Why Does My Phone Say Line Busy When It’s Not?

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2022-11-19
Carl Paige

"Why does my phone say line busy when it's not?" This is a common search query among many phone users.  A phone call is a little piece of technology that has become an integral part of everyday life. Whether it's a business call, personal call, or social call, we all use our phones to communicate.

When you call someone, you expect them to answer their phone so you can have a conversation. But sometimes you can get the 'line busy'. This can be frustrating if you want to pass an important message to them or need help with something right away. In this article, we'll explain why a line keeps saying the user is busy and how to stop it.

Why Does My Phone Say Line Busy When It’s Not?

Does Line Busy Mean I’m Blocked?

The answer is yes and no. If you call a phone number and hear a busy signal after a while, this does not mean that the recipient’s blocked your number. This means that the person you are trying to reach is engaged on another call, or has set their phone to divert incoming calls to voicemail.  However, if you receive a continuous busy signal when calling someone, the person has likely blocked your number. You can double-check by having someone else call the person. If the call goes through, your line has been blocked.

What Does Line Busy Mean When You Call Someone?

When you call someone and you can get a busy signal, it can be confusing. You may wonder if they have blocked you or if they just don't want to talk to you at that moment.

Here are some of the possible explanations for why you may get the 'line busy' prompt when you call someone.

On another call

If you get a busy signal when calling someone, likely, they're already on another call. If you need immediate contact, consider sending an email or text message instead.

Do not disturb mode

Some phones have a "Do not disturb" mode that allows users to automatically reject incoming calls. However, many people forget this feature after enabling it.

Enabled call forwarding

Call forwarding allows you to forward your incoming calls to voicemail or another number when you are too busy to take calls.

How to Remove Line Busy on Android Phone

Why does a line keep saying the user is busy? If people are complaining to you that they are getting a "line busy" prompt when they try to call you, then the problem could be with your phone or your sim card. Here's how to fix it.

Check to see if your sim card is still active.

Check to see if your SIM card is still active and in good working order. To do so, make a call; if the call goes through, your SIM card is fine; if it does not, you will need to contact your network provider. Your network provider may deactivate your SIM card if it has been inactive for an extended period or has been involved in fraud or abuse.

Disable the do not disturb-mode

The most common reason for the “Line busy” message is that you have the "Do Not Disturb" mode turned on. This is particularly common when people are traveling and using their phones on a plane.

To turn off Do Not Disturb mode:

  • Open the Settings app.
  • Select “Sound & notification”.
  • On some devices, you may see “Notifications” instead of “Sound & notification”. In this case, look for the Do Not Disturb setting here.
  • Toggle off “Do not disturb” if it’s on.

Update your phone’s software

If your phone isn’t up-to-date then there could be some bugs present in the OS which can cause issues like this. To solve this problem update your phone’s software by going to Settings > General > About Phone > Software Update > Update now.

Disable call barring

Call barring is a service that allows you to block incoming calls. It's useful if you want to meditate or study. To disable this, follow these steps:

On Android:

  • Open your Phone app.
  • Select Settings.
  • Tap on Supplementary services.
  • Tap on call Barring
  • Choose Voice call and disable call barring

On iPhone:

  • Tap on Settings
  • Tap on Calls
  • Tap on the bar incoming call and disable it

How to Make Your Phone Busy When Someone Calls Android

Here are some ways to make your phone appear busy when someone calls:

Activate do not disturb mode

DND mode allows users who do not want to be disturbed to block all notifications, calls, and texts. This feature is especially useful if you need to concentrate on something important and don't want to be interrupted. To enable DND mode, simply swipe down your phone's notification bar and tap the DND icon.

Use auto-reject apps

There are many different auto-reject apps available for download on the Google Play Store and iTunes Store. These apps are specially designed to reject calls without answering them. The best thing about these apps is that they do not cost anything.

Block the number

You can block unwanted callers by adding their numbers to your phone's blacklist. To do this, open the Phone app and tap Contacts > Blocked Numbers. You can also block calls by going to Settings > Call Blocking & Identification > Block Contact.

If you want to make sure that certain people don't get through, you can create a group of contacts and block everyone in that group. Go to Contacts > Groups and tap + Add New Group. Name your group and then tap Add Contacts. Select all the contacts you want in this group and then tap Done. You can add more groups or delete them when you're done.

Enable call forwarding

Call forwarding is a feature that allows you to redirect all incoming calls to a different number or voicemail. If you enable this feature on your phone, anyone who calls you will get the impression that your line is busy. Here's how to activate call forwarding:

  • Select Phone app.
  • Tap on the three-dot menu button.
  • Tap on Settings.
  • Tap on Calls.
  • Select Call forwarding
  • Select Always forwarded
  • Enter the forwarding number. It could be a non-existent number, such as '000' or '010'.
  • Tap Enable or OK.

To disable call forwarding on Android, return to the same settings and disable the option.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my landline busy but not in use?

Landline busy but not in use?  This may be due to a faulty or damaged phone line, or the line is too long for the telephone system.

To fix: Check that all of your telephones are plugged firmly into their sockets and that none of them are damaged. If you have any extensions, make sure they’re plugged in properly and securely. If this doesn’t work, call your customer service to book an engineer for a visit.

How to fix incoming call busy problem keypad mobile?

There are many ways to fix incoming call busy problem keypad mobile, some will work while others will not. These fixes include rebooting your device, clearing the cache partition, booting into safe mode, wiping the cache partition, and so on. If none of these solutions works for you then you should visit a phone repair center to get it fixed.

Why does my phone say the line is busy when it's not?

The most likely reason for this is that you have enabled call forwarding or barred incoming calls and need to deactivate them. If that does not work, it is possible that you are in an area with a poor network or that your SIM card is malfunctioning.

Visit a reputable phone service center

If none of the above works for you, then visit a phone service center like Carlcare to get help from professionals.  Carlcare is the official phone repair service provider for Infinix, We offer a wide range of services such as screen replacement, battery replacement, and charging port repair among others.