Voicemail setup usually takes only a few minutes, but the correct screen depends on your phone, carrier, and whether you want a basic mailbox or Visual Voicemail. Start with the built-in iPhone or Android path, then use your carrier's setup only when the phone sends you there. The steps below keep the setup current and skip older Google Voice voicemail shortcuts that vendors no longer use.
1. Set up voicemail on iPhone
This fixes first-time iPhone voicemail setup and gets your greeting ready. Open Phone, then tap Voicemail. If prompted, tap Set Up Now and Create a voicemail password.
Choose Default, or choose Custom and record a new greeting. To edit the greeting later in the current Phone layout, open Phone > Filter > Voicemails > Edit > Edit Voicemail Greeting. In the Classic layout, use Phone > Voicemail > Greeting.
2. Turn on iPhone Live Voicemail and iCloud sync
Apple notes that Voicemail, Visual Voicemail, and Live Voicemail come from select carriers in select countries or regions, and that Live Voicemail is not available in every country, region, or language. Use this section if your carrier and region support it.
Open Settings, tap Apps, then tap Phone. Next, tap Live Voicemail and turn on Live Voicemail.
To store and sync Live Voicemail and Carrier Voicemail through iCloud, open Settings > [your name] > iCloud > See All. After that, turn on Phone & FaceTime.
3. Set up voicemail on Android
This fixes basic carrier voicemail before you worry about an app-style inbox. Open Phone, tap Dialpad, then touch and hold 1. Follow your carrier's voice prompts to create a PIN or password and record your greeting.
On Samsung Galaxy phones, open Phone, then touch and hold 1 or tap Voicemail. Follow Samsung's setup tutorial to create a password, record a greeting, and record your name.
4. Turn on Visual Voicemail on Android
The Phone by Google route below is limited to supported devices and carriers; Google lists AT&T, Cellcom, Coriolis, Google Fi, O2, Orange, and T-Mobile, and some of its steps need Android 6.0 or later. A carrier voicemail app is the alternative route, not the next step: when you use one, visual voicemail in the Phone app turns off to avoid a conflict.
Open Phone, tap More options, then tap Settings. Tap Voicemail and choose your SIM when prompted. Then tap Visual voicemail and turn on Visual voicemail.
Instead of the steps above, on Samsung Galaxy phones with a carrier voicemail app, open that app; Samsung notes its name and icon vary by carrier, so it may not be labeled Visual Voicemail. Tap Continue, grant the required permissions, review the welcome message, tap Continue, then finish the prompts.
5. Use your carrier setup when the phone app sends you there
For Verizon, open Phone > Voicemail > Set Up Now. If setup fails or you are sent to carrier voicemail, dial *86 and follow the prompts.
For AT&T, open the call screen and press and hold 1, then follow the voicemail prompts to set up the mailbox, password, and greeting. For AT&T Prepaid, if the voicemail password was just reset, press and hold 1 and follow the prompts to create a new 7-to-15-digit password, press the # key and hang up, turn the phone off and back on, then access voicemail again.
For T-Mobile, press and hold 1 on the phone tied to the voicemail plan, or open the Visual Voicemail app. During first-time setup, enter a PIN, then record your greeting and name. If long-pressing 1 or the T-Mobile app fails, dial 1-805-637-7249, enter your 10-digit number, press * while the greeting plays, then enter the voicemail password.
Carrier setup controls the mailbox itself, so finish this before troubleshooting the phone app.
6. Reset a voicemail password or PIN
On Verizon, sign in to My Verizon, select your device, go to Settings & Preferences, then choose Manage voicemail password. On Verizon, you can also dial *611 from the mobile phone.
On AT&T Wireless, reset a forgotten password from AT&T’s Reset my voicemail password page: sign in, choose Switch if you need to change the number, then select Reset voicemail password. If you know the current password and only want to change it, press and hold 1, enter the password, press #, then 4 for Personal options, 2 for Administrative options, 1 for Password options, and 1 to Change password.
On AT&T Prepaid, call 800.901.9878 (or 611 from the AT&T Prepaid phone), say More options, then say Account changes and Reset PIN. Afterward, press and hold 1 from the call screen on that phone and follow the prompts to create a new 7-to-15-digit voicemail password.
On T-Mobile, hang up and dial #793#. Wait for the SMS temporary PIN, enter it, create a new 4-to-7-digit PIN, then record your greeting and name.
7. Send unwanted calls to voicemail
This moves unknown callers and supported spam calls away from your main call flow. On iPhone, open Settings > Apps > Phone or FaceTime > Call Filtering. Turn on Unknown Callers to move missed calls and voicemails from unknown numbers to the Unknown Callers list.
In Phone, turn on Spam to silence carrier-identified spam or fraud calls and send them to voicemail. On supported Samsung Galaxy phones, open Phone > More options > Settings > Direct voicemail. Turn on the switch at the top, then tap Agree.
During an incoming call on supported Samsung Galaxy phones, swipe up for More options and select Direct voicemail. To auto-send calls on supported Samsung Galaxy phones, tap Auto send to voicemail, turn it on, then set the time before incoming calls go to voicemail.
8. Use Google Voice voicemail instead
Install or open Google Voice and sign in to a supported Google Voice account. Open Google Voice > Menu > Settings > Voicemail greeting > Record a greeting > Record. Record the greeting, tap Stop, tap Save, enter a name, then tap Save.
To switch greetings later, open Google Voice > Menu > Settings > Voicemail greeting > More next to a greeting > Set as active. To call in and check Google Voice voicemail, go to voice.google.com > Settings > Account, scroll to Voicemail, turn on Call to listen, set a PIN, then click Save.
To send missed or busy mobile calls to Google Voice voicemail, enter your carrier's conditional call forwarding commands on the mobile phone keypad using your Google Voice number as the destination. Do not use older Android voicemail-number edits for Google Voice; current Google Voice setup uses carrier conditional call forwarding commands.
9. Work and school voicemail
For a work or school Google Voice number, voicemail can be controlled by your organization's setup instead of your personal phone settings. An admin handles Google Workspace Voice setup > add Voice locations > assign Voice licenses > assign Voice numbers, then users finish their own Voice setup. If those controls are missing on a managed account, contact your organization's admin instead of changing carrier voicemail settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Visual Voicemail to have voicemail?
No. Basic carrier voicemail works through the call-in mailbox, such as touching and holding 1 on many Android phones or using your carrier's dial-in setup. Visual Voicemail is the app-style inbox for viewing and playing messages.
Why does my iPhone show Set Up Now instead of messages?
Voicemail has not been set up on that iPhone yet. Open Phone, tap Voicemail, choose Set Up Now, create a password, and choose a greeting.
What should I do if Visual Voicemail setup fails?
Use the carrier setup path for the line. Verizon uses *86 as a fallback, AT&T has you press and hold 1, and T-Mobile supports pressing and holding 1 or using the Visual Voicemail app.
Can Google Voice replace my carrier voicemail?
Google Voice can provide its own voicemail greeting and inbox. To send missed or busy mobile calls there, current Google Voice guidance uses carrier conditional call forwarding commands with your Google Voice number.