It depends on the facility and how their phone approval system works, and the answer matters practically for why the calls may not be coming through.
Some facilities approve the person as a contact rather than the specific phone number, which means a number change on your end does not require a new approval process. In those systems, updating your number on JPay or the carrier's platform is sufficient and calls should come through to the new number without any additional steps.
Other facilities tie the approval to the specific phone number rather than the contact. In those cases, a number change means the new number is not yet approved even though you are, and your inmate cannot dial it until the new number clears the approval process. That process can take anywhere from a few days to as long as six months at facilities with strict number change restrictions.
Updating JPay is the right first step but it may not be enough on its own depending on which type of system the facility uses. Calling the facility and asking to speak with a counselor is the fastest way to find out whether the new number requires separate approval and how long that process takes.
On the possibility that he is simply not calling because of the weight of his sentence, that is also worth considering. A long stretch ahead can affect how an inmate engages with the people outside, sometimes causing them to pull back without explaining why. A letter through InmateAid asking him directly what is going on opens that conversation without the pressure of a real-time call.
Get clarity on the number approval question first, then address whatever else might be keeping the calls from coming.