Changing the voicemail message on an Android phone in 5 steps

With today’s emphasis on texting over calling, it’s easy to forget that there are good reasons to know how to change the voicemail message on your Android phone. If you run your own business or work a side hustle, having an outgoing voice message presents a much more professional image to potential clients or customers than the stock automated greeting. And if your business has a crisis, being able to change your voicemail greeting easily helps you get out in front of damage mitigation and customer service issues.

And remember that in an emergency, if you are going to lose cell coverage or your battery is dying and your power is out, a voicemail message recorded by you that includes your location and your condition (healthy vs injured, able or unable to travel, availability of water, exposure to elements, etc) will be heard by those calling your number, regardless of the state of your phone or cell service. This allows you to either let people know you need help or keep them from worrying if you’re OK. So let’s go over how to change the voicemail message on your Android phone.

How to change your voicemail message on any Android phone

1. 1. To begin, open your phone app. On the keypad, press and hold the number 1. This will speed-dial your voicemail service.
   2. When the automated voice answers, press 3 for the outgoing greeting menu.
   3. Press 2 to choose to record a message. (This will work whether or not you already have a greeting recorded.)
   4. When you hear the tone, begin to speak, sing, or play your message. Press the pound key to stop recording.
   5. The app will play back what you recorded and ask you if you want to save it. Press 1 to save, or 2 to try again. When you like what you have recorded, press 1 when prompted to save it as your outgoing message.

How to record a professional, clear voicemail message

Your outgoing voicemail message can serve as a form of marketing in that it can affect your customer’s impression of you. For a quality voicemail greeting—one that’s clearly audible and pleasant in tone—you should avoid using the built-in microphone, since it is of basic quality. Connect a headset or recording microphone to your phone. Almost any external microphone will improve your audio greatly, whether it is a wired microphone or a Bluetooth headset.

Regardless of how you choose to record, make sure you do it in a quiet environment to avoid background noise. Decide what you are going to say before you hit the record button. And stand up straight and take a few deep breaths before you begin; this will affect how you sound for the better.

Can you have more than one voicemail message?

While Android can only have one message at a time, the Google Voice app will allow you to record up to 10 different outgoing messages. You can download Google Voice at the Google Play store. From the app’s home page, tap the three-line icon in the upper left.

Choose Settings from the menu that drops down.

In the Settings menu, scroll down and tap on Voicemail greeting.

Tap on Record a greeting and get ready to record your outgoing message.

When you are ready, tap on the microphone icon and begin.

Tap on the red button to stop the recording.

Now you can choose whether to save what you have recorded, or repeat the process.

As we mentioned, you can repeat this process until you have up to 10 stored messages for different people or situations. Callers will hear the message you select when they call your Google Voice phone number, and their call will be forwarded automatically to the number you entered when you set up your Google Voice account. You can switch between messages in the Settings menu under Voicemail greeting. Just click on the three-dot menu next to the recording’s name, and select Set as active. You can switch between your messages any number of times.

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