Why won’t my international call connect? Causes and fixes
An international call that fails usually fails for one of a handful of reasons, and most of them can be fixed in a few seconds. Below are the common causes, what Hyallo shows you in each case, and what to do about it. One thing up front: you are never charged for a call that doesn’t connect.
1. The number is in the wrong format
This is the most common cause by far. If the dialer says "This number doesn’t look valid for the selected country" or "The number you dialed doesn’t appear to be valid", check these:
- Include the country code: + followed by the code, such as +44 for the UK or +55 for Brazil.
- Drop the domestic leading 0. A UK mobile written 07700 900123 is dialed +44 7700 900123; a Berlin number 030 … is +49 30 …; a French mobile 06 … is +33 6 ….
- Know the exception: Italian landlines keep their 0 (Rome is +39 06 …), while Italian mobiles start with 3 and have no 0.
- For Brazil, leave out the carrier code and keep the 9 at the start of mobile numbers: +55 11 9XXXX-XXXX.
- If the message is "The number you dialed is not in service", the format was accepted but the number doesn’t exist or was disconnected. Double-check it with the person or on the official website.
2. Nobody answered, or the line was busy
"No answer", "busy" and "declined" mean the call reached the other phone and the network did its job. Some carriers, Brazilian mobile networks among them, report a busy or switched-off phone as "declined", so it doesn’t always mean someone rejected you. These calls are free. Many people don’t pick up unknown international numbers, and by default the person sees a number provided by Hyallo rather than yours, so a quick message saying you are about to call helps. After your first purchase you can verify your own number and show it as the caller ID. If a number goes unanswered several times in a row, Hyallo pauses calls to that one number for about an hour; you can still call any other number.
3. The number can’t be called
- Premium-rate and special-service numbers can cost several dollars a minute. If you see "Call blocked. The destination rate exceeds the allowed limit", that is what you dialed.
- A small number of destinations are blocked to prevent fraud. The message says so, and retrying won’t help, but every other number still works.
- Toll-free numbers are often reachable only from inside their own country. Look for an alternative number "for calls from abroad" on the company’s website.
4. Your browser couldn’t use the microphone
A browser call can’t start without a microphone. Hyallo tells you which of three problems it hit: access was blocked (allow the microphone for the site, then try again), no microphone was found (plug in or enable one, or a headset), or another app is using it (close the video call or recorder that holds it). Pages opened inside an email or social app sometimes can’t reach the microphone at all; open Hyallo in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari instead. If it says your session has expired, refresh the page and sign in again.
5. Too many calls, too fast
You can have one call at a time and start up to 4 calls per minute. Redialing faster than that shows a "wait a moment" message; it clears by itself. On the free first call, wait a minute before trying the same number again.
6. A network problem on either end
On your side, a weak or overloaded Wi-Fi connection can stop a call from starting or make it drop. If you see a network error, move closer to the router or switch to mobile data and try again. On the other side, mobile networks in some countries have short outages or congestion; if a number that worked yesterday fails today with no other message, try again a little later.
What you pay when a call fails
Nothing. Billing starts only when the other side answers, and then runs per started minute at the rate shown before you dialed. Busy lines, unanswered calls, invalid numbers and blocked calls cost nothing. Check the format and the live rate for a destination here:
Ready to make your first call?
Frequently asked questions
Am I charged for a call that didn’t connect?
No. You pay only once the other side answers. Busy, unanswered, invalid and blocked calls are free.
Why does it say "declined" when nobody rejected my call?
Some carriers, notably Brazilian mobile networks, report a busy, unreachable or switched-off phone with the same signal as a rejected call. Try again later or send a message first.
Why can’t I call the same number again right now?
After several unanswered attempts in a row, calls to that number pause for about an hour. On the free first call there is also a one-minute wait between attempts to the same number. Other numbers are unaffected.
Do I dial 00 or + before the country code?
In Hyallo, use + (or pick the country in the dialer). The + stands for whatever exit code applies, so you never need to know it.