iPhone: About Visual Voicemail

The Phone button on the Home screen shows the total number of missed calls and unheard voicemail messages you have.

When you tap Phone, the Voicemail button shows the number of unheard voicemail messages and the Recents button shows the number of missed calls.

Setting Up Voicemail

Set up voicemail and create a password

Tap Voicemail. The first time you tap Voicemail, iPhone prompts you to create a voicemail password and record your voicemail greeting.

Record a new voicemail greeting

1. Tap Voicemail and tap Greeting. Then tap Custom.
2. Tap Record and say your greeting.
3. When you finish, tap Stop. To listen to your greeting, tap Play.
4. When you’re satisfied, tap Save.

Set iPhone to play a default voicemail greeting

Tap Voicemail and tap Greeting. Then tap Default. When someone calls, they’ll hear a standard message that includes your phone number.

Checking Voicemail

The Voicemail screen shows your voicemail messages. Unheard messages have a blue dot next to them.

Listen to a new voicemail message

1. Tap Voicemail, then tap the new message. The message downloads to iPhone and plays.
2. Tap to pause the message. Tap to resume playback.

You can skip to any point in a message by dragging the playhead on the scrubber bar. This is useful if you want to review part of a message — to hear a phone number again, for example.

Note: Once you listen to a message, it is saved for 30 days from the time you listened to it.

To	Do this
Listen to a message again	Tap the message and tap .
Listen to a deleted message	Tap Deleted Messages (at the end of your voicemail messages), then tap the message you want to hear.
Listen over the speakerphone	Tap Speaker. If iPhone is connected to a Bluetooth headset or car kit, tap Audio and choose Speaker Phone. To switch back to the headset or car kit, tap Audio again, then choose the device.

Check voicemail from another phone

Call your own phone number. As your greeting plays, enter *, enter your voicemail password followed by #, then follow the voice instructions.

Returning a Call

It’s simple to return a call from voicemail. Tap a message, then tap Call Back.

Deleting Messages

Deleted messages are saved on iPhone for a time, then they are automatically and permanently erased. Before messages are erased permanently, you can still view and listen to them, and even undelete them.

Delete a message

Tap a message, then tap Delete.

Undelete a message

Tap Deleted Messages (at the end of your voicemail messages), then tap a message and tap Undelete. The message returns to your messages list.

Getting Contact Information

Voicemail saves more than just recorded messages. The date and time of the call, the length of the message, and any available contact information are all included.

If the caller is already in your contacts, that information is a tap away. If the message is from someone not in your contacts, you can easily add them. You can also add a caller to your favorites list from Voicemail.

To	Do this
See a caller’s contact information	Tap next to a message. Tap a number or email address to contact the caller. Tap Text Message to text the caller.
Add a caller’s number to your contacts list	Tap next to a message. Then tap Create New Contact, or tap “Add to Existing Contact” and choose a contact.
Add a caller to your favorites list	Tap next to a message, then tap “Add to Favorites.”

Setting an Alert Sound for Voicemail

You can set an alert to sound whenever you receive a new voicemail. The alert sounds only once.

Set an alert sound for new voicemail

From the Home screen choose Settings > Sounds, then turn New Voicemail on or off.

Tip: If the Ring/Silent switch is off, iPhone won’t make alert sounds even if they’re turned on in Settings.

Recording your Voicemail Greeting

The voicemail greeting, or outgoing message, is what a caller hears when you don’t answer or decline the call, and the call is sent to voicemail. A default greeting is provided by AT&T. You can record a custom greeting to use instead.

Record a voicemail greeting

1. In Voicemail, tap Greeting in the upper-left corner of the screen.
2. Tap Custom.
3. Tap Record when you’re ready to record your greeting.
4. Tap Stop when you finish.
   
   To review the greeting, Tap Play. If you’re not satisfied, repeat steps 2 through 4 to rerecord the greeting.
5. Tap Save.