How to set up voicemail on an iPhone

how to set up voicemail on an iphone
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Like any smartphone, the iPhone comes with a voicemail feature built right into the device’s Phone app. And even if you’re the sort of person who prefers to do their talking via the best messaging apps, there’s still value in setting up your iPhone’s voicemail feature.

Voicemail can catch those important calls that do come in, if you don’t have time to answer the phone right away. And if there’s a number you don’t recognize, you can send the call straight to voicemail, sparing yourself from answering an influx of spam calls.

Setting up voicemail on your iPhone is quick and easy. Here’s how to do it.

How to set up voicemail on your iPhone

1. Open the Phone app on your iPhone, and tap the Voicemail tab.

how to setup voicemail launch phone app and tap voicemail

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2. Tap the Set up button to create a password and greeting.

how to setup voicemail select setup

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3. Create a voicemail password, then confirm the password. Passwords must be at least 4 digits, but no more than seven.

how to setup voicemail create password

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4. On the ensuing screen, choose between a default greeting or a personalized custom greeting. Default is pre-selected.

how to setup voicemail select greeting

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5. If you select Custom, tap the record button below to record a customized greeting. Tap Stop to end the recording and Play to hear what you’ve recorded.

How to setup voicemail record greeting

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6. If you like what you’ve heard, tap Done to save your outgoing greeting.

how to set up voicemail finish setup

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Now whenever someone calls you and you don’t answer the iPhone, they’ll hear that greeting.

Want to change your voice greeting at any point? Just head back to the voicemail tab of the Phone app and click Greeting in the upper left corner of the display. From there, you’ll repeat steps 5 through 7 above.

how to setup voicemail send calls to voicemail

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To send a call to voicemail, just tap the red button on the incoming call notification. Conversely, if you want to pick up the call, pressing the green button will do the trick.

Jeffery Battersby is a writer, actor and raconteur, in addition to being an Apple certified trainer, a project manager and a specialist in smartphones, small business information technology, productivity software and office tools. He is based in the greater New York area and has contributed to Macworld as well as Tom's Guide.