Is Apple's iOS 17 Live Voicemail Feature Too Confusing?

[jhollington]

Beta releases should not be used by early adopters Beta releases should be used by internal Apple professional software developers to identify flaws in the product, and by external developers to optimize their software to the newest operating system.

Early adopters should have the .0 release.

I don't necessarily disagree, but the very existence of a public beta program suggests that Apple doesn't share that opinion 😏

 

[tennisproha]

this is probably b/c google voice has conditioned us to say your name and wait for the caller to pick up

 

[Eriamjh1138@DAN]

It’s more confusing if one doesn’t actually listen to the message.

 

[Solomani]

I’ve had people tell me it seems very passive aggressive, like I’m screening my calls.

Actually.... that's what this feature is allowing users to do: screen their calls. Let's not sugarcoat the truth.

 

[lindros2]

If you have to explain it - as 7 pages of this thread do - it’s too confusing.
Which is so not Apple.

 

[ErikGrim]

I’ve had people tell me it seems very passive aggressive, like I’m screening my calls. Like they interpret the message as “they’re there, but they’ve yet to decide if you’re worth listening to, state your case”. (Obviously they know that’s not me saying that, but that’s the vibe of the message as of now)

That's exactly why I would be doing it

 

[DeepIn2U]

How on EARTH can anybody be confused?!

Any adult I’ve the age of 30yr old SHOULD KNOW how a voice Mail system works - especially the old cassette tape versions:

You call.
Answering machine picks up.
You start to leave a message
- on the OLD cassette tape recording message systems ANYBODY leaving a voice message knows the call could be picked up by the recipient and they’d continue the call and stop the tap from recording.

This is EXACTLY how iOS 17 works. Its epic fiscally states the recipient MAY pick up. Not that they WILL pick up.

Like how hard is that to understand?

It’s bad enough l33t speak created word abbreviations. Now we have 2 generations on earth whom cannot understand plain simple English!

May does NOT equal a WILL or specific YES.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Love the disagreement.
But I explained exactly how it works and if someone can’t get that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Lol

If you have to explain it - as 7 pages of this thread do - it’s too confusing.
Which is so not Apple.

yet I explained it simply and you disagree lol.

Like basic voicemail function from cassette days is confusing for anyone?! Really?

I mean play it out as a scenario in your mind - it’s super simple. But if nobody actually listens nor understands the words in the prompt or simply impatient and expecting then tat isn’t confusion at all.

 

[JustAnExpat]

I don't necessarily disagree, but the very existence of a public beta program suggests that Apple doesn't share that opinion 😏

I have no idea what a "public" beta means. And I don't think Apple is explaining exactly what a beta program is. I see the switch on my phone to go on the beta software programs, and I don't think most people know it's not "to get the software updates first".

 

[jhollington]

I have no idea what a "public" beta means. And I don't think Apple is explaining exactly what a beta program is. I see the switch on my phone to go on the beta software programs, and I don't think most people know it's not "to get the software updates first".

You shouldn’t see the switch in Software Update unless you’ve signed up for the beta software program at beta.apple.com, which makes it pretty clear you’re opting to “test-drive pre-release versions.”

When signing up, folks are also required to agree to a set of terms. Granted, almost nobody reads that before clicking the “Accept” button, but it’s there.

The option to get public betas may remain for those who signed up for the iOS 16 public beta last year. It didn't for me, though — I had to sign up again and agree to the terms again before it would show up, even though I was already signed up for the developer beta.

 

[lindros2]

Love the disagreement.
But I explained exactly how it works and if someone can’t get that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Lol

yet I explained it simply and you disagree lol.

Like basic voicemail function from cassette days is confusing for anyone?! Really?

I mean play it out as a scenario in your mind - it’s super simple. But if nobody actually listens nor understands the words in the prompt or simply impatient and expecting then tat isn’t confusion at all.

I get it. I understood immediately before this asinine thread.

I also get about 5 voicemails a month. I have 3 teenage kids so it’s not like they don’t need us/get injured. People just don’t use it like they used to (50+ messages a month).

But this is not a 1998 episode of Friends call screening the wedding venue. There are many other ways to leave a message. Including voice in text/chat apps.

 

[xpxp2002]

You shouldn’t see the switch in Software Update unless you’ve signed up for the beta software program at beta.apple.com, which makes it pretty clear you’re opting to “test-drive pre-release versions.”

I never signed up for this, but I get the beta software option on all of my devices. I'm pretty sure they just opened up the public beta for anyone to opt into since they moved away from using profiles to manage enrollment.

 

[jhollington]

I never signed up for this, but I get the beta software option on all of my devices. I'm pretty sure they just opened up the public beta for anyone to opt into since they moved away from using profiles to manage enrollment.

Hmm, that's odd, unless maybe you signed up for the public beta program in the past, and maybe it's using that.

It's based on your Apple ID, not your device, and as far as I can tell, Apple still wants people to sign up so they know what they're getting into.

Are you seeing both the public and developer beta options or just the public one?

I tested multiple scenarios on a few different iPhones and iPads while I was doing an article on it. In my case, it didn't appear until I signed up (again) for the public beta software program. Before that, I only had the iOS 16 and iOS 17 developer beta options showing up with my primary Apple ID, as I'm a paid member of the developer program.

I also tested it using several other Apple IDs. One of which had participated in the iOS 16 public beta last year, while two others hadn't ever been used with any beta programs (one was years old, while the other was a brand new Apple ID I had set up specifically to test this). The iPhone that had previously been on the iOS 16 beta program showed only the option to get iOS 16 Public Betas, while the "Beta Updates" line didn't even appear on the rest.

That's also the case for all of my family members' devices, except for my daughter, who opted into the iOS 16 public beta last year. As a result, she's running iOS 16.6, but she isn't seeing any options for iOS 17 as she hasn't signed up for that.

This was also on iOS 16.5. I do recall the beta update setting's behavior being a bit flakier on iOS 16.4 when it first came along, so it's possible it may be different there. I didn't have an iPhone still running iOS 16.4 that I could test with.

However, this also changes once you've installed an iOS 17 beta, where the options will appear regardless of whether your Apple ID has opted in or not. I suppose that makes sense since you would need to have opted in to get the iOS 17 beta in the first place, and folks who are testing with different Apple IDs might miss an update if they switch to one that's not a part of either program. That same logic also applies to iOS 16 beta point releases like iOS 16.6.

 

[lindros2]

Hmm, that's odd, unless maybe you signed up for the public beta program in the past, and maybe it's using that.

It's based on your Apple ID, not your device, and as far as I can tell, Apple still wants people to sign up so they know what they're getting into.

Are you seeing both the public and developer beta options or just the public one?

I tested multiple scenarios on a few different iPhones and iPads while I was doing an article on it. In my case, it didn't appear until I signed up (again) for the public beta software program. Before that, I only had the iOS 16 and iOS 17 developer beta options showing up with my primary Apple ID, as I'm a paid member of the developer program.

I also tested it using several other Apple IDs. One of which had participated in the iOS 16 public beta last year, while two others hadn't ever been used with any beta programs (one was years old, while the other was a brand new Apple ID I had set up specifically to test this). The iPhone that had previously been on the iOS 16 beta program showed only the option to get iOS 16 Public Betas, while the "Beta Updates" line didn't even appear on the rest.

That's also the case for all of my family members' devices, except for my daughter, who opted into the iOS 16 public beta last year. As a result, she's running iOS 16.6, but she isn't seeing any options for iOS 17 as she hasn't signed up for that.

This was also on iOS 16.5. I do recall the beta update setting's behavior being a bit flakier on iOS 16.4 when it first came along, so it's possible it may be different there. I didn't have an iPhone still running iOS 16.4 that I could test with.

However, this also changes once you've installed an iOS 17 beta, where the options will appear regardless of whether your Apple ID has opted in or not. I suppose that makes sense since you would need to have opted in to get the iOS 17 beta in the first place, and folks who are testing with different Apple IDs might miss an update if they switch to one that's not a part of either program. That same logic also applies to iOS 16 beta point releases like iOS 16.6.

It’s now like BlackBerry!

 

[Eriamjh1138@DAN]

Didn’t read all the responses, but I think it would be better if Apple actually let us hear the voicemail as it was being left like an answering machine in the 80s. How hard can that be? Is that AI?

No. It’s programming. Simple software. It doesn’t take exa-flops to listen in on a simple voicemail message being left And then pick it up if you want to talk.

If it’s “not possible” because of carriers, then kick their asses and implement “Call Screening”. You can even use the name and TM it.

/end rant

 

[ErikGrim]

Didn’t read all the responses, but I think it would be better if Apple actually let us hear the voicemail as it was being left like an answering machine in the 80s. How hard can that be? Is that AI?

No. It’s programming. Simple software. It doesn’t take exa-flops to listen in on a simple voicemail message being left And then pick it up if you want to talk.

If it’s “not possible” because of carriers, then kick their asses and implement “Call Screening”. You can even use the name and TM it.

/end rant

Just pick up and mute your mic?

 

[Eriamjh1138@DAN]

Then they don’t hear an outgoing message. And then they can’t leave a message.

 

[jhollington]

If it’s “not possible” because of carriers, then kick their asses and implement “Call Screening”. You can even use the name and TM it.

Just pick up and mute your mic?

Then they don’t hear an outgoing message. And then they can’t leave a message.

Actually, the way Live Voicemail works, this is quite possible. It's your iPhone that's actually answering the call in the background and playing the voicemail message. Everything is happening on your iPhone, so if you answer the call, the person should just keep talking.

I haven't tested to see if there's a beep or other notification when you break in on the person leaving a message, but I don't think there is. The couple of times I answered, the person was still talking and I had to interrupt them — and they were actually a bit confused.

Right now there isn't even a beep after the custom message — all my Live Voicemails begin with about 10-20 seconds of dead air while the person tries to figure out whether they're supposed to start talking. I'm assuming this will eventually be fixed, but right now it's almost enough to make me want to turn the feature off and go back to standard Voicemail. Almost, but not quite, since I don't get too many calls where it's really a problem, but if I were using my iPhone to receive calls from business clients I'd probably have switched it off a long time ago. Then again, I probably wouldn't be using the beta in that case either.... 😂

 

[Ferelwilldems]

Actually.... that's what this feature is allowing users to do: screen their calls. Let's not sugarcoat the truth.

Well yes, obviously sometimes, but a good portion of the time people will actually be away from their phone or busy in some way. Saying “they may or may not pick up” gives the impression that the person IS there and IS listening, which is why people are getting confused/feel like it’s a little passive aggressive. Answering machines of old never used to state that the person may pick up, and I think it’s a silly message

 

[sma928]

Is "may pick up" a confusing phrase for some people? It doesn't mean "will pick up".

It might lead the caller to believe you are screening their message... even if you are nowhere near your phone. So if you don't pick up ... they may think you are ignoring them... "may pick up" can be interpreted as "may pick up if they think your call is important enough to acknowledge immediately".

 

[Eriamjh1138@DAN]

That’s fine if that’s what they think. I just want the option. We already screen calls simply by phone number.

 

[jhollington]

So, I don't know if this is happening for everyone, but with the sixth beta of iOS 17, the Live Voicemail no longer plays a custom greeting at all for my callers.

My Visual Voicemail greeting is still working fine with Live Voicemail off, but when I re-enable it, callers now just get the generic voicemail greeting:

Your call has been forwarded to voicemail. The person you're trying to reach is not available. At the tone, please record your message. When you have finished recording, you may hang up.

 

[MisterSavage]

So, I don't know if this is happening for everyone, but with the sixth beta of iOS 17, the Live Voicemail no longer plays a custom greeting at all for my callers.

My Visual Voicemail greeting is still working fine with Live Voicemail off, but when I re-enable it, callers now just get the generic voicemail greeting:

I saw that mentioned on the ZolloTech recap of the changes. I'd actually prefer that.

 

[jhollington]

So, it looks like iOS 17 beta 7 returns the custom greeting (if you have one), and finally adds the beep to prompt the caller to actually start talking 😄

 

[eckndu]

There is an option to customize a voicemail by going to Phone > Voicemail > Greeting > Custom, which can provide a solution as you can record your own message.

so is this removed in the released ios17? what exactly will the caller hear with live voicemail enabled? thanks

 

[AgeOfSpiracles]

It's just your normal voicemail greeting, with no added junk or anything. Seems that they dropped that whole aspect of it.