Voicemail is a fundamental telecommunications feature. This article explains how to access voicemail boxes depending on the means of communication, how to configure voicemail beyond the system defaults, and explains the voicemail IVR tree. 

Checking Voicemails

There are many methods for checking voicemail messages. 

Refer to the following table based on preferred means of communication:

Means of Communication	How to Check Voicemails
Hard Phone - Button	Cloud voice desk phones have a pre-configured voicemail button. The location of this button is dependent on the model and brand. Look for a voicemail icon button near the dial pad: Or a message icon button near the dial pad: Or the "Messages" option in the Main Menu: Any of these actions will connect you straight to that device's voicemail box. Then enter the pin to access messages.
Hard Phone - On⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠-Net Dialling	The voicemail box can also be accessed by dialing an extension. By default, x5001 connects users to their voicemail box and x5000 allows users to check a different voicemail box. Voicemail pins are still required to access messages.
Hard Phone - Off-Net Dialling	To access a voicemail box from an off-net number. Once configured, then the user can check voicemail messages by calling their direct phone number and pressing the # or * key (depending on what was configured) once the voicemail greeting starts playing.
Portal	Navigate to the Portal > Messages. Options here are to play a voicemail, call to play, forward, download, and delete.

Voicemail Greetings & Recorded Names

1. Navigate to the Portal > My Account (if scope is Office Manager or above) > Messages > Settings.
2. Across from Greetings, existing greetings and names can be played or downloaded.
   
    
3. If the only button you see is a "manage" button (a megaphone icon), then there are no Voicemail Greetings or Recorded Names configured for this user.
   

Add a Voicemail Greeting

You can use the "manage" button (a megaphone icon) across from "Voicemail Greeting" to manage existing greetings and add new ones. 

There are 3 options for adding a new greeting: 

1. Use text-to-speech to transform your typed words into computer-generated audio. 
2. Upload an existing .MP3 or .WAV file.
3. Call a number to record your greeting in real-time. 

Text-To-Speech
Upload
Record	After selecting the "Record" option and then naming the greeting, decide where you want to be called. The system will call you at this number and ask you to record your greeting. For on-net numbers (extensions), you must specify the device. For example, the user in this example is asking to be called at their WebPhone.  For off-net numbers (DIDs), you may be required to use the country code. Here's a U.S. example:   Press the Call button.  The system will call you at the number you entered.  Answer the call.  It will prompt you to record your greeting: "Start recording after the tone. Press pound when finished".  After pressing # (pound), you can hang up.  Then your recorded greeting will automatically be added to the refreshed table ("Ellen's Voicemail" in this example).

Delete a Voicemail Greeting

Voicemail Greetings can be downloaded, edited, or deleted by clicking the respective button across from that greeting. They can also be sampled by clicking the play button (to the left of the greeting). 

Create a Recorded Name

1. To replace the existing name, use the "manage" button (a megaphone icon) next to "Recorded Name."
   

   

   
    

If the "manage" button is the only button across from "Recorded Name", this user has not created their name yet.
 

There are 3 options for adding a new name: 

1. Use text-to-speech to transform your typed words into computer-generated audio.
2. Upload an existing  .MP3 or  .WAV file.
3. Call a number to record your name in real time. These are the same options that exist for adding a Voicemail Greeting. Refer to the above table for details. The only difference is that only one Recorded Name can be stored, whereas multiple Voicemail Greetings can be stored. Adding a new Recorded Name will replace the existing file (if one exists). 

Setting or Modifying the Call Queue Voicemail PIN

1. Navigate to the "Users" tab in the top-level menu.
2. Uncheck Hide System Users at the bottom of the page.
3. Select the Call Queue that you want to modify.
4. Change the Voicemail Pin and Click Save.

Voicemail Email Notifications - Delays and Failures

Voicemail email notifications are sent when a caller leaves a message, and the user has an email address configured in their voicemail settings. If notifications are delayed or not arriving, check the following:

Notifications arriving late or in batches

If a user receives multiple voicemail notifications at once -- for example, seven messages arriving together that were left over several days -- this typically indicates a temporary interruption in the email delivery path between the Hosted PBX platform and the customer's mail server. The voicemails themselves are stored safely and are not lost. To confirm:

• Check the Messages tab in the portal under the affected user -- all voicemails should be visible regardless of whether the email notification was delivered
• Ask the customer to check their spam or junk folder, as delayed delivery batches from a noreply address are sometimes filtered

If the pattern repeats, the customer's mail server administrator should review whether the sending IP is being rate-limited or flagged.

Notifications are not arriving at all

If voicemail notifications are consistently not arriving:

1. Confirm the user has a valid email address in their voicemail settings -- navigate to Portal > Users > select the user > Voicemail tab > Email Address
2. Confirm Voicemail Transcription is enabled at the domain level, not just the user level. Transcription is an add-on feature that must be activated in the domain settings before individual user settings take effect
3. Check the After Email Notification setting on the user's voicemail. If this is set to Delete, the voicemail is removed after the notification is sent -- messages will not appear in the portal after delivery
4. Confirm the sending address (typically a noreply address) is not blocked by the customer's mail server or spam filter

Voicemails are visible in the portal, but are not generating notifications

This can occur when voicemail transcription is disabled at the domain level while appearing enabled at the user level. Domain-level transcription must be enabled for any user notification to be sent. Check Edit Domain > Voicemail Transcription to confirm.

Voicemail Visibility in the UC Advanced Softphone

For voicemail messages to appear in the UC Advanced Softphone, the user's softphone extension must be included in their answering rules.

If the softphone extension is removed from the answering rules

Removing the softphone extension from a user's answering rules does not delete voicemails, but it can affect whether the softphone app displays them. The voicemail messages remain accessible via the portal under Messages, or by dialling 5001 from any registered device.

To restore voicemail visibility in the softphone:

1. Navigate to Portal > Users > select the user > Answering Rules tab
2. Confirm the softphone extension (shown with a "wp" suffix, e.g., 101wp) is included in the active answering rule
3. If the user does not need the softphone to ring for inbound calls but still wants voicemail access, add the softphone extension to the answering rule with a very short ring time, or keep it listed without simultaneous ring

After the Email Notification setting and softphone visibility

The After Email Notification setting in the user's voicemail configuration controls what happens to a voicemail message after the email notification is sent:

If users report that voicemails appear in email but not in the softphone, check that this setting is not configured to Delete.

Voicemail IVR Tree

IVR (Interactive Voice Response) is a computer technology that converts voice and dial tones into commands to route users to the correct destination. For example, "press 1 to record a greeting" uses IVR technology. The user presses "1" on their phone, and the underlying technology understands the specific button tone, translating it into the appropriate action, letting the user record a greeting. 

The following IVR tree is what the system uses inside voicemail boxes: