The days of traditional voicemail are over, at least on the iPhone. The iPhone’s Visual Voicemail feature allows you to see all of your voicemails and choose which ones to listen to, share, or delete — all without having to dial a number first. Depending on your iPhone model and location, you may also be able to read their transcripts using the iPhone’s voicemail-to-text feature. You can organize, delete, and play them from this convenient menu, but first you must understand how to set it up properly.
This procedure should work on most modern iPhones, including the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, though you should first ensure that iOS is up to date by going to Settings > General > Software update. You should be fine after updating to the latest version of iOS 16.
You can also save your visual voicemail messages as notes or voice memos and share them using Apple’s built-in apps Messages, Mail, or AirDrop.
Almost every cellular service provider in North America, including many of the smaller ones, supports Apple’s Visual Voicemail. For your convenience, Apple provides a full list of carriers and the features they support, but it’s safe to say you’re covered if you use any of the major carriers.
It’s important to note that not all plans include Visual Voicemail by default, and some carriers may charge an additional fee for it. To make matters even more complicated, some carriers use the term “Visual Voicemail” to refer to a variety of different services that also cover Android smartphones and other devices, so make sure your plan includes iPhone Visual Voicemail.
Most carriers will do this automatically if you purchased your iPhone directly from them, but if you’re bringing your own iPhone onto a new carrier, you may need to be more specific about your requirements.
If you don’t have the appropriate iPhone Visual Voicemail plan, none of the steps below will work. Instead, tapping the Voicemail button in the Phone app will simply dial your basic voicemail service, where you’ll need to enter your passcode and retrieve messages the old-fashioned way, using the numeric phone keypad.
Setting up the iPhone Visual Voicemail service is simple once you’ve subscribed to a plan that includes it. Here’s how you do it:
Step 1: Launch the Phone app, which is by default located at the bottom of your iPhone’s home screen.
Step 2: In the bottom-right corner, tap the Voicemail button. Once everything is in place, this is also how you will access your voicemail messages.
Step 3: This should take you to a screen with instructions for configuring Visual Voicemail, as well as a Set up now button in the center. You haven’t properly subscribed to Visual Voicemail if this displays a Call voicemail button instead, or if it automatically dials your voicemail service and displays a numeric keypad. In this case, you’ll need to contact your carrier for assistance in getting the proper service added to your plan.
Step 4: Select Set up now to get started configuring your Visual Voicemail service.
Step 5: Enter a passcode for your voicemail service when prompted. This passcode is required if you want to access your voicemail messages from another phone or if your iPhone is unable to access the Visual Voicemail service, such as when there is no data coverage.
Step 6: After you’ve chosen and confirmed a passcode, you can customize how callers are greeted when they reach your voicemail. Choose Default to use the standard visual voicemail greeting, or Custom to record your own message.
Step 7: If you want to use a custom greeting, tap the Record button to start recording it. When you’re finished, press the Stop button. Tap Play to hear your greeting, or Record to delete the previous recording and start over.
Step 8: When you’re finished with your greeting, click Save.
Once Visual Voicemail is set up, new voicemail messages will appear in the Phone app, similar to how emails appear in your Inbox. You’ll be able to see a complete list of all of the voicemail messages you’ve received, including the date and time, who sent them, and how long they were. You can open and listen to any message simply by tapping on it, eliminating the need to go through the more time-consuming process of dialing into your voicemail service and navigating through it using the numeric keypad.
Step 1: Launch the Phone app.
Step 2: In the bottom-right corner, tap the Voicemail button. You should be able to see a list of any voicemail messages you’ve received. New messages will be denoted by a blue dot
Step 3: Listen to a voicemail message by tapping on it. New messages will play back automatically, while previously heard messages will expand to show a playback button that you must tap to listen to them again. You can also switch between the earpiece, speakerphone, and another audio device from this expanded view by tapping the speaker button (such as a set of AirPods). You can also call the person back, share the voicemail message as an audio file, view the contact information, or delete the message entirely.
One of the great features of Visual Voicemail is that you can access your messages directly through Siri. This isn’t limited to new messages; you can also ask Siri to play back messages from specific callers or even messages from specific dates. Here are a few phrases you can use to summon your Visual Voicemail messages via Siri:
“Hey Siri, take a look at my new voicemail messages.”
“Hey Siri, play Tim Cook’s voicemail messages.”
“Hey Siri, check my voicemails from November 25th.”
“Hey Siri, check out my new voicemail messages from today.”
It’s worth noting that if you specifically request new voicemail messages, Siri won’t play anything until there are new messages that match your request. If you simply ask Siri to “listen to voicemail messages” without the word “new,” you’ll be told there are no new messages before Siri offers to play back your saved messages instead.
You can also use Apple’s Visual Voicemail service like a traditional basic voicemail service to check your messages when you’re not near your iPhone or unable to use it. Here’s how it’s done:
Step 1: Dial your own phone number from another phone.
Step 2: When your voicemail greeting plays, press * or # to bypass it.
Step 3: Enter the password for your voicemail.
Step 4: Listen to your voicemail messages by following the verbal instructions. This may differ between carriers.
Also, because Visual Voicemail requires a data connection, it will not be available if your cellular data is turned off or if there is no nearby Wi-Fi network. In this case, you’ll see a message at the top of your Voicemail screen informing you that Visual Voicemail is currently unavailable, as well as a Call voicemail button that can be used to directly dial into your voicemail.
Although you must select a greeting when you first set up Visual Voicemail on your iPhone, you can change it at any time. You can even return to the default greeting if you decide you no longer want to use a custom greeting. Here’s how to make changes to your voicemail greeting:
Step 1: Launch the Phone app.
Step 2: In the bottom-right corner, tap the Voicemail button.
Step 3: In the top-right corner of the screen, tap Greeting.
Step 4: Select which phone line you want to update the greeting for if you’re using a Dual SIM configuration with more than one phone line available.
Step 5: The following screen displays your current greeting settings.
You must choose a greeting when you first set up Visual Voicemail on your iPhone, but you can change it at any time. You can even go back to the default greeting if you decide you don’t want to use a custom greeting any longer. Here’s how to modify your voicemail greeting:
Step 1: Start the Phone app.
Step 2: Tap the Voicemail button in the bottom-right corner.
Step 3: Tap Greeting in the top-right corner of the screen.
Step 4: If you’re using a Dual SIM configuration with more than one phone line available, choose which phone line you want to update the greeting for.
Step 5: The screen below displays your current greeting settings.
Step 6: If you’re using a custom greeting, you can listen to it or record a new one by tapping Play. Tap Default to return to the standard default greeting, which usually provides an automated voice that says you’re not available and reads back your phone number.
Step 7: If you’re using the default greeting, tap Custom to change it to a custom greeting. Tap the Record button to start recording your greeting, and then tap Stop when you’re done. Tap Play to hear your greeting. You can also press Record to delete the previous recording and start over.
Step 8: When you’re finished editing your greeting, tap Save in the upper-right corner.
If your carrier does not support Visual Voicemail, or if it is an add-on you prefer not to pay for, you can still use your iPhone with a basic voicemail service. The specific setup procedures will vary depending on your carrier, but they all typically follow the same steps of dialing the correct number and setting up your voicemail over the phone. Here’s a quick rundown of how this works for the major US airlines:
AT&T: AT&T’s specific instructions can be found here. To go directly to your voicemail, press 1 or the Voicemail button. If you have not previously selected or recorded a greeting, you will be prompted to do so. AT&T will ask you to create a password. If you receive a lot of calls, you can upgrade your voicemail for more storage, but this isn’t required for visual voicemail.
Verizon: Verizon’s website has a FAQ help page for setting up voicemail on an Android phone. If you have an iPhone, you’ll need to visit Apple’s specific instruction page to set up visual voicemail.
T-Mobile: T-Mobile directs users to Apple’s instruction page to activate visual voicemail.
Sprint: To access voicemail, dial 1 on your Sprint phone. We recommend clicking here to learn more about setting up your voicemail.
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