Voicemail on T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon
Here you will find how voicemail works with call forwarding on the big US carriers, how to turn forwarding off and what can replace voicemail.
Updated November 8, 2026
How voicemail works
Voicemail is call forwarding to a mailbox number at your carrier. When you don't answer, the network hands the call to the mailbox and the caller can leave a message.
Because it is ordinary forwarding, any other forwarding of unanswered calls replaces it. Turn the forwarding off and voicemail takes over again.
T-Mobile voicemail
On T-Mobile the unanswered-call setting points at your voicemail by default: 1-805-MESSAGE (1-805-637-7243). Your own forwarding code replaces that, and ##004# puts the default back.
To listen to messages or change voicemail settings, use the T-Mobile app or check with T-Mobile.
AT&T voicemail
AT&T says call forwarding overrides your wireless voicemail, so a forwarded call never reaches it and nothing arrives in your voicemail app.
How to listen to messages and how to switch voicemail back on depends on your plan and phone: check with AT&T or the myAT&T app.
Verizon voicemail
Forwarding with *71 replaces voicemail for calls you do not answer. Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile say outright that unanswered calls will not be sent to your mobile voicemail.
*73 turns forwarding off. How voicemail behaves afterwards, and the number to call for your messages, depends on your plan: check with Verizon or in My Verizon.
How to turn off call forwarding to voicemail
To stop forwarding, dial ##004# on T-Mobile and AT&T or *73 on Verizon. Whatever should keep running, set up again afterwards. This turns off forwarding only, not your voicemail service.
Where your messages are and how to switch voicemail on or off depends on your carrier and plan. Check with your carrier or in its app.
What can replace voicemail
Keep voicemail
You change nothing. You see missed calls on your phone and listen to messages when you have time. It is enough if few people call you.
Forward to a colleague or the front desk
You send missed calls with a code to a colleague's or the front desk's number. The caller gets a live person instead of a mailbox, if someone picks up on the other end.
AI assistant
Lorela answers the call you can't get to, finds out what the caller needs and sends you a summary. You forward missed calls to it with the same code you would use for a colleague.
A sample call and summary
What happens when Lorela answers for you? Listen right here, without signing up or entering a phone number.
A sample call with Lorela
What the plumber learns after the call
His water heater is leaking onto the floor. He needs it fixed fast.
- Urgency: urgent
- Call back: tomorrow morning
The summary arrives in the app and by email. You decide when to call back.
Read the sample transcript
- Lorela: Hi, this is Lorela, Mike Carter's virtual assistant. How can I help you?
- Caller: Hi, this is Dan Brooks. My water heater is leaking, there's water all over the floor. I need it fixed fast.
- Lorela: Got it, I'll pass that on right away. How urgent is it?
- Caller: Pretty urgent, it's still leaking.
- Lorela: I'm passing your message to Mike right away. You'll get a call back as soon as possible. Have a good day.
Common questions
How do I turn off voicemail?
Forwarding to voicemail is the default on T-Mobile, so what you control is your own forwarding: dial ##004# on T-Mobile and AT&T or *73 on Verizon to turn it off. Whether the mailbox itself can be switched off depends on your carrier and plan, so check with your carrier.
Why did my voicemail stop working?
Voicemail is forwarding, so calls stop reaching it when you replace it with another forwarding. AT&T says forwarding overrides your wireless voicemail. Turn forwarding off and it comes back.
Does forwarding replace my voicemail?
Yes, for the calls you don't answer. Calls forwarded this way never reach your voicemail, so nothing arrives in a visual voicemail app either.
Does voicemail cost anything?
Check your plan. We could not confirm from the carriers' own pages how voicemail or forwarded minutes are billed on every plan.
How do I listen to my messages?
On T-Mobile the default voicemail number is 1-805-MESSAGE (1-805-637-7243). For AT&T and Verizon, and for changing voicemail settings, check with your carrier or in its app.
Related guides
Where do your missed calls go?
Lorela is an AI assistant for missed calls. Forward the calls you can't answer to Lorela and it picks up in English, finds out what the caller needs and sends you a summary within a minute by email or in the app. 7 days free, then $19 a month or $189 a year.