What Is Visual Voicemail: A Modern Way to Receive Messages

Phone calls can come in at any time of day. Sometimes you can’t get to the phone—perhaps you’re in a meeting, having a serious conversation, or are enjoying a night out. Other times, you may not want to answer. Say it’s the last moments of the big game, you’re taking some digital downtime, or you’re preparing for an important deadline. Enter voicemail or the modern twist—visual voicemail. What is visual voicemail, how does it work, and what are the benefits?

What Is Visual Voicemail?

Voicemail has been a common part of telecommunications since the early 1980s. It was an easy way for people to leave a recorded message when someone wasn’t available to take a call. When voicemail entered the conversation, it required a landline combined with a specific device (aka answering machine). Once you returned home, you could hit play to listen to any messages received, but only in the order they came in. You could then decide who (and when) to call back. 

Once mobile phones entered the scene, they quickly started transforming how people used and viewed phones. And much like the phones themselves, the voicemail systems evolved. 

Voicemails on cell phones started with much the same functionality as a traditional answering machine. You’d be able to listen to each message when they came through. By 2007, a new modern twist was launched with the first iPhone—visual voicemail, as it was called, allowed users to see a list of voice messages. So, you could choose which ones to listen to first. 

Visual voicemail offered new conveniences and revolutionized how voice messages were managed. You could now see a list of voicemail messages in a list on the phone screen, much like in an email inbox. That allows you to choose which message to review in any order. In addition, you could read a transcript of the message, so you could skim those that don’t require your full attention (such as any spam messages). Then, you can easily delete, save, or respond to the message with just a few taps. 

All of this represented a significant upgrade in convenience from the old method of dialing into voicemail and listening to each message one after the next. The voicemail experience was faster, easier, and more user-friendly.

How Does Visual Voicemail Work?

Using your phone’s data connection, the visual voicemail service downloads messages as they’re received. So, you will need a data connection to download and display voicemails. The messages are then displayed in a list. You can then see the details, including the caller’s name, phone number, and the time the message was received. If available, you can also read a transcription of the call. This transcription uses speech-to-text technology to convert the audio of the voicemail to text. This feature is super handy, but the accuracy of the transcription can vary widely. Many users have gotten a good laugh due to surprising mistakes. (When in doubt, it’s worth taking a moment to listen to the actual message.)

Biggest Benefits of Visual Voicemail

In addition to the convenience of being able to view and manage voicemails like emails to listen to, read transcriptions, and delete or save messages with ease, visual voicemails also save time. For example, you can skip through messages and only listen to those that matter. There’s no need to wade through a long list of messages to find the one you need.

Visual voicemails are also easier to organize. You can see who left the message, when it was left, and even what it said at a glance. They’re also more accessible for people who are hard of hearing or in situations where listening to a message is difficult (such as in a crowded environment or where you want to be silent). The transcription feature can be an invaluable tool. As mentioned above, the accuracy of transcriptions can vary, as most people have experienced. Background noise, the clarity of the caller’s voice, the quality of the call, and the words chosen can all impact how accurately the voicemail is transcribed. So, you may still need to listen to the message to clarify what was said.

How to Set up Visual Voicemail

On an iPhone, to set up, go into the Phone app, select the Voicemail tab, and tap “Set Up Now. You’ll be prompted to create your voicemail password and choose your greeting. Once set up, you can then view, listen to, and delete voicemails directly from the voicemail tab. You can also read transcriptions (as long as your carrier supports this feature). 

For Androids, the setup is similar: open the Phone app, tap on the Voicemail icon, and follow the on-screen instructions. Once set up, you can access your visual voicemail from the Voicemail tab on the Phone app. Again, depending on your phone model and the carrier, you likely can read transcriptions from the calls. 

Most modern smartphones support visual voicemail, but the specific features may vary. If your carrier doesn’t include visual voicemail as a free standard feature, you may want to consider a subscription to a voicemail-to-text service. 

Do You Need a Visual Voicemail?

Whether or not you need visual voicemail really depends on your personal preferences and how you use your phone. If you get a lot of voicemails and need to manage them efficiently, visual voicemail can be a game-changer. On the other hand, if you rarely receive calls or voicemails, or if you prefer listening to them or are better able to hear than see, then visual voicemails may not be necessary.

Fortunately, visual voicemail is included on the majority of smartphones. And most major carriers, including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, offer it as a standard feature. So, you can choose to use it or not, depending on your preference.