The number you have dialed is unallocated

You must often come across this intercept while trying to dial someone. But have you tried venturing about the reason behind this message? In this article, we will be deciphering what it really means when the number you have dialed or if your own number dialed by another person is unallocated.

Causes: The number you have dialed is unallocated

There can be various reasons for an intercept message that says a number is unallocated. It is always a good practice to check if the number you have dialed is correct. Dialing an incorrect number always results in this message. Now, let us look at all the other reasons in detail that can end up giving you similar messages.

Number not assigned to the end-user

If a number is said to be unallocated, the first instinctive reason for this message. It is the number not being allocated to the end user. This can happen because of two reasons. The first one can be an inconvenience on the service provider’s end. The other reason can be because of the number administrator. To make things more lucid for you let me start by explaining how a number is assigned to a person in the first place. The numbers that we use every day to make calls and receive calls from others. These are produced by an entity called the number administrator.

The number administrator distributes these numbers to different service providers. Wherein these providers are free to sell these digits to the end user or to another provider. Though, the first-party providers are always held responsible for whatever is done to the numbers provided to other providers by the former. For example, let us imagine that you have requested a new mobile number from Airtel services. Airtel assigns you a number in the form of a new sim card that has been distributed to them by the number administrator. 

So obviously if you hear a message saying the respective number is unallocated. It is likely that there is some problem on the service provider’s end. Or maybe the number was not assigned to the provider by the number administrator in the first place.

Spoofed numbers

Another potential reason for a number being unallocated can be because of calls from duplicate numbers or spoofed numbers. It is a common practice for customer service and telemarketers to use computer-generated random numbers to place calls to target customers. Have you ever tried calling back a number that you missed answering earlier in the day and ended up hearing the message “the number you have dialed is unallocated”? Then the call is likely to be from a telemarketer. Similar tactics are used by scammers to steal people’s identities or extort money. Scammers use softwares or apps to produce a random number and place calls to steal information.

Scammers also make use of numbers that have been out of order for a long. And pose as the actual owner to scam their contacts. So this is similar to the case of trying to contact somebody for a long time but failing at it. Now receiving a call from the same number after a while, then it is likely to be a scammer’s job.

Unpaid phone bills

Not paying the phone bills on time can also lead to a number being unallocated. You can get away from paying the phone bill for a month or three in the case of postpaid services. The pending bill will just keep adding up to the successive month’s bill. After a probationary period, the service provider will scrap away your subscription with them and recycle your number. Further, you might be blacklisted and will eventually find it difficult to choose services from other providers as well. People will no longer be able to contact you and you will not be able to place calls either. This is when people trying to call you will hear the number unallocated intercept. The same applies for prepaid services too.

In case you stop choosing plans every month, obviously you would not be able to make outgoing calls. Then later you will stop receiving incoming calls as well and after a few days your number will end up being deactivated. So, the next time you hear this message while trying to call someone, then it is probably because the person has not yet paid his/her phone bill.

Temporary network issues

With the increase in the number of mobile phone users at present, there is a constant need to organize and increase the efficiency of the network services provided worldwide. Even with the advent of 5G and 4G networking, errors seem to be inevitable. Mobile phone users often come across network traffic issues and network unavailability issues as well. As for why we are discussing this out of nowhere. This can be one of the reasons for a number being unallocated. If you have noticed, sometimes the call connects the second or third time while the first try fails to connect you to the receiver. This is exactly what a temporary network issue is. So if a number is said to be unallocated, then it is either because of too much network traffic or because of poor network signals on the receiver’s end.

Fixing the issue

Now that the reasons for a number being unallocated have been stated. We can deduce a solution for the issue in discussion. If your number seems to be giving such intercepts to people that are trying to reach you, try following the below solutions to help fix the issue.

1. The first thing to do when you hear such a message while trying to dial someone is to check if the number you have dialed is correct. You might have typed the wrong number in while trying to save the contact info. Re-type the number in the dialpad to check if the call is going through this time.
2.  As mentioned in the earlier section, the problem can lie on the service provider’s end. So it is best to make a call to customer care and take up the issue with them.
3. Make sure that the phone bills have been paid on time. Aand see to that you do not have any outstanding amount pending to be paid. Even if you have no balance left to place calls, you can make calls to customer care to choose plans and pay up your bills. Not paying bills for long will result in your number being revoked and hence people trying to reach you will receive the “number is unallocated” message.
4. If a number you are trying to call back says that it is unallocated, it is highly likely that the number is a software-generated number. These techniques are generally used by scammers, telemarketers, spam, and robocalls. Also, make sure you do not answer unknown numbers as much as possible. Install apps like truecaller to find out the caller’s identity before answering them to avoid being scammed.
5. If you are using google voice, any error in error might also lead to a similar intercept message. To fix the issue, go to google voice settings and see if the number typed it is correct. Now search for your mobile operator and type in your number. Once you get the google voice activation message, the problem should be fixed.

Read Also: My Phone History

Conclusion

There can be many reasons behind a number being said to be unallocated. They range from problems on the service provider’s end to crying to call back a spoofed number. It will help to consider all the possibilities mentioned in the article to deduce what might be wrong with the number and decide on a suitable solution. Always be aware of the threat from spoofed numbers. Do take precautionary measures beforehand to stay away from potential scammers. If you find a number that you are calling repeatedly to be out of order, it is best to block the number to be on the safer side. Hope the article helped bring a wider perspective on what it means for a number to be tagged “unallocated”. Do post any further queries of yours in the comment section. 

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