How to Use (Carrier and Live) Voicemail on iPhone

If you have ever missed a call on your iPhone, you must know that voicemail can help you get back to your friends and family on time. Voicemail allows the people trying to call you to record and leave a message if you cannot attend the call. Here’s a complete guide on how to use voicemail on your iPhone.

There are two types of voicemail features on your iPhone: Carrier and Live Voicemail. The first one is provided to you by your carrier, and the latter comes with your iPhone (running iOS 17 and later). Let’s dive in and learn about them in detail.

Difference Between Carrier and Live Voicemail

Carrier voicemail is provided by your service provider. Whenever you are unavailable, your call will be forwarded to your carrier’s voicemail, and from there, you can listen to the messages left by your loved ones on demand. Carrier voicemails are stored on its server for up to 30 days.

On the other hand, Live Voicemail is a feature on your iPhone. When turned on, anyone who calls, and if you are unavailable to pick up the call, will be sent to the Live Voicemail. Meanwhile, you can see the transcript of the message they leave in real time on your iPhone screen.

And while listening to the Live Voicemail, you can still tap accept and pick up the call. Unlike Carrier voicemail, Live Voicemails are stored locally on your iPhone with no time limit. The feature is similar to the old days of answering machines but with transcriptions.

Turn Off Call Forwarding

Before we look at how to set up voicemail on your iPhone, let’s first turn off call forwarding on your iPhone. Because when call forwarding is on, if you are unavailable to take calls, the call will be forwarded to the number you’ve set instead of going to voicemail. Here are the simple steps to take.

Step 1: Launch the Settings app on your iPhone and tap Phone.

Step 2: Tap Call Forwarding.

Step 3: Tap and turn off the toggle for Call Forwarding.

How to Set Up Carrier Voicemail on iPhone

Voicemail is a handy feature, as it can record an important message when you are offline or unavailable. And you can listen to those recordings and decide whether to call the person back or not. Setting up voicemail on your iPhone is simple. Here are the steps to follow.

1. Enter Your Carrier’s Voicemail Number

To activate carrier voicemail, call the number provided by your network provider. Let’s take a look at the steps.

Step 1: Open the phone app and go to the dialer.

Step 2: Type the number provided by your carrier and tap call.

Tip: The voicemail activation number differs from provider to provider; you can find out by contacting your carrier. And the voicemail activation number provided by a carrier usually starts with * and ends with #.

Step 3: Upon successful activation, you will receive a message on your screen; tap Dismiss.

2. Using Voicemail in the Phone App

Some carriers support Visual voicemail. Visual voicemail is nothing but a simplified way of accessing voicemails straight from the Voicemail tab of the Phone app. You can set up voicemail by following the above-mentioned method; however, if your carrier supports Visual Voicemail, you can also set it up by following these steps.

Step 1: Open the Phone app on your iPhone and tap Voicemail.

Step 2: Tap Set Up Now.

Step 3: Now, enter a password of your choice and tap Done. And that’s it; now your voicemail is ready.

Set Up Live Voicemail

Whether or not your carrier supports voicemail service or not, you can still use Apple’s Live Voicemail feature on your iPhone for free. Like your carrier voicemail, anyone who calls you can leave a voice message if you are unavailable. Let’s learn how to activate the Live Voicemail on your iPhone.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone; scroll down and tap Phone.

Step 2: Tap Live Voicemail.

Step 3: Tap and turn on the toggle for Live Voicemail. And that’s it.

Listen to Voicemail on iPhone

Accessing and listening to voicemails is simple on your iPhone and keeps you updated with missed calls and important messages. There are two ways to listen to a voicemail on your iPhone. Here are the steps to follow.

Method 1: Call Voicemail by Pressing 1

Step 1: Open the Phone app on your iPhone and go to the dialer.

Step 2: Tap and hold 1 to call the voicemail. Now, follow the instructions to listen to your voicemails.

Method 2: Play From the Voicemail Tab (For Visual Voicemail/Live Voicemail)

If your carrier supports Visual voicemail, you can access or listen to voicemail from the Voicemail tab on your iPhone. Here’s how to listen to your Visual voicemail or Live Voicemail.

Step 1: Launch the Phone app on your iPhone and go to the Voicemail tab.

Step 2: Tap on the voicemail you want to hear.

Step 3: Tap the play button to listen to the voicemail.

Note: The voicemail is played by default through the earpiece of your iPhone; tap the speaker button to listen to it hands-free.

Clear or Delete Voicemail on iPhone

Every voicemail (except Live Voicemail) you receive gets stored on the carrier’s server. Some carriers allow the storage of 40 messages, and others up to 40 messages for 30 days. So, it’s better to delete them after listening, or the people calling you won’t be able to leave a message; instead, they will hear a voicemail full message. Follow these steps to delete voicemails from your iPhone.

Method 1: Call Voicemail and Delete It (For Carrier Voicemail)

Step 1: Open the Phone app on your iPhone and go to the dialer.

Step 2: Tap and hold 1 to call the voicemail. Now, follow the instructions and delete the voicemail accordingly.

Method 2: Delete From the Voicemail Tab (For Visual/Live Voicemail)

Unlike normal voicemails, Visual voicemails or Live Voicemails received on your iPhone are stored on your iPhone’s local storage. They can take up storage space on your iPhone. Follow these steps to delete them.

Step 1: Launch the Phone app on your iPhone and go to the Voicemail tab.

Step 2: Tap on the voicemail you wish to delete.

Step 3: Tap the bin icon to delete the voicemail.

Tip: You can also share a voicemail with other messaging apps by tapping on the Share button.

Must Read: Top fixes for voicemail not working on iPhone.

How to Fix Voicemail Not Working

If you are struggling using the voicemail (Carrier and Live Voicemail) feature on your iPhone, you can always contact your carrier or Apple support for additional help. However, here are some fixes you can try and save your time. Let’s look at them.

1. Turn Off Call Forwarding

Step 1: Launch the Settings app on your iPhone and tap Phone.

Step 2: Tap Call Forwarding.

Step 3: Tap and turn off the toggle for Call Forwarding.

2. Toggle Flight Mode

Step 1: Swipe down from the right corner of your iPhone to access the Control Center. On iPhone with Touch ID, swipe up from the bottom.

Step 2: Tap the Flight Mode icon. Wait for a couple of seconds and tap again to turn it off.

Also Read: What happens when you reset network settings

3. Reset Network Settings

Sometimes, resetting network settings can get you out of many network-related issues on your iPhone, including voicemail issues. Follow these steps.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap General.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap ‘Transfer or Reset iPhone’.

Step 3: Tap Reset.

Step 4: Now, tap Reset Network Settings.

Step 5: Enter your iPhone’s passcode.

Step 6: Tap Reset Network Settings. And that’s it.

4. Change Language & Region

The Live Voicemail feature on the iPhone is available in the US and Canada. So, if you are having trouble using Live Voicemail, you can check your Language & Region settings. Here are the simple steps to take.

Step 1: Open the Settings app and tap General.

Step 2: Tap Language & Region.

Step 3: Tap Add Language.

Step 4: Search for English, and tap and select English (US).

Step 5: Now, tap Region.

Step 6: Search for ‘United States’ or ‘Canada’ and tap to select them.

Give your iPhone a restart. And now, the Live Voicemail feature on your iPhone should work.

Use Voicemail on Your iPhone

Voicemail is an excellent communication tool to check up on missed calls and important messages left by your loved ones. But note that the voicemail feature relies on many things, such as whether Call Forwarding is off or not, whether you have space left in your voicemail, your region, etc. We hope this article helped you set up and listen to voicemails on your iPhone.