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How to set up and use voicemail on AT&T
It’s not always possible to pick up your phone. Maybe you’re busy, or perhaps you didn’t want to take a call. No matter your excuse, it’s still important to check on the messages you miss. That’s where voicemail comes in. You probably already know how voicemail works, but it’s not always easy to set up. Some carriers have their own hoops to jump through. Here’s how to set up and use voicemail on AT&T.
Read more: The best AT&T plans and more
QUICK ANSWER
It doesn't take too much to set up a voicemail on AT&T. Head to your phone app and press the voicemail key, or press and hold the number one. Then, select your language preference and enter a seven to 15-digit password of your choice. Choose your preferred greeting and listen to AT&T's brief tutorial. Once the tutorial wraps up, you should be all set.
How to set up and use voicemail on AT&T
How to set up your AT&T voicemail
It’s pretty easy to set up your voicemail on AT&T. In fact, there are only five steps to follow. However, you have to make sure you set up your voicemail within 60 days of activation, or AT&T will remove it from your account.
- Press and hold the voicemail key or the number one on your dialer app.
- Select your preferred language.
- Create a seven to 15-digit password of your choice.
- Choose a voicemail greeting.
- Listen to the brief voicemail tutorial.
If you hang up before AT&T’s voicemail tutorial concludes, it will play again the next time you check your voicemail. As such, it’s probably better to let it play the first time.
The steps are even easier to set up an existing AT&T voicemail on a new phone. Press and hold the voicemail button or the one key and enter your current voicemail password. AT&T will then transfer your existing greeting and messages to your new phone. And if you’re unhappy with your voicemail greeting, you can always change the message.
Manage your contacts: The best dialer apps and contacts apps
How to check your AT&T voicemail
Once you’ve gone through AT&T’s setup process, it’s time to check your messages. It’s easy enough to do, and you can check your AT&T voicemail messages outside of your smartphone, too. Here are the steps for a few of the most popular platforms.
From your phone
There are two basic ways to check your AT&T voicemail from your phone. It comes down to whether or not you have AT&T’s visual voicemail set up. If you do, you can enter the visual voicemail app and tap on whichever voicemail you want to hear. Then you can use the play and pause buttons to stop your message at any time.
However, if you don’t have visual voicemail, you’ll have to use calling features instead.
- Press and hold the number one on your dialer app.
- When prompted, enter your voicemail password. Unheard messages will begin automatically.
- If you have no new messages, you can press the number one again to listen to your saved messages, starting with the oldest message.
From another phone or landline
You don’t even need to have your own phone handy to listen to your AT&T voicemail messages. If you’re waiting on an important message, you can grab a friend’s phone and follow these steps.
- Call your 10-digit phone number.
- Once your voicemail greeting begins, interrupt it with the asterisk (*) key.
- Enter your voicemail password when prompted.
- Follow any further voice instructions to hear your messages.
Online
Most people will check their AT&T voicemail messages from their phones, but did you know you can do it online, too? Here are the simple steps you’ll have to follow.
- Log into your myAT&T account.
- Select your phone from the navigation bar and select Check Voice Mail.
- You should now see all of your messages organized in a table format.
- In addition to the play and pause controls, you can also forward voicemail messages from this table in the More Actions heading.
Learn more: How to check voicemail on Android devices
How to save or delete your AT&T voicemails
After you’ve listened to a voicemail the first time, you have to decide what to do with it. If it’s from a spam caller, the answer is simple — delete it. However, there might be cases where you want to hang onto a message for just a little bit longer. Here are instructions to both keep and delete AT&T voicemails.
Save your voicemail
When you play a voicemail, it’s automatically saved for 30 days. If you need to keep it longer, you can usually replay it and press the number nine key to save it for an additional 30 days.
However, visual voicemail users have far more control. If you have visual voicemail, the message file will download onto your phone so that you can hold onto it indefinitely. All you have to do is open the visual voicemail app and press the play button to start your message at any time.
Delete your voicemail
If you’re finished with a voicemail, the process is a lot like saving your messages. You can dial your voicemail box, but instead of pressing the number nine, you’ll have to press the number seven to delete your message. Of course, you have to make sure that you really want to delete the message as there’s no way to recover your voicemails.
If you have visual voicemail, you can press the delete button. It resides near the play and pause options, and it gives you the freedom to delete voicemails in any order you please.
How to reset your AT&T voicemail password
If you don’t check your voicemail for a while, there’s always a chance you’ll forget your password. It probably means you didn’t have a very good password, but you can still get back to your messages. You’ll just have to reset your voicemail password. While you could set a password from your phone, you’ll have to head to your myAT&T account to reset it. Once there, follow these steps:
- Head to the My Devices and add-ons section and select your device.
- Choose the Manage my device option.
- Go to Device options and settings and select Reset voicemail password.
- Follow the voice prompts to reset your password.
Read more: The best phone plans for every type of user
FAQs
Does AT&T support visual voicemail?
Yes, AT&T supports visual voicemail. However, you’ll need to meet a few requirements before using the service. Check out AT&T’s visual voicemail setup guide for more information.
Do I have to pay for visual voicemail on AT&T?
No, AT&T’s visual voicemail service is free. However, visual voicemail will use some of your data, so it may incur fees if you go over your data limit. You will also have to install the visual voicemail app if it is not already on your phone.