9 Easy Ways to Listen to Voicemail on Any Phone

Co-authored by Josef Storzi and Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: September 26, 2024 Fact Checked

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Did you miss that phone call? Luckily, voicemail exists for moments like that so you can listen to what your caller wanted to get in touch with you about. So how do you check your voicemail for those missed calls? Most people have voicemail accounts through their cell phones or landline phones, but things can get a little complicated when you don't have access to a phone or if you recently switched voicemail systems. This wikiHow article teaches you how to check your voicemail in different ways.

Things You Should Know

If you're using an iPhone or Android, you can usually tap the "New Voicemail" notification to check it.
Call your own phone number then enter your PIN or passcode to listen to your voicemail.
Go online if your phone service has an online area for voicemail.

Section 1 of 9:

Checking on Android (From Notifications)

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This displays your notifications. If you have any unread voicemail, you'll see an icon at the top-left corner of your screen in the Status area.
It looks like a reel-to-reel tape. Your phone will dial the voice mailbox so you can see or hear your new voicemail.^{[1]
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Section 2 of 9:

Checking on Android (Calling)

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Tap the green app icon featuring a white telephone receiver.^{[2]
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It's in the row of tabs at the bottom of your screen along with Recents and Contacts.
This key may also feature a voicemail icon (which looks like cassette tape eyes).
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Enter your PIN or passcode. When you created your account, you were prompted to create a PIN so no one else could access your voicemail.
- Contact your cell phone provider (like AT&T or Verizon) if you are unable to remember your code. They might be able to reset it for you over the phone and help you with any other problems. Conducting an internet search for your particular provider should bring up a customer service number to call.^{[3]
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After you enter your PIN correctly, you'll be able to hear your messages. There is usually a menu of options that you can choose from to decide what to do with the message, but each menu varies between carriers.
Simply press the red "End Call" icon to hang up and end the call.

Section 3 of 9:

Checking on Android (Visual Voicemail)

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Open the Phone app. If your cellular phone service offers visual voicemail, you can see a list of your voicemails and listen to them individually. Tap the green app icon featuring a white telephone receiver at the bottom of the screen to get started.^{[4]
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- Visual voicemail is available for AT&T (depending on your plan), Cellcom, Coriolis, Google Fi, O2, Orange, and T-Mobile.
It's to the left of the "Start Call" icon (which looks like a telephone receiver) on the Keypad tab.

Section 4 of 9:

Checking on iPhone (From Notifications)

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If you're on the Lock Screen, swipe up. On any other screen, swipe down from the top center (you don't want to open Control Center instead).^{[5]
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It'll open in the Phone app so you can listen to your new voicemail.

Section 5 of 9:

Checking on iPhone (Visual Voicemail)

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Open the Phone app. This app icon looks like a green square with a white telephone receiver in the middle. If your carrier supports visual voicemail, you can view your voicemail messages as a list and listen to them individually.^{[6]
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- Alternatively, you can ask Siri to "Play the voicemail from Jane Doe" if you have the AI assistant set up.
It's at the bottom-right corner of he Phone app with Keypad, Contacts, and Recents.^{[7]
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If voicemail transcription is available, you'll see a transcription of the message.^{[8]
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Tap the Play icon to listen to the voicemail message. The Play icon looks like a sideways triangle.^{[9]
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- You can tap the trashcan icon after you've listened to the message to delete it. There's no way to undo this, so make sure you're ok with getting rid of that voicemail!
- If you're lucky, there's a Deleted Messages area that you can access to tap Undelete on messages that you don't want to delete. However, many countries and regions delete messages permanently, and undoing deletions is impossible.
- Tap the blue circle with the telephone receiver to call that number back.

Section 6 of 9:

Checking on iPhone (Calling)

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Tap the green app icon featuring a white telephone receiver.
It's in the row of tabs at the bottom of your screen along with Recents and Contacts.
This key may also feature a voicemail icon (which looks like cassette tape eyes).^{[10]
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Research source}
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Enter your PIN or passcode. When you created your account, you were prompted to create a PIN so no one else could access your voicemail.^{[11]
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- Contact your cell phone provider (like AT&T or Verizon) if you are unable to remember your passcode. They might be able to reset it for you over the phone and help you with any other problems. Conducting an internet search for your particular provider should bring up a customer service number to call.
After you enter your PIN correctly, you'll be able to hear your messages. There is usually a menu of options that you can choose from to decide what to do with the message, but each menu varies between carriers.
Simply press the red "End Call" icon to hang up and end the call.^{[12]
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Section 7 of 9:

Checking Voicemail from Another Phone

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Call your phone number from any phone. If you don't have it memorized, you may have to look it up. Many phones have your cell phone number saved in the contacts automatically as 'Me'.
- On iPhone, you can also look up your phone number by going to the Settings app and clicking Phone.
- On Android, go to Settings > About Phone. Your phone number will be listed here next to "Phone number."
- You can also call a landline phone to hear voicemails when you're not near your phone.
This prompts the voicemail service that you want to access your voicemail instead of leaving a message.
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Enter your pin or passcode when prompted. Voicemail is locked for privacy reasons but the code should be something that you created. Once you have verified your identity, you should be allowed to access your voicemail.
- Contact your cell phone provider if you are unable to remember your code. They might be able to reset it for you over the phone and help you with any other problems. Conducting an internet search for your particular provider should bring up a customer service number to call.

Section 8 of 9:

Checking Home Phone Voicemail

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Call your Comcast, XFINITY, or cable phone voicemail by dialing "*99"." Keep in mind that this only works if you are calling from your home phone. You will then enter your password and have access to your voicemail. Some modern phones allow you to just click the voicemail button on your machine and then enter your password.^{[13]
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- If calling from a phone not associated with your voicemail, dial your home phone number first and then hit the pound (#) key when the automated greeting starts. Enter your password at the prompt and you should be allowed access to your voicemail.
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Check your AT&T home phone voicemail by dialing "*98" from your home phone. Enter your password followed by the pound (#) key and then you are all set.^{[14]
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- If you are checking voicemail away from home you can enter the AT&T Service Access number (1-888-288-8893). You will enter your ten-digit home phone number followed by your password, and then from there all you have to do is follow the prompts over the phone and you are good to go.
- Either press "9" at the start of your greeting, or press pound (#) when you finish entering your access and home numbers. Enter your passcode. This should allow you access to your voicemail.
Once you reach your mailbox, press "1" to listen to new messages. If you are calling from a phone that is not associated with the voicemail, first dial the 11-digit Vonage phone number for the voice mailbox you want to check and then follow the same steps.^{[15]
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Section 9 of 9:

Checking Voicemail on the Internet

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Sign in with your User ID and password, choose the Email tab, and click on Voice & Text > Voice. From here you will have access to all your voice messages right from your computer.^{[16]
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You will want to enter your username and password. Don't be surprised if the website prompts you to authorize Verizon to access your phone records. Once you have authorized Verizon you can choose Calls and Messages from the left-hand tab before clicking Voice Mails to access your messages. ^{[17]
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This allows you to forward your voice messages to your email.^{[18]
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Enter your username and ID and then press the Messages tab. All your voice messages will be right there.^{[19]
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Expert Q&A

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Question

How do you set up voicemail on an iPhone?

Josef Storzi
Mobile Phone Repair Specialist
Josef Storzi is an Apple and Mobile Phone Repair Specialist and the Owner of Imobile LA, a mobile phone repair company based in Los Angeles, California. Josef specializes in repairing screens, charging ports, batteries, water damage, speakers, and microphones on all mobile phone brands including Apple, Samsung, LG, Nokia, and Sony. He also specializes in tablet, laptop, and computer repairs as well as the pros and cons of recent mobile software updates.

Josef Storzi

Mobile Phone Repair Specialist

Expert Answer

1. Open the phone app. 2. Click on voicemail 3. If you are setting up voicemail for the first time, click set up now. 4. Enter a voicemail password 5. Select whether you would like to use the default voicemail recording or record a custom one. That’s it, enjoy your voicemail!

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Retrieve voicemail password

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Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

If you forgot your voicemail password, you'll most likely need to contact your carrier (like AT&T or Verizon). In many instances, they have on their website an FAQ that tells you exactly how to request your voicemail password or change it.

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How do I empty my voicemail?

Community Answer

You can empty your voicemail on your phone by hitting delete. After you hit that, you will see that at the bottom it says delete all. Press that and it will clear all of your messages. This is for an iPhone.

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Tips

Call customer service if you have any problems or have a digital home phone service not listed in this article.

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Try to apply the same process to your own phone service if it is not listed in this article. Sometimes the processes are very similar.

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If you need to save your iPhone voicemail messages, tap the Share icon, then tap More > Voice memos

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