How to Deactivate Voicemail on an Android Phone

PDF download Download Article
Easy ways to turn off voicemail messages on any Android
PDF download Download Article

This wikiHow teaches you how to turn off your Android phone's voicemail inbox so nobody can leave you a message. Voicemail service is often controlled by mobile carriers. This means you'll probably need to contact your carrier's support team to disable voicemail. You can also try using Call Forwarding to forward your voice messages to a different phone number. If worst comes to worst, you can always fill up your voice mailbox by leaving 20-30 messages so nobody else can get through, or record a fake voicemail message to deter people from leaving you a voicemail.

Disabling Android Voicemail

  • The most reliable way to disable voicemail on your Android is to contact your carrier.
  • If your phone allows call forwarding, enable it, and set your calls to be forwarded to an inactive number.
  • Fill up your voicemail with 20 to 30 messages to block anyone from leaving more.
  • Record a fake voicemail to deter people from leaving you a message.
Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Contacting Your Carrier

PDF download Download Article
  1. The most reliable way to disable voicemail on an Android phone is to ask your mobile phone provider to turn off the feature for your account. Using the dial pad, type your carrier's support code, which is usually 611 , to connect to customer service.
    • You can dial 611 on any Android to reach customer service for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Spectrum. [1]
    • If you have Verizon, dial *611 instead. [2]
  2. This is generally a green icon that resembles a phone receiver. This sends the call to your provider's customer service team.
    • At this point, you will need to navigate the menus to reach a customer support agent. Each carrier's customer service menu is different.
    • You will generally be asked to select a language and then given a list of options. You may be asked to say what you are calling about or press a button that corresponds to the option you are calling about on the dial page. Select the option related to voicemail or your service plan.
    • You may be asked for your voicemail PIN, an account password, and/or other credentials.
    Advertisement
  3. The customer support agent should be able to deactivate your voicemail or teach you how to do it yourself. When the customer service representative or automated service confirms that your voicemail has been disabled, it's okay to hang up.
    4. Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Enabling Call Forwarding

PDF download Download Article
  1. 1
    Open the Phone app. It generally has an icon that resembles a phone receiver. [3]
    • Enabling voicemail doesn't disable your voicemail. It just forwards the call to a different number. This is meant to be a short-term solution.
    • Most carriers will disable your voicemail for you if you ask them to do so. [4] Calling your carrier is the only reliable long-term way to turn off voicemail on your Android.
    • Depending on your Android, the exact steps to enable call forwarding may vary.
  2. 2
    Tap the Menu icon â‹® . It's usually an icon with three dots in the upper-right corner of the Phone app. This displays the menu.
  3. 3
    Tap Settings . It's one of the options listed in the menu.
  4. 4
    Look for a call forwarding option. This feature's location varies depending on the model of your phone and your carrier. It may be under More Settings , Advanced , Supplementary services , or Calling accounts .
    • Not all phone carriers support Call Forwarding . If you can't find this option, it's possible your carrier doesn't support it.
    • If you're on a Google Pixel, you'll choose Calling accounts > SIM . [5]
  5. 5
    Select the call forwarding option. This will usually say something like Call forwarding or Forwarding settings . [6]
  6. 6
    Tap a call forwarding option. There are generally 4 call forwarding settings. They are usually something similar to the following: [7]
    • Always Forward: This option forwards all your calls to a different number.
    • Forward when busy: This option forwards your calls when you are on another call.
    • Forward when unanswered: This forwards your calls to a different number when the call goes unanswered. This is the best option to bypass your voicemail because calls will be forwarded to a different number instead of your voicemail.
    • Forward when unreachable: This forwards calls when your phone is off or does not have service.
      • Some devices may ask you to choose between Voice calls and Video calls when choosing a call forwarding method. If possible, choose both.
  7. 7
    Enter a phone number to forward the calls to. You can forward calls to any phone number of your choice.
    • Use an inactive phone number, if you know one.
  8. 8
    Click Turn On . This enables call forwarding and sends your phone calls to a different number.
    9. Advertisement
Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

Filling Up Your Mailbox

PDF download Download Article
  1. Before you begin, you'll want to turn on airplane mode (or turn the Android off) so calls are automatically routed to voicemail. Otherwise, you'll have to wait for the phone to finish ringing before you can leave a message. To put your phone in airplane mode, swipe down from the top of your phone screen and tap the icon that resembles an airplane. [8]
  2. You can use a landline, a friend's phone, or an online service like Google Voice to place the call.
  3. You don't have to say much of anything, but make sure you take a few seconds before hanging up.
  4. You'll want to continue leaving yourself messages until you hear a message telling you the voice mailbox is full. The number of messages it takes to fill a mailbox varies by carrier.
    • If you have Verizon, for example, you'll need to fill your mailbox with 20 messages to fill it. If you have Sprint, you'll need 30 messages.
    • Most carriers, including Sprint, delete new messages if you haven't retrieved them in 30 days. This means you'll have to repeat this process once a month to keep your voicemail box full.
    5. Advertisement
Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

Recording a New Voicemail Message

PDF download Download Article
  1. 1
    Find a recording of a voicemail message that states your voicemail is not set up. To emulate a voicemail box that isn't set up yet, you can record a new voicemail message that includes the standard message that is played when your voicemail isn't set up.
    • This won't actually disable your voicemail, and it's meant to be a short-term solution or a workaround.
    • You can find a recording of this message on YouTube .
  2. 2
    Record a new voicemail. Try to do this when your house is quiet, as you'll need to record the audio from the YouTube video in your message.
  3. 3
    Play the YouTube video with the inactive voicemail message on a computer. Hold your phone close to your computer's speakers so it picks up the audio clearly, and so it's not too quiet.
  4. 4
    Let your phone record a few minutes of dead air. Once the video stops playing, allow your phone to keep recording for a few minutes. Make sure you're in a relatively quiet space so your phone doesn't pick up any other noises.
    • Make sure your YouTube autoplay isn't on, or YouTube will move to the next video in the queue and start playing it automatically.
    • Make the recording with your phone sitting on your desk or another surface so you don't have to hold your device for multiple minutes.
  5. 5
    End the recording. Once you end the voicemail recording, listen to it. If it sounds good, you can leave that as your voicemail recording.
    • This won't stop people from leaving you voicemails, but it will hopefully deter them from doing so.
    • Unlike a real inactive voicemail message, your phone won't automatically hang up once the message is done playing, so someone may figure out that this is a fake voicemail message and still leave you a voicemail anyway.
    6. Advertisement

Community Q&A

Search
Add New Question
  • Question
    Can you turn off your voicemail?
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    Yes, you can turn off Android voicemail. You can turn it off using the No Voicemail app, a carrier code or through the Android settings. Each of these methods are detailed in the steps above.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 41 Helpful 30
  • Question
    How do I remove voicemail icon from Samsung Galaxy?
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    Try going to Settings, then Applications, then Phone. Once here, tap Clear Data and Clear Cache. Turn your phone off and let it be for 10 to 15 seconds. Then turn it back on and check your screen. The notification icon should have been removed.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 27 Helpful 16
  • Question
    How do I disconnect voicemail?
    Community Answer
    Call the place where you got your phone and ask them to disable it for you. When you want to turn it back on, call them again or look in your user guide for the process.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 45 Helpful 28
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Video

      Tips

      • On some Android phones, you may be able to disable voicemail by opening your phone's Settings , tapping Call or Phone , tapping Voicemail , tapping your voicemail number , and deleting it.
        Thanks
        Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
      Advertisement

      Warnings

      • Some carriers won't allow you to disable your voicemail due to contractual obligations. If this is your case, calling your carrier's customer service line to see if they will disable voicemail for you is your only option.
        Thanks
        Helpful 8 Not Helpful 6
      Advertisement

      You Might Also Like

      How to
      Turn Off Voicemail: Complete Samsung Galaxy Guide
      How to
      Stop Getting Voicemail on an iPhone: Steps for All Carriers
      How to
      Delete Voicemail on Android
      How to
      Make Calls Go Directly to Voicemail on Android
      How to
      Turn Off Voicemail
      How to
      Make Calls Go Directly to Voicemail on Samsung Galaxy
      How to
      Block All Incoming Calls on an Android Phone
      How to
      Turn Off O2 Voicemail (3 Working Methods)
      How to
      Clear All Voicemails on an iPhone Permanently
      4 Ways to Quickly Send All Calls to Voicemail on iOS
      How to
      Stop an iPhone or Android Going Straight to Voicemail
      How to
      Set Up Your Voicemail on Android
      Simple Ways to Set Up Call Forwarding on Android
      9 Ways to Remove the Voicemail Icon from Your Status Bar
      Advertisement

      References

      1. ↑ https://www.t-mobile.com/customers/customer-care
      2. ↑ https://www.verizon.com/support/pound-star-codes/
      3. ↑ https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00086742/
      4. ↑ https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1008862/
      5. ↑ https://www.t-mobile.com/support/tutorials/device/google/pixel-7/topic/calling-amp-contacts/redirect-calls/6
      6. ↑ https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00086742/
      7. ↑ https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00086742/
      8. ↑ https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/2819583?hl=en#zippy=,airplane-mode

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Locate your carrier's support phone number or carrier code.
      2. Dial your carrier's number.
      3. Request to speak to a representative.
      4. Ask the representative to disable your voicemail service.

      Did this summary help you?
      In other languages
      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 813,763 times.

      Is this article up to date?

      Advertisement