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How to deactivate AT&T iPhone Voicemail?

braddick

braddick

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 28, 2009
3,949
1,065
Encinitas, CA
Seems like this might be a hassle, but with us traveling out of the country this summer would love to simply stop the voicemail feature on my iPhone.

Anyone have a workaround for this issue?
Seems difficult doing so with the hardware yet am looking forward to being proven wrong.
 
It should disable if you switch sim cards.

You can also get it disabled if you change your voicemail password by calling, and not putting in the password when the iPhone asks you
 
TheProFTW said:
It should disable if you switch sim cards.

You can also get it disabled if you change your voicemail password by calling, and not putting in the password when the iPhone asks you
Click to expand...

That's not going to disable it. I think he trying to turn it off, so that if someone calls when he is roaming in another country and he doesn't answer, he is going to get charged a minimum of 1 minute international airtime when the phone forwards it back to his voicemail.
 
Why don't you call AT&T Customer Service and ask them the question, explaining your reasoning? You can't be the only person who has wanted this.
 
I did as suggested and called 611. Honestly, it was a hassle and I had to explain myself more than once, but in the end my voicemail is turned off.

I tested it and sure enough, at the end of eight rings it clicks off and the party is told to try again later.
 
Baggio said:
That's not going to disable it. I think he trying to turn it off, so that if someone calls when he is roaming in another country and he doesn't answer, he is going to get charged a minimum of 1 minute international airtime when the phone forwards it back to his voicemail.
Click to expand...

OH! I was thinking he just wanted to get the visual voicemail in the phone to go away.
 
Nermal said:
Just when I think that American phone companies can't get any more greedy :eek:
Click to expand...

Well, in order for your phone to have voicemail the call is forwarded to a US number where it's placed in your voicemail. If you are roaming in another country, technically the phone is making international cal when it forwards to your voicemail. Not sure if it was set up that way intentionally, but I know you were never charged minutes when this process happens in the US.
 
That's AT&T for ya.. In my Argentine carrier, you don't get charged unless you answer the call, and international texting was dirt cheap
 
TheProFTW said:
That's AT&T for ya.. In my Argentine carrier, you don't get charged unless you answer the call, and international texting was dirt cheap
Click to expand...

It's not AT&T. The foreign carrier that you are roaming on is charging AT&T for forwarding to voicemail in the US. Are you saying you won't get charged if you are in another country roaming on a different carrier than the one you use in Argintina and a call goes to voicemail, you won't be charged for the the forward to voicemail?
 
1. Set your voicemail to say: "I am unavailable to take your call from x to Y. During this time I may not have easy access to this voice mail."

2. Using Google Voice, you can make free calls to US number. What I do is that I call my number, enter * when answer machine comes up and then enter passcode to listen to voice mail.


braddick said:
On the cheap, users could simply leave each other voicemail messages and not be charged? That seems odd.
Click to expand...

He probably meant no voice minutes are charges if message goes to voice mail. Still needs data to listen to voice mail on cell network.
 
braddick said:
On the cheap, users could simply leave each other voicemail messages and not be charged? That seems odd.
Click to expand...

You don't get charged for someone leaving a voicemail. You get charged 1 minute of international air time to transfer the call to voicemail. i.e. Someone from the US is roaming in France with their AT&T phone. A call is made from someone in the US it get's transferred to the carrier the person is roaming on in France. The person in France doesn't answer the call and it get forwarded to voicemail, which is located in in the US. Basically, the phone is making a 1 minute call back to the US to transfer that person to voicemail. The carrier in France charges AT&T, which gets passed on to the person's account. That's why you have to turn off voicemail.

My guess is the guy with the Argentinian carrier is probably not having his calls forwarded to voicemail. It might be blocked because he is roaming, because I can't see his carrier eating the cost, when another carrier is initiating the cost.
 
takeshi74 said:
It happens with carriers in other countries as well. It's how the system works.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Well, I'm glad that I'm not with one of those carriers then :)

Edit: According to my carrier's T&Cs, prepaid customers "may" (depending on where they are) be charged for voicemail deposits. Postpaid customers are not charged. As TheProFTW says below, it's probably TNZ eating the cost.
 
Last edited:
Baggio said:
You don't get charged for someone leaving a voicemail. You get charged 1 minute of international air time to transfer the call to voicemail. i.e. Someone from the US is roaming in France with their AT&T phone. A call is made from someone in the US it get's transferred to the carrier the person is roaming on in France. The person in France doesn't answer the call and it get forwarded to voicemail, which is located in in the US. Basically, the phone is making a 1 minute call back to the US to transfer that person to voicemail. The carrier in France charges AT&T, which gets passed on to the person's account. That's why you have to turn off voicemail.

My guess is the guy with the Argentinian carrier is probably not having his calls forwarded to voicemail. It might be blocked because he is roaming, because I can't see his carrier eating the cost, when another carrier is initiating the cost.
Click to expand...

It's the carrier eating the cost. I've just tried that and it hasn't charged me a cent. (I still have the sim card, I'm living in the US)
 
TheProFTW said:
It's the carrier eating the cost. I've just tried that and it hasn't charged me a cent. (I still have the sim card, I'm living in the US)
Click to expand...

And still getting voicemail? SIM still registered on a US cell tower?
 
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