pack on the back of your phone. Here are some tips on how to remove and replace your card:[2]
    • Tray: Stick the pointed end of a paper clip or earring post into the small hole along the side of your phone’s battery tray. Then, slide out the tray and take out the SIM card. Place the SIM card back in its slot, making sure that the notched edge of the card lines up correctly with the tray’s outline.[3]
    • Battery Pack: Pull off the back cover of your phone and remove the battery to find the SIM card slot. Slide out the SIM card from its compartment. Then, double-check the reference image etched on or near the SIM card slot to make sure your card is lined up properly.[4]
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4

You need to pick your carrier manually.

  1. Turn off automatic network selection in your phone settings. Your phone might not be connecting to the best possible network on its own, which could be causing your connectivity problems. Open “Settings” and select “Connections” and “Mobile networks.” Tap on the “Network operators” option at the end of the menu and switch off the toggle for “Select automatically”. A short list of mobile carriers should pop up—select whichever one has the best, most consistent service.[8]
    • This might involve a bit of trial and error. Test out each carrier and see if any of them get rid of the “emergency calls only” notice.
6

You need to restart your network.

  1. Put your phone in Aircraft Mode for 5 seconds. Pull down the notification menu from the top of the screen and look for the airplane icon. Tap on this, which should disconnect your phone from both Wi-Fi networks and your mobile network. Stay in Aircraft Mode for at least 5 seconds before hitting the icon again. Hopefully, this soft reset will get rid of the “emergency calls only” warning on your screen.[10]
    • You can also access Aircraft Mode in “Settings.” Select “Connections” from the main menu. In between the “Bluetooth” and “Mobile networks” buttons, you should see a “Flight mode” option—toggle this on to reset your phone’s network connection.
    • On some phones, this might be called “Flight Mode”.[11]
10

You need to factory reset your phone.

  1. Perform a factory reset in your phone’s settings. If nothing else seems to remove the “emergency calls only” message, a factory reset might be your last resort.[16] Pull up “Settings,” then tap “System”, “Advanced”, and “Reset options.” Select the “Erase all data (factory reset)” option, along with “Erase all data.” Then, punch in your phone’s PIN number and tap on “Erase all data” one more time. Hopefully, this reset should take care of the problem![17]
    • Be sure to back up your phone before factory resetting it—this way, you won’t have to set up your new phone from scratch.

About This Article

Mobile Kangaroo
Co-authored by:
Computer & Phone Repair Specialists
This article was co-authored by Mobile Kangaroo and by wikiHow staff writer, Janice Tieperman. Mobile Kangaroo is a full service repair shop and Apple Authorized Service Provider headquartered in Mountain View, CA. Mobile Kangaroo has been repairing electronic devices such as computers, phones, and tablets, for over 19 years, with locations in over 20 cities. This article has been viewed 76,278 times.
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Co-authors: 6
Updated: November 24, 2021
Views: 76,278
Categories: Cell Phones
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