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KB: Understanding the NO-ANSWER Call Status

A NO-ANSWER status indicates that the outbound call attempt was never picked up by the called party. In this case, there is no two-way audio connection established, so there is no call recording or transcript available.

What “NO-ANSWER” Means

A NO-ANSWER status indicates that the outbound call attempt was never picked up by the called party. In this case, there is no two-way audio connection established, so there is no call recording or transcript available.

This status is different from a voicemail detection or live answer.

How It Happens

  1. No pickup within timeout –

    • Twilio’s default timeouts apply:

      • API-initiated calls: ~60 seconds

      • <Dial> verb calls: ~30 seconds

      If the recipient doesn’t answer within this window, the call is marked as NO-ANSWER.

     

  2. Immediate hang-up by the network or user –

    • The call rings briefly or not at all before being dropped.

     

  3. Network routing issues –

    • Call never actually reaches the destination handset (e.g., carrier filtering, routing failures).

     

Key Points

  • No audio: Since the call was never connected, there is no recorded audio.

  • No voicemail trigger: In a pure NO-ANSWER event, the system never reaches a voicemail beep, so no voicemail script plays.

  • Not the same as “machine detected”: Voicemail detection requires the call to connect long enough for the answering machine tone to be heard.