Phone calls on iPad breaking up since iOS 26

Try First

Toggle Wi-Fi and Cellular (or Airplane Mode):

Go to Settings and turn Wi-Fi off, wait 10 seconds, and turn it back on.

If your iPad has cellular, do the same for Cellular Data.

Alternatively, toggle Airplane Mode on for about 30 seconds and then off. This forces a complete network reconnect.

Restart Your Devices:

Restart your iPad.

Restart your iPhone (if you're using it to relay the calls via Continuity).

Check for Carrier Settings Update:

Go to Settings > General > About. If an update is available for your carrier, a prompt will appear within 30 seconds. Tap Update if you see one.

If the above didn't work, try these steps:

Reset Network Settings:

This is often the most effective fix for post-update connection problems.

Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Reset > Reset Network Settings.

Note: This will erase all saved Wi-Fi passwords and cellular settings, so you'll need to reconnect to Wi-Fi afterwards.

Check Continuity Settings (if using iPhone for calls):

On your iPhone, go to Settings > Phone > Calls on Other Devices.

Make sure this is on, and that your iPad is listed and toggled on.

You can also try toggling this setting off and on again.

Are you making calls while using the iPad's built-in speaker - or instead using AirPods, wired EarPods or other Bluetooth headset?

Without delving into deep technicalities, when using the iPad's built-in speaker, the iPad must use feedback suppression to prevent feedback "howl". In some circumstances, this suppression can cause apparent audio dropout.

Avoiding use of the iPad's speaker - and using AirPods or other alternative - can effectively mitigate this problem.