And what about Live Voicemail?
Everything about voicemail on the iPhone
If you regularly miss a call, there is always voicemail. The caller can then leave a voice message for you, so that you know exactly who called and why. In this article you can read everything about setting up your voicemail and the different variants, such as Visual Voicemail and Live Voicemail. We also tell you how to disable voicemail.
- Enable voicemail
- Listen to voicemail
- Disable voicemail
- Visual Voicemail
- Live Voicemail in English (from iOS 17)
Enable voicemail
To enable voicemail, simply go to the Phone app and tap Call Voicemail. Follow the voice prompts you hear to enable voicemail and leave a personalized welcome message.
If you have Visual Voicemail, you call your provider’s voicemail number via the Phone app. This is usually 1233. Sometimes you can also send the word ‘to’ via text message to number 1233. Some providers have a smartphone app with which you can, among other things, set up your voicemail. You can sometimes also listen to received voice messages here. If your provider does not have a special app for listening to voicemail, you can also activate your message box via your personal profile on the website.
Instructions may differ per provider. This applies, for example, to Vodafone:
- Call 12331 to enable voicemail
- Call 12330 to turn off voicemail
- 1233 and then press 11 for the main menu
- 1233-11-2 for your personal settings
- 1233-11-2-3 to set or change your PIN code
- 1233-2-4-2 to set a different language
- Call 1200 for support
- Call 0654501233 to listen to voicemail from abroad
If you have forgotten the PIN code for your voicemail, most providers will send you a temporary code via text message. You can change this later.
When setting up a welcome message, you often have three options: a standard message (“This is the voicemail from 06…”), a voicemail with a name (“This is the voicemail from [jouw naam]”) or a message that you record completely yourself. You can adjust the welcome message at any time.
Listen to voicemail
If you have voicemail enabled, callers will have the option to leave a message if they do not answer. You will receive a message that someone has left a message. You can listen to it by calling 1233. Or go to the Voicemail tab in the Phone app.
Listened messages are often only stored for a short time by your provider. You can save a voicemail message with iMazing and other software if you want to be able to listen to the message later.
Turn off voicemail
Turning off voicemail works in much the same way as turning it on. You can call voicemail and try to find your way around the voice menu. But it is often easier to text ‘off’ to number 1233 or disable voicemail via your provider’s app or website. Sometimes it is also possible to temporarily disable your voicemail if you do not want to receive messages for a while.
Visual Voicemail
If your provider offers Visual Voicemail, you no longer have to call a special number. You can find all incoming voicemail messages as voice recordings on your iPhone on the Voicemail tab in the Phone app. This works just like a voice message in iMessage or WhatsApp.
On the left an iPhone with Visual Voicemail, on the right you see a device with normal voicemail.
You can play these voicemail messages in any order you want and you can easily save or forward them. Visual Voicemail is only available in the Netherlands from T-Mobile (for a fee) and KPN (free). You can read more about Visual Voicemail in our separate tip.
Live Voicemail in English (from iOS 17)
Live Voicemail is a new feature in iOS 17 that actually eliminates the need for Visual Voicemail. One downside is that it only works in English in the US and Canada for now. So it is of no use to you in Europe, even if you have set your device to English.
Live Voicemail works like an old-fashioned answering machine, where you can decide whether to answer the phone while recording the message. Live Voicemail ensures that the recorded message is shown as written text, so that you can read along. It looks like this:
So you can read along while the other person records the message. And you can immediately decide to answer the call. It is intended as a measure against spam conversations. You can also better decide which messages are urgent. If your provider has classified a particular call as spam (although this is rarely done), you will not see it as Live Voicemail. The call is then immediately rejected.
Live Voicemail therefore depends on your provider. However, the transcription takes place locally on the device and the content of the message therefore remains completely private. Apple uses the Neural Engine to recognize texts and convert them into written text.
Live Voicemail is enabled by default in iOS 17 and later if you meet the requirements, i.e. an English-speaking iPhone in the US or Canada. You can switch it on and off via Settings > Phone > Live Voicemail.
If you receive a telephone call and you do not want to answer it, you will see a telephone and recording icon in the Dynamic Island (or at the top of the screen). You can tap the phone icon to view the transcript while the other person is still recording. You can then immediately record the conversation, block the caller or wait until the caller has finished.
You can also have unknown callers automatically go to Live Voicemail without disturbing you. To do this, go to Settings > Phone > Silence unknown callers.
Silencing unknown callers always works on the iPhone, regardless of the language and provider you are dealing with.
