The concept of voicemail is probably much older than you might think. Gordon Matthews invented the program in the late 1970s when he launched a company called VMX. The VMX stood for “Voice Mail Express,” and it was an instant sensation in the business world. The smashing success of VMX created a multi-billion business virtually overnight.

In modern times, the voicemail industry is no longer worth billions of dollars. Instead, it’s a program that’s provided for free, comes pre-installed on new cell phones, and is often taken for granted.

For example, recent studies have shown that only 33% of people listen to voicemails from known business contacts. If the voicemail is left from an unknown caller ID, then only 18% of people will listen to it. Sending text messages is far more popular.

It’s a wise decision to listen to your voicemails whenever you get the chance. You never know who might be calling and what information they might be trying to share. It could be something very important that you need to know. Then again, it could be a scammer trying to con you out of your money. Either way, you should take the time to listen to your voicemails.

How Do You Set Up Voicemail?

Checking your voicemail is pretty easy, as it’s the digital equivalent of checking your mail. It wouldn’t be much good if accessing your messages was difficult. The hardest part occurs during the initial stages when you have to set up your voicemail. It’s practically guaranteed that you either have an Apple iPhone or an Android, so we’ll go over how to set up a voicemail for each type of device:

Setting Up a Voicemail for iPhone

1. Open the pre-installed “Phone” app on your iPhone. It should look like a white phone receiver with a green background.
2. Select the “Voicemail” option in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen.
3. If you’re setting up your voicemail system for the first time, the screen should have a “Set Up Now” option in the middle.
4. Create a voicemail password and then tap “Done.”You’ll need to re-enter the same password to confirm it. Press “Done” again to lock in the password and continue.
5. You can choose between a “Default” greeting or a “Custom” greeting. Click on “Default” for now (as we’ll come back to personalized greetings in a minute).
6. Exit out of the window whenever you’ve completed all of the steps.
7. Repeat the first two steps on this list to access your voicemail.
8. Enter the password when prompted to access your voicemail and see if it’s been properly set up.

Setting Up a Voicemail for Android Phones

1. Open the pre-installed “Phone” app on your Android device. It looks like an old-school telephone with a green background.
2. Tap on the “Keypad" button located on the bottom left side of your screen.
3. Press and hold the number “One” to initiate a call to your voicemail service.
4. If you’re setting up your voicemail for the first time, you should hear a message that says, “No voicemail number is stored on the card” or something similar.
5. The message should guide you via prompts on how to set up your voicemail which may include creating a PIN.
6. Hang up whenever you’re finished following the prompts.
7. Repeat the first three steps on the list to call your voicemail.
8. Enter your PIN (if prompted) to access your voicemail and see if you were successful in setting it up.

Can You Use Voicemail on Other Phones?

It’s important to keep in mind that your voicemail can be accessed by other phones (more on that later). Take the creation of your voicemail PIN or password seriously, and avoid simple codes that can be easy to guess.

Voicemail hacking is a very real thing, and your private messages can be intercepted by an outside party if you’re not careful. You don’t want spammers to access voicemail messages and learn your personal information.

At some point during the creation of your voicemail, you’ll be prompted to create a greeting message. The message that you record is what the person who is leaving you a voicemail will hear.

Leave a good impression with your voicemail, especially if you’re expecting a lot of phone calls from professionals. You can find a list of a few creative voicemail messages here to give you a general idea of where to start.

How Do You Check Voicemail?

Now that you have your voicemail activated and greeting recorded, we can get into how you can check your messages. It’s essentially the same process that you followed when you were first setting up your voicemail. You’ll be using your phone app, dial pad, and entering passcodes. However, there are a few times when the process might be a little different.

Here’s how to check your voicemail during various circumstances:

iPhone With Notifications

1. Swipe down from the top of your home screen.
2. If you have voicemail notifications enabled, you should see one informing you that you have a new voicemail.
3. Tap the notification, and it will automatically open your “Phone” app and access your voicemail.
4. When prompted, enter the password that you created when setting up your voicemail.
5. You should be taken to the main menu, where you can listen to the message playback.

iPhone Without Notifications

1. Open the “Phone” app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the “Voicemail” icon that’s located in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen.
3. When prompted, grant permission by entering the password you created when you originally set up the voice mailbox.
4. The main menu will appear, where you can check for new messages and listen to older ones.

Android With Notifications

1. Swipe down from the top of your home screen.
2. If you have voicemail notifications enabled, you’ll see one telling you there are new voice messages.
3. Tap the notification, and your “Phone” app should automatically dial your voicemail box.
4. When prompted, enter the PIN that you created when setting up your voicemail service.
5. You should be taken to the main menu where the new messages will be.

Android Without Notifications

1. Open the “Phone” app on your Android.
2. Tap the “Keypad” option on the bottom left side of your screen.
3. Press and hold the number “One,” which should feature a voicemail icon.
4. When prompted, enter the PIN that you created when setting up your voicemail service.
5. You should be taken to the main menu, where you can listen to new messages and manage older ones.

From Another Phone

If you don’t have access to your own phone, you can still check your messages like this:

1. Open the “Phone” app from the second device or move on to the next step if you’re using a landline (home phone).
2. Enter your ten-digit phone number or select your name from the “Contacts” list.
3. Press the # key whenever you hear your voicemail greeting.
4. When prompted, enter the voicemail password or PIN that you created when setting up your voicemail.
5. The main menu of your voice mailbox will pop up, where you can listen to and manage your messages.

Voicemail Keycode Shortcuts

The last thing that you should know about listening to voicemails is the shortcut keys. Each phone carrier has its own list of shortcut keys that can help you save time when managing your messages, especially if the people who call you are being sent directly to voicemail and flooding your inbox.

These are a few of the voicemail shortcut keys provided by the most popular phone service carriers:

AT&T

• Press “3” to save a message.
• Press “2” to delete a message.
• Press “1” to replay a message.

Bell

• Press “9” to save a message.
• Press “7” to delete a message.
• Press “4” to replay a message.

Boost Mobile

• Press “9” to save a message.
• Press “7” to delete a message.
• Press “4” to replay a message.

O2

• Press “2” to save a message.
• Press “3” to delete a message.
• Press “1” to replay a message.

Rogers

• Press “9” to save a message.
• Press “7” to delete a message.
• Enter “11” to replay a message.

Telus

• Press “9” to save a message.
• Press “7” to delete a message.
• Press “1” to replay a message.

Three

• Press “2” to save a message.
• Press “3” to delete a message.
• Press “1” to replay a message.

T-Mobile

• Press “9” to save a message.
• Press “7” to delete a message.
• Press “1” to replay a message.

US Cellular

• Press “2” to save a message.
• Press “3” to delete a message.
• Press “1” to replay a message.

Verizon

• Press “9” to save a message.
• Press “7” to delete a message.
• Press “4” to replay a message.

Virgin Mobile

• Press “3” to save a message.
• Press “2” to delete a message.
• Press “1” to replay a message.

Different Phone? No Problem.

Voicemails have been around for nearly 50 years and have changed dramatically over time. In the old days, it was a service that cost a significant sum and was only made available to businesses. With the widespread consumption of mobile phones, voicemail eventually became an everyday occurrence that regular people use for free. There are even visual voicemail apps available with some phone service providers.

Checking your voicemail is a fairly straightforward process. It only requires a few steps listed above to listen to and manage your voicemails. The difficult part is setting it up, as you’ll need to create a password or PIN to keep your messages safe and an effective voicemail greeting.

Overall it shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes to set everything up so that you can start receiving and listening to voicemails.

Sources:

7 ways to fix your Android incoming calls going straight to voicemail | Business Insider

Voicemail Hacking | Federal Communications Commission

Are you still checking voice mail? | CBS News

Gordon Matthews Dead at 65; Invented Corporate Voice Mail | The New York Times