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How To Tell If Someone Phone Is Turned Off Or Dead (Use This Indicator)

Sometimes, getting a voicemail doesn’t mean that the phone is dead, it could mean that the person has blocked your phone number or doesn't want to answer your phone call.
Timothy Iyekowa
By Timothy Iyekowa - Technical Writer
12 Min Read
how to tell if someone phone is off or dead

When a phone is dead, it’s not going to ring, and immediately it will take you to the person’s voicemail if they have one, or the operator stating that the number you’re calling is unavailable or unreachable.

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If you’re trying to reach someone through a phone call and yo keep on ending up on voicemail, how do you know if the phone is dead or the person doesn’t want to pick your call.

In a wake-up call like this, it’s not easy to tell if someone’s phone is off or dead, but with some factors, we can tell if the phone is turned off.

In this guide, you will learn how to tell if a contact phone has been turned off or the phone is dead. There are things you need to know if you want to tell if someone’s phone is off or dead.

How Do You Know If Someone’s Phone Is Off Or Dead?

There are different ways to know if someone’s phone is dead or turned off. If you make a phone call to the number and their phone is switched off or the number is no longer in service, the device won’t ring.

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The network provider might say that the number you’re trying to call is switched off or unavailable. For a phone that’s dead, they’ll say the phone number is no longer in service.

1. The Phone Will Not Ring, Not Even Once

If the phone is switched off or dead, it’s not going to ring, it can’t ring, and won’t ring. This is the fastest way to know if someone’s phone is dead or turned off.

Once you make the phone call to the phone LINE, it will take you directly to the person’s voicemail, or the network carrier might say the phone is not available, or it’s unreachable.

2. They Haven’t Been Online On Their Social Network Account

Another way to know if a person’s phone is dead is to check when they were last active on social messaging, accounts.

You can go to the social network that they are most frequently active on and check their last active status. If it’s longer (hours), then there is a high chance that their phone is off.

You can wait and try reaching them again after a few hours and see if the message is going to delivered or not. If the message did not delivered it might likely be that their device is off.

How To Determine If Someone’s Phone Is Off When Texting?

When you’re done trying to make a phone call and it’s not going through, you can tell if someone’s phone is off or dead with text messages and iMessage for iPhone users.

If you’re sending a normal text Messages, the message is going to be delivered. But if you’re texting via social messaging app like WhatsApp, Google Messages and iMessage, the message will be send but it will be marked as not delivered.

For iMessage, if the person has multiple devices configured for iMessage the message will be delivered, and you won’t know if the phone is dead.

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If the person only uses one device for iMessage the message won’t be delivered if it’s dead or turned off. Once the phone is turned on, iMessage will say the message is delivered.

How To Tell If Someone’s Phone Is Turned Off Without Calling?

If you want to know if someone’s phone is dead without calling you can try disguising your calls so the person won’t be able to tell if it’s you calling. On the other hand, will know if the person phone is off.

1. Use location data

You can use location data to determine if someone’s phone is dead. If they have shared their location with you indefinitely you’ll be able to see their location on your Find My app.

If they haven’t been online for long, you’ll see their last location on the app. You can also track their iPhone with Find My app.

2. Try calling with another phone

The best way to know if someone’s phone is off is to try and call them with another phone number, this will ensure that the phone is off.

If you have a second phone line you can use it to make a phone to the person if you don’t have one you can use one of your friends or family’s phone to make the call.

Calling with another phone number is the surest way to know that someone’s phone is off or dead, there is no two ways about it. And if the person has a second line, you can also try to reach it.

3. Hide your phone number

Another way to know if the person phone is dead is to hide your phone number, it’s also one of the best ways to know if their phone is off.

Try calling by hiding your phone number if it’s ringing, it means that their phone isn’t off and probably you have blocked, but if it doesn’t their phone is off.

If you want to hide your phone number you can use the shortcode number “*67” before dialing the person’s number, then press the call button to make the phone call.

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Reasons Why Someone’s Phone Is Off or Dead

There are plenty of reasons why someone’s phone is turned off and why you can’t reach them with their mobile number. If you’re unsure, here are several reasons that may be caused someone’s phone to be dead.

1. They turned off their phone

Probably the quickest, and first conclude if you can’t reach a person. Once you try reaching the person after several failed attempts, you may consider that their device is off.

2. The person’s phone has no service

Even if the person’s phone is on, you won’t be able to reach them if their device doesn’t have any signal. For you to be sure, check the social media account that they’re most active on and look at their last seen, if it’s made available.

3. They have blocked you

When the person blocked your mobile number on their device, you won’t be able to reach them, instead, you’ll be redirected to voicemail. And even if you try sending a text it won’t go through.

4. The person’s has a low battery

If the person you’re trying to call have not been going through, the next possible reason could be that their device battery is low and they haven’t found a way to charge it up yet.

Is their phone off or am I blocked?

There are different ways to know if their phone is off or you’ve been blocked. If you call and it immediately went to voicemail means that the phone is off.

And if you have been blocked, your message won’t be delivered if you use iMessage on your iPhone. On Android, try using another phone number to confirm. How do you know if someone has blocked you on FaceTime?.

Will a phone still ring if it’s dead?

No, the phone will not ring. If it’s dead, the call will be redirected to a voicemail. If they don’t have one you’ll get a message from the carrier that the phone is unavailable or unreachable.

A dead phone means that the phone number isn’t in service, and thus nobody will be able to contact the line.

Your network provider will send you a response that it’s out of service if you try reaching the phone number.

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You now know how to tell if someone’s phone is off or dead. Use anyone one of the methods and possibly it will go through except, of course, the phone is switched off, or the person doesn’t want to be disturbed.

You can always mask your phone number and hide your caller ID to get in touch with the person or contact them with one of their social media accounts.

Conclusion

If you’re trying to make a call, and the phone didn’t ring once and it goes directing to voicemail, it has a high probability that the person you’re trying to reach has a dead device.

In some cases, it may ring once before heading to the person’s voicemail if the person has blocked your number, or enabled Do Not Disturb

If someone’s phone is dead, you won’t be able to call or text them, and you’ll likely get voicemail or an automated message that the phone is unavailable. 

Most carriers could say that the number you’re trying to reach is currently switched off. How to set up voicemail on an iPhone device.

Sometimes you may think that they are ignoring your calls, and you may be wrong. The problem might be a network issue, they might be at a place where the their network provider service isn’t as strong as other location.

FAQ on How Do You Know If Someone’s Phone Is Off Or Dead

When you text someone on Do Not Disturb mode on both iPhone and Android, any incoming calls, texts, or other notifications will be blocked.

Your phone won't ring or even make a sound for any incoming activities and notifications, but it will be stored on your device, once you turned off Do Not Disturb you'll see everything you have missed.

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When you send iMessage to the person's phone and it happens to be turned off it will not be delivered until the phone is turned on.

No, If the person's phone is off or dead the message will not be delivered, this is only applied to Apple iMessage users if you're not sending with iMessage the message with go through but you won't know if the phone is turned off.

When a person's phone is on Do Not Disturb mode, they won't be able to receive any calls, texts, or notifications. This silent your device and blocks any incoming notification alerts.

Yes, the phone call will go directly to voicemail if the phone is dead. This is a direct way to know that the person's phone is off.

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ByTimothy Iyekowa
Technical Writer
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As a seasoned content writer with 5+ years of experience in consumer technology, Timothy has been a dedicated author and editor at Techvocast since its inception. Specializing in addressing user concerns, his articles offer effective solutions for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac-related issues. Timothy's expertise also extends to crafting content about social media and various applications. Through his daily articles, he consistently aids users in overcoming their technology challenges.
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