What is Voicemail?
Voicemail is an answering service that answers calls when you're away from the phone or engaged on another call. This service, which costs £4.03 a month, also includes:
- Record your own personal greeting for callers to hear, changing it as often as you like
- Stores up to 20 messages
- Messages stored for 6 months or 20 days if you've listened to them
- Access your messages when you're away from home.
- Link your Voicemail to your mobile - you need to set up a PIN from your home phone. Once set up, we'll send a text whenever you receive a voicemail
BT Call Protect
Voicemail also includes BT Call Protect - a service that will send nuisance and unwanted calls to a junk voicemail. It helps to stop the worst offending nuisance calls, as well as providing you with the control to stop other unwanted calls. It’s simple and easy to manage. Find out more information on this service.
How do I get Voicemail?
To order Voicemail, please go to www.bt.com/callingfeatures and click the Change your calling features button or simply dial 1571 from your home phone. You can easily add or remove Calling Features online
How many messages can Voicemail store?
Voicemail will store up to 20 messages at any one time. Messages will be stored for 6 months or 20 days if you've already listened to them, after which they will be deleted.
How do I cancel Voicemail?
You can cancel Voicemail online. Go to www.bt.com/callingfeatures and click the Manage my calling features button. This will start an online order process. Put in your home number and postcode and confirm you're the BT account holder to continue.
The next screen will show any calling features that are currently on your line. To cancel Voicemail, scroll down and click the "Remove all my messaging features" radio button. Alternatively, if you'd like to keep BT Call Protect, click that radio button instead.
Click Continue to complete the cancellation order
You can also manage all your calling features (including ordering, upgrading and cancelling them) at www.bt.com/mybt.
How do I know when I've got Voicemail after ordering?
After ordering, voicemail will be in place within two working days. You can check whether it's on your line by dialling 1571 and listening for the mailbox greeting.
Using voicemail
To find out how to access voicemail, when at home or outside, and set a personal greeting, read this Using Voicemail article.
How do Voicemail and Call Diversion work together?
When you have both Call Diversion and Voicemail enabled and choose to activate Call Diversion, you will not hear the usual interrupted dial tone to indicate that the diversion is active. You'll only hear a change in dial tone when there is a new message on Voicemail.
Does BT 1471 update when a call is answered by Voicemail?
BT 1471 will update in the normal way if:
- Voicemail picks up the call when there is no reply
- you have Call Waiting active and are engaged on a call but choose not to take the second call
However, please note that 1471 won't update if a call switches to Voicemail when the line is busy.
What's the maximum length of time for a single message?
The maximum length of time for a single message is two minutes.
Is my alarm system compatible with Voicemail?
Some social alarm and burglar alarm equipment may not be compatible with Voicemail. Please check with your alarm supplier.