10 Easy Steps: How To Stop Voicemail On iPhone

How to stop voicemail on iPhone
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Do you find yourself constantly bombarded by voicemail notifications, interrupting your day and piling up in your inbox? If so, you’re not alone. Voicemail can be a useful feature, but it can also be a major annoyance. Fortunately, there are several ways to stop voicemail on your iPhone, giving you back control over your notifications and peace of mind.

One of the simplest ways to stop voicemail is to disable it altogether. This will prevent your phone from receiving any voicemail messages, so you won’t be bothered by notifications or have to deal with a full inbox. To disable voicemail, open the Phone app on your iPhone, tap “Voicemail,” and then toggle the “Voicemail” switch to the “Off” position. You can also choose to disable voicemail only for certain contacts, such as those who you don’t want to leave messages for. To do this, open the contact’s information page in the Phone app, tap “Edit,” and then toggle the “Voicemail” switch to the “Off” position.

If you want to keep voicemail enabled but reduce the number of notifications you receive, you can change your notification settings. By default, your iPhone will notify you of every voicemail message you receive. However, you can change this setting so that you only receive notifications for messages from specific contacts or for messages that are marked as urgent. To change your notification settings, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap “Notifications,” and then tap “Voicemail.” From here, you can choose to turn off notifications altogether, or you can select the types of notifications you want to receive.

Disabling Voicemail via Settings

Step 1: Access Voicemail Settings

To disable voicemail on your iPhone via settings:

1. Open the “Settings” app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap on “Phone.”
3. Tap on “Voicemail.”

Step 2: Turn Off Voicemail

On the “Voicemail” settings screen:

1. Tap the toggle switch next to “Voicemail” to turn it off.
2. A confirmation message will appear asking you to confirm the change.
3. Tap “Turn Off” to confirm.

Step 3: Disable Custom Greeting (Optional)

If you have a custom voicemail greeting set up, you can disable it by:

1. Tapping on “Custom Greeting.”
2. Tapping on “Default Greeting.”
3. Confirming your choice by tapping “Use Default.”

Alternative Method: Using Shortcode

Disabling voicemail using the shortcode method is outlined in the table below:

Network Provider	Shortcode
AT&T	*228#
Verizon	*71#
T-Mobile	*122#
Sprint	*86#

Simply dial the appropriate shortcode from your iPhone’s dialer, and voicemail will be disabled for your account.

Eliminating Voicemail Through Your Carrier

If you’d rather not disable voicemail entirely, you can contact your carrier to have it deactivated or modified. Each carrier has its own specific process for this, but the general steps are as follows:

**Step 1: Contact your carrier.** You can do this by phone, email, or live chat.

**Step 2: Explain your request.** Let the customer service representative know that you want to disable or modify your voicemail.

**Step 3: Follow the instructions.** The representative will provide you with instructions on how to complete the process.

Here’s a table summarizing the contact information for the major US carriers:

Carrier	Phone Number	Email	Live Chat
AT&T	1-800-331-0500	[email protected]	Yes
Verizon	1-800-922-0204	[email protected]	Yes
T-Mobile	1-877-453-1304	[email protected]	Yes
Sprint	1-888-211-4727	[email protected]	Yes

Please note that some carriers may charge a fee to disable voicemail.

Setting Up Call Forwarding to Bypass Voicemail

If you’re tired of dealing with voicemail altogether, you can bypass it entirely by setting up call forwarding. This will route all incoming calls directly to another number, such as your mobile phone or home phone.

Here’s how to set up call forwarding on your iPhone:

Open the Phone app and select the “Call Forwarding” tab.
Tap “Turn On” and enter the number you want calls to be forwarded to.

Select “Conditional Forwarding” to only forward calls when you’re unavailable. Here are the options you can choose from:

Option	When Calls Are Forwarded
When Busy	Calls will be forwarded when you’re on another call.
When No Answer	Calls will be forwarded after your phone rings for a set number of times (you can choose 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 seconds).
When Unreachable	Calls will be forwarded when your phone is turned off or out of range.

Once you’ve selected your desired forwarding options, tap “Save.”

Utilizing Do Not Disturb Mode to Block Incoming Calls

Do Not Disturb Mode is an effective tool for silencing all incoming calls, including those that would normally go to voicemail. Here’s how to activate and customize this mode:

Enable Do Not Disturb Mode

Swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone’s screen to access the Control Center. Tap the crescent moon icon to turn on Do Not Disturb Mode.

Customize Do Not Disturb Settings

To fine-tune Do Not Disturb Mode, go to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb. Here, you can set specific schedules, decide which callers can bypass the mode (e.g., Favorites), and enable or disable other features like silencing notifications.

Schedule Do Not Disturb

You can schedule Do Not Disturb Mode to activate and deactivate automatically at specific times. This is helpful for avoiding distractions during certain hours, such as sleep or work. Tap the “Scheduled” tab in the Do Not Disturb settings to set up a schedule.

Allowed callers and notifications

Do Not Disturb Mode allows you to specify which callers can bypass the mode and reach you directly. Go to “Allowed Notifications” in the Do Not Disturb settings. Under the “Calls” section, you can choose to allow calls from your Favorites, All Contacts, or None.

Allowed Callers	Details
Favorites	Only calls from people in your Favorites list will ring through.
All Contacts	All calls from people in your contacts will ring through.
None	No incoming calls will ring through, regardless of the caller.

You can also customize which notifications are allowed to break through Do Not Disturb Mode. Tap the “Apps” section in the Allowed Notifications settings to select specific apps that will still send you notifications.

Customizing Your Greeting to Inform Callers

If you prefer to inform callers that they’ve reached your voicemail without them leaving a message, you can customize your greeting to convey this. Here’s how:

1. Open the Phone app

Tap the “Phone” icon on your iPhone’s home screen.

2. Go to voicemail

Tap the “Voicemail” tab at the bottom of the screen.

3. Record a new greeting

Tap the “Greetings” tab and then tap the “Custom” greeting. Select “Record” and speak your new greeting.

4. Preview your greeting

Once you’ve recorded your greeting, tap the “Play” button to preview it. Make any necessary adjustments.

5. Include specific instructions

In your greeting, be clear and concise. Consider including these details:

Phrase	Meaning
“This is [your name]’s voicemail. I’m currently unable to answer.”	Identifies you and acknowledges the caller’s attempt to reach you.
“Please do not leave a message.”	Explicitly states that you don’t want a voicemail.
“If you need urgent assistance, please contact [alternative contact method].”	Provides an alternative way for the caller to reach you if it’s urgent.

Setting a Time Limit for Voicemail Retrieval

You can set a time limit for how long your voicemail messages are saved before they are automatically deleted. This can help you manage your voicemail storage and keep your inbox organized.

To set a time limit for voicemail retrieval:

1. Open the Phone app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Voicemail tab.
3. Tap the Settings icon in the top-right corner.
4. Tap the Voicemail Limit option.
5. Select the desired time limit from the list of options.

The following table shows the available time limits and how long your voicemail messages will be saved for:

Time Limit	Storage Duration
1 day	Voicemail messages will be saved for 1 day after they are received.
3 days	Voicemail messages will be saved for 3 days after they are received.
7 days	Voicemail messages will be saved for 7 days after they are received.
14 days	Voicemail messages will be saved for 14 days after they are received.
30 days	Voicemail messages will be saved for 30 days after they are received.

Once you have set a time limit, your voicemail messages will be automatically deleted after the specified amount of time. You can change the time limit at any time by following the steps above.

Using a Third-Party App to Intercept Voicemails

Third-party apps provide a convenient way to manage your voicemails without having to access your voicemail inbox directly. These apps typically offer a range of features, including voicemail transcription, automated responses, and caller screening. Some popular third-party voicemail apps include:

Voicemail by Google

Google’s Voicemail app offers a user-friendly interface and integrates seamlessly with Google Contacts. It transcribes voicemails, allows you to respond with text or audio messages, and blocks spam calls.

YouMail

YouMail is another popular voicemail app that provides a wide range of features, including call blocking, voicemail transcription, and personalized greetings. It also offers a “SpamGuard” service that automatically blocks robocalls and spammers.

Visual Voicemail

Visual Voicemail is a third-party app that displays your voicemails as a list, similar to text messages. This allows you to easily view and prioritize your voicemails. The app also offers voicemail transcription and call blocking features.

Setup and Customization

To use a third-party voicemail app, you need to download it from the App Store and create an account. You can then configure the app to intercept your voicemails. The specific setup process may vary depending on the app you use. Most apps allow you to customize your voicemail settings, such as your greeting, voicemail notifications, and call blocking options.

| App | Transcription | Automated Responses | Caller Screening |
|—|—|—|—|
| Voicemail by Google | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| YouMail | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Visual Voicemail | Yes | No | Yes |

Configuring Visual Voicemail to Manage Messages

Visual Voicemail is a feature that allows users to access their voicemail messages as a list, similar to text messages. This makes it easier to manage and selectively listen to messages without calling your voicemail number.

Enable Visual Voicemail

To enable Visual Voicemail, follow these steps:

Go to “Settings” on your iPhone.
Tap “Phone” and then tap “Visual Voicemail.”
Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your voicemail password and select a greeting.

Using Visual Voicemail

Once Visual Voicemail is enabled, you can access your messages by tapping on the “Voicemail” tab in the Phone app. Your messages will be displayed as a list, with the most recent message at the top. You can tap on a message to listen to it, or swipe left to delete it.

Customizing Visual Voicemail Settings

You can customize Visual Voicemail settings to manage your messages more efficiently:

Setting	Description
Transcription	Enable or disable automatic transcription of voicemail messages into text.
Notify on Lock Screen	Toggle whether to receive notifications for new voicemail messages on your lock screen.
Keep Deleted Messages	Choose the number of deleted messages to keep in the Deleted folder. Options range from 3 to 100.

Deleting Visual Voicemail Messages

To delete a Visual Voicemail message, simply swipe left on the message in the list and tap the “Delete” button. You can also select multiple messages at once by tapping on the “Edit” button in the top-right corner and then tapping on the messages you want to delete.

Accessing Visual Voicemail from iCloud

You can access your Visual Voicemail messages from iCloud, allowing you to manage them from any device with an internet connection. To do this, go to iCloud.com and sign in with your Apple ID. Click on the “Voicemail” tab to view your messages.

Transferring Voicemails to Email or Text

If you prefer to have your voicemails delivered to you as an email or text message, you can set up voicemail forwarding on your iPhone. This feature will automatically forward all your voicemails to a designated email address or phone number, making it easy to access them on any device.

To set up voicemail forwarding:

Open the Phone app on your iPhone.
Tap the Voicemail tab.
Tap the Settings icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
Select the Voicemail Forwarding option.
Enter the email address or phone number where you want to receive your forwarded voicemails.
Tap the Save button.

Once voicemail forwarding is set up, all your future voicemails will be automatically forwarded to your designated email address or phone number.

Here’s a table summarizing the steps for transferring voicemails to email or text:

Step	Action
1	Open the Phone app on your iPhone.
2	Tap the Voicemail tab.
3	Tap the Settings icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
4	Select the Voicemail Forwarding option.
5	Enter the email address or phone number where you want to receive your forwarded voicemails.
6	Tap the Save button.

Deactivating Voicemail Completely

If you no longer wish to receive voicemail messages, you can deactivate the service entirely. This will prevent callers from leaving messages, and you will not be notified of any missed calls.

1. Open the Phone app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Voicemail tab.
3. Tap the Deactivate Voicemail button.
4. Enter your Apple ID password.
5. Tap the Deactivate button.

Your voicemail will now be deactivated. You will no longer receive voicemail messages, and you will not be notified of any missed calls.

Additional Information

Here are some additional things to keep in mind when deactivating voicemail:

You will not be able to retrieve any voicemail messages that were left before you deactivated the service.
You will not be able to use the Visual Voicemail feature.
If you reactivate voicemail in the future, you will not be able to retrieve any voicemail messages that were left while the service was deactivated.

How to Stop Voicemail on iPhone

If you’re not a fan of voicemail, you can easily disable it on your iPhone. Here’s how:

Open the “Settings” app on your iPhone.
Tap “Phone.”
Tap “Call Forwarding.”
Toggle the “Voicemail” switch to the “Off” position.

Once you’ve disabled voicemail, any calls that go to voicemail will be hung up and you won’t receive a notification.