How to Change the Voicemail Greeting on an iPhone

Even if you have two phone numbers on your iPhone, each can have its own greeting

By
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Writer
  • Ithaca College
Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others.
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Updated on November 23, 2022

What to Know

  • Phone > Voicemail > Greeting > Custom > Record > speak your greeting > Stop > Play > Save.
  • If you have 2 phone numbers set up on your iPhone, ensure you are selecting the correct number.

This article explains how to create your own custom, personalized voicemail message on an iPhone.

How to Change Your Voicemail on iPhone

These instructions apply to iPhones running iOS 10 and up using the pre-installed Phone app. If you use another calling app, like Google Voice, the principles are the same but the steps are different.

Here's how to change your voicemail on an iPhone:

  1. Open the Phone app.

  2. Tap Voicemail.

  3. Tap Greeting.

    Phone app, Voicemail, and Greeting highlighted on iPhone

  4. If you haven't changed your voicemail greeting before, Default will be checked. Tap Custom.

    If you already have a custom message that you're changing, Custom will be checked. You can skip this step

  5. Tap Record and speak the voicemail greeting you want.

  6. When you're done with the message, tap Stop.

    Custom, Record, and Stop in the iPhone Phone app

  7. To listen to the message, tap Play.

  8. If you like the greeting and want to use it, tap Save.

    Play and Save highlighted in the iPhone Phone app

  9. If you want to change the greeting, tap Record again, speak a new greeting and tap Stop when you're done. Review it by tapping Play, and save it by tapping Save.

If you have two SIMs on your iPhone (available on iPhone XS and newer) and have two phone numbers configured, you can have two different outgoing voicemail messages, one for each number. You record each message the same way, but you just need to select which phone number each message is connected to.

FAQ
  • Why can't I change my greeting on my iPhone?

    If you don't see the option to set up a greeting, make sure you've set up your voicemail. If you still can't change your greeting, try resetting your network settings.

  • How do I delete my voicemail greeting on my iPhone?

    To delete your custom voicemail greeting, open the Phone app and tap Voicemail > Greeting > Default. To record a new greeting, tap Custom > Record.

  • How do I delete voicemail on my iPhone?

    To delete voicemail on an iPhone, open the Phone app and go to Voicemail. Tap the message, then tap Delete. To delete multiple messages, tap Edit, choose your messages, and then tap Delete.

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