There is a way to replace your built-in voicemail on the phone.
Step 1: Get a Free Google Voice Number
The first thing we need to do is get a free number from the company. If you are not familiar with the service, take a look at our guide to learn how to use it.
If you want to get your number, you’ll need to install a voice-enabled device. Go to the app, choose your account, then continue. Select Search and type the location or area code number for where you want your phone number to be in the search field.
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You don’t have to use a geographical location as a factor in choosing a phone number. Any area code in the US can be used to claim a number. You want to claim the number after you have found it.
- Tap Select next to the number you want to claim. If you want more options, select Show more.
- Choose Accept Number to confirm you want to associate this number with your Google Voice account.
- Select Next to link your device to your new Google Voice number.
- Tap Allow if your Android device asks if you want to Allow Voice to make and manage phone calls.
- Enter your device’s phone number in the Enter your phone number field.
- You’ll receive a text message containing a six-digit code. Enter this in the verification screen when prompted.
- You will be alerted that your linked phone number will ring anytime someone calls your new Google Voice number. Tap Finish.
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You need to set up the voicemail service for your new account. Select the hamburger menu, then tap on the settings to open it.
Do not disturb and devices and numbers are two options that you should know about.
Under the latter, you can add new devices and link up to six phone numbers. You will be shown how to do this on the help site. If you want to use a single voicemail service across multiple United States phone numbers, it’s a good feature to have.
We don’t use Google Voice to send or receive calls or texts, so please turn on Do not disturb. If someone tries to contact you via your phone number, they will be taken to your voicemail. It is possible to set custom rules and greetings for certain callers in the web version of GOOGLE VOICE.
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If you want to forward future messages from your carrier to your phone, you should do it first.
You need to set up call forwarding to forward future voicemails from your carrier to the other party. This has been a pain in the neck for a long time. If you want to forward your AT&T number to a secondary phone, you have to dial *90, followed by the forwarding number, then the hash symbol #. To stop, dial * 91#.
Fortunately, your phone has a phone app. There is a three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the screen when you open the app. To access the phone app’s call forwarding settings, go to settings > calls > Call forwarding.
There are four call-forwarding options.
- Always forward
- When busy
- When unanswered
- When unreachable
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Ensure the Always forward field is set to off since we only want calls to be forwarded from your main number to Google Voice when the caller leaves a voicemail
One by one, tap When busy, When unanswered, and When unreachable. Select Update if you want to paste your phone number into them.
When someone calls your main number, your phone will ring normally. If your phone is busy, turned off or you don’t answer, their call will be directed to your voicemail.
The next step is to let callers know you are on the phone. You can create a custom greeting within the app. To do that.
- Tap the hamburger button in Google Voice, select Settings, and scroll down to the Voicemail section.
- Tap Voicemail greeting and select Record a greeting.
- When prompted, select While using the app to grant the required permission.
- Tap the Microphone icon to start recording. You have up to three minutes to record your greeting.
- Choose Play to listen to your recording, Redo to record again, or Save to save the custom greeting.
- Enter a name for your greeting in the Save your greeting field, then select Save. You’ll find your new greeting in the Active section.
- Select Play to listen to your greeting or the Pencil icon to edit the greeting’s name.2 Images
If you have to add more greetings, repeat the process. Select the three-dots icon and then tap Set as active to set another greeting as Active. You can remove any greetings that you no longer want to use.
You can use your carrier’s visual voicemail app to access and listen to your voicemails, but it’s not free. If you open the app, you can listen to your phone calls.
It’s easy to have your voicemail messages delivered to your email. Next to the Voicemail transcripts and the Get voicemail via email are the settings that you need to select. From now on, every new message will be transcribed and sent to you.
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If you uninstall the app, you can use the app as a voicemail black hole. You will never be notified of new messages when you send a voicemail to Google Voice.
If you want to use your carrier’s voicemail, return to the Call forwarding settings, tap every call forwarding rule you activated, then select turn off. When you’re not available, callers will be forwarded to your carrier’s voicemail instead of your own.
Voicemail is not in a good place. It feels outdated and clunky, but still necessary. New, quality-of-life features that your current voicemail desperately needs are what the new, quality-of-life features from Google Voice change. You don’t have to navigate the phone menu to listen to a message or change a greeting if the messages are displayed visually.
If you prefer to receive new messages via email, or if you want to ignore future voicemails, you can do that with the help of Google Voice.
