Voice mail has been on the phone from the beginning of time. Voice mail has been so popular in the early days but now it is not much used since we have so many alternatives for that. Voicemail has been replaced by voice messages via several apps such as WhatsApp and Viber. But voicemail could still be useful to some people. So today we are going to describe to you how to set up voicemail on your android device.
What is voicemail?
For the people who are not familiar with voicemail, here is a short description of it. Voicemail is a service that allows users to send voice messages through the network. This voicemail service is usually set up by your mobile service provider. Voicemail is simply an “answering machine” . Voicemail is useful when you are unable to answer a call. You can set up voicemail on your phone so that the caller can keep a recorded voice message for you. All you have to do is to record a simple voice message telling the caller that you are unable to answer the call and to leave a message. This is way easier than calling you back or writing you a long text message about the call. Voice mail can be set to both mobile phone connections and landline connections.
How to Set up voicemail on android?
Since voicemail is an additional service provided by your service provider, first you need to call them and inquire about it. You can ask for all the details about the cost and other details. Then when you activate the voicemail service to your mobile number, you will get a voicemail number. So before you begin make sure you have this number with you. Now follow the steps below.
- Open the Phone app and go to the dialer.
- Click on the three dots on the top of the dialer and go to settings.
- Then go to Voicemail.
- Now on voicemail settings, find “voicemail number” and enter the voicemail number provided by your service provider.
A little shortcut to access voicemail from your phone is to press and hold “1” on the dialer. This will open up voicemail on your phone. If the voicemail service is not set up you will be prompted to enter the voicemail number. Then you can enter the voicemail number.
Sending a voicemail
After setting up you can send voice mail to other numbers too. But the receiver should have enabled voicemail to receive voicemail. This is how to send voicemail from your android phone to another phone.
- Open the phone app and go to the dialer.
- Press and hold “1” to call the voicemail number.
- Enter the password and press 2 to send voicemail.
- After the prompt record your voicemail.
- After recording the message will be played back to you to listen to. If you have missed something you can record it again.
- If the message is correct you can enter the number after the next prompt then sends it.
Check your voicemail on android
Usually, the voicemail inbox is maintained by the carrier. So to check them you need to contact the service provider via the voicemail number. But there are some alternatives. Let’s look at all the ways you can check your voicemail on android.
Calling the voicemail number
You can call the voicemail number given to you by your service provider to check your voicemail. When you call the number the instructions will be given to you. This method will work on all kinds of phones even in the oldest models of non-smartphones.
Via the phone app
Some service providers let you access your voicemail through your phone app. To turn this feature on, go to settings -> voicemail. Then turn on the feature “visual voicemail”. Now you will be able to see the list of voicemails received in your phone app. These voice mails are saved on your device. If you turn off the visual voicemail feature all these voicemails will be deleted from your device. But they will be in your voicemail inbox maintained by the service provider.
Setting up voicemail greeting on android
In the voicemail, you can setup a greeting message for your callers. This is a short message which is a couple of seconds long and you can say things like ” busy right now, please leave a message”. So here is how to record your greeting message.
- Tap the phone icon and get the dialer.
- Tap 2 and record the greeting after the tone
- To go to the advanced options menu, press 3.
- When prompted, enter the voicemail number.
- Tap and hold “1” . This will call your voicemail number.
- End the call by tapping the end call button.
Voice mail password
It’s good to have a voice mail password for your phone. Otherwise, anyone can listen to your voicemail without you knowing it. Many phones ask for a password when you set up voicemail for the first time. So, we will explain how to change the password.
- Tap the phone icon and get the dialer
- Tap and hold “1” to call the voicemail number and enter the current password.
- After listening to the new voice mail you will be presented with a menu with several options.
- Press “4” to get into administrative options.
- Now you will be able to change the password.
Mind that the password should be numbers only, and it should contain seven to fifteen digits.
In the case, you have forgotten your password you can always reset it by calling your service provider. Call your service provider and they will reset your password after verifying your identification.
Other voicemail options
Voicemail is similar to your text message inbox and contains all most all the options your text messages have. So, you can do things like forwarding voice mail messages, create groups, etc. You can ask for information about these options from your service provider and use them accordingly.