FAQs: Voice Mail
Applies to: Office 365 for professionals and small businesses, Office 365 for enterprises, Microsoft Exchange, Live@edu
Here's what users are asking about voice mail.
Questions
- How do I set up voice mail?
- What will I see on my phone when I receive a voice message?
- How can I listen to my voice mail?
- Can I hear my e-mail or my calendar on my mobile phone?
- How do I interact with the voice mail system?
- How can I tell if I miss a call?
- What is meant by voice mail preview?
- What should I do if I get an undeliverable voice mail message?
- When I receive a voice message, I don't see the name of the caller. I only see their phone number. How can I fix this?
- When I choose the I don't want to use a PIN when I call to access my voice mail (not recommended) option for PIN-less access to voice mail, I'm still prompted for a PIN when I access my voice mail. How can I fix this?
- When I try to set up call forwarding during voice mail setup, I receive a "Calls Barred" error message. How can I fix this?
Answers
How do I set up voice mail?
Sign in to your mailbox using a Web browser. Click Options, See All Options, Phone, and then click the Voice Mail tab. To set up your voice mail, click Set Up Now and follow the instructions. For information about how to determine the Web address you should use to sign in to your mailbox, see How to Sign In to Outlook Web App.
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What will I see on my phone when I receive a voice message?
You'll receive one or more notifications, which might include:
- A missed call notification from your mobile provider, but not a voice mail notification.
- A text message with part of the voice message written into the text message.
- If you've set up your Outlook Web App e-mail account on your mobile phone, you'll also be able to read and listen to voice messages that have been delivered to your Inbox.
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How can I listen to my voice mail?
There are a couple ways that you can do this:
- After you've registered your mobile phone number, you can simply call your own phone number.
- You can dial the Outlook Voice Access number.
- You can use a speed dial key if you've created one on your mobile phone.
- You can create a contact on your mobile phone and dial it just like you dial your other contacts.
- You can sign in to Outlook Web App and use the embedded media player that's included with voice messages.
- You can set up an Outlook e-mail account on your mobile phone.
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Can I hear my e-mail or my calendar on my mobile phone?
Yes, when you dial in to the Outlook Voice Access number, after you're prompted to enter your PIN, the system will read your e-mail and calendar. You can also hear your voice messages by selecting the voice mail option.
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How do I interact with the voice mail system?
When you first connect to your voice mail, you'll use the telephone keypad to enter your PIN. After you've entered your PIN, you can interact with the system using voice commands. If the system can’t understand you or there's a lot of background noise, it may ask you if you want to use your keypad instead of voice commands.
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How can I tell if I miss a call?
Most mobile providers will display a missed call notification on your mobile phone. When you receive a voice mail notification, a text message will be sent to your mobile phone. If you turn off voice mail notifications, you won't receive text messages for voice mails. However, you'll still receive the missed call notification from your mobile provider.
If you decide to turn off voice mail notifications, you should set up an Outlook Web App e-mail account on your mobile phone. That way, you'll see the voice mail in your Inbox.
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What is meant by voice mail preview?
When a voice mail is received from a caller, the system creates the voice message. Whatever the caller says when they leave the voice message will be put directly in the text of the e-mail message in your Inbox. Also, when you receive a text message based on a voice message, that text message will contain a portion of the voice message in text.
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What should I do if I get an undeliverable voice mail message?
When you get an undeliverable message for a missed call or a voice message, it means that something in your text messaging settings isn't set up correctly. You need to set up or edit your text messaging settings on the Text Messaging tab.
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When I receive a voice message, I don't see the name of the caller. I only see their phone number. How can I fix this?
When someone leaves you voice mail, you'll receive an e-mail message that contains either the name or the phone number of the caller. If the voice message doesn't show the name of the person, only their phone number, you can add a personal Contact for the caller that includes their correct phone number.
When a caller leaves a voice message, their phone number is compared to entries in your personal Contacts. If the caller's name can't be found in your personal Contacts, only the phone number will be included in the voice message. If you want to have the name of the person included in the voice message, you need to enter the phone number for the personal Contact using the following format: +1 (425) 555-1234. You can copy the phone number that was inserted in the voice mail and paste it into one of the phone number fields for the personal Contact.
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When I choose the I don't want to use a PIN when I call to access my voice mail (not recommended) option for PIN-less access to voice mail, I'm still prompted for a PIN when I access my voice mail. How can I fix this?
If you're still prompted for a PIN, you'll need to unblock caller ID on your mobile phone. For information about how to do this, see your mobile phone’s user guide.
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When I try to set up call forwarding during voice mail setup, I receive a "Calls Barred" error message. How can I fix this?
If you have a prepaid plan with your mobile provider, such as with T-Mobile, you won't be able to set up call forwarding. You'll need to complete the remaining steps to set up your voice mail and then contact your mobile provider's customer support to find out how to set up call forwarding.
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What if I want to know more?
If you still have questions, check out these links.