Some phone service providers, notably T-Mobile and Verizon, offer a service that sends voicemails as texts. You may get a message that says a voicemail was deposited as a text and then a text message with the voicemail transcription. This transcription is handy when your visual voicemail doesn't work or if you don't have this service.
The voicemail-to-text features can be irritating, bad for phone storage, and inaccurate. The feature can randomly turn on, especially when switching your new iPhone 15 to a different plan or carrier. You don't have to get these texts on your iPhone. Here's how to turn off these SMS voicemails permanently.
How to stop getting voicemails as SMS on iPhone
Source: Apple
Your iPhone's voicemail service, which is found in the Phone app, doesn't send texts. It has its own transcription service that's more accurate than the SMS methods. Your carrier offers the service, which can be triggered by a new plan, an unexpected added charge, or confusion with how your phone plan interprets past voicemail messages.
Nothing on your iPhone can fix the problem. Turn to your carrier for the following steps:
- Visit your carrier's website and log in to your account. Every carrier's site looks a little different. Look for the login page in your bookmarks or find the login with a quick web search. Don't use your carrier's app for this method. It's easier to go to the website via a browser.
- The process for finding SMS voicemails varies depending on your carrier. This example uses the T-Mobile version to show the general steps to turn off these texts. Follow these steps if you have a different carrier, and look for similar menu options.
- Log in to your account. From the main account page, look for the Profile Settings tab. If you use another carrier, such as Verizon, look for an option that says Perks or Add-ons.
- Find and select Block calls and messages.
- Select Block Other.
- Select Voicemail to Text Block and make sure the block is activated.
Another option is to turn on Apple's Live Voicemail service, which was added in iOS 17. This creates a real-time transcript of an ongoing voicemail that shows up on your lock screen. It overrides any voicemail-to-text service you use (unless you're not online or outside your network).
When in doubt, call your carrier's customer service. We recommend this step even if you successfully turned off your SMS voicemails. This feature usually adds a $2 to $3 monthly charge. If your phone bill has been creeping up recently, this could be why. Look at your bill and call to remove voicemail charges or deactivate the service.
Can you turn off voicemails as texts on Android phones as well?
Yes. Follow the steps above if you have an Android phone like a Samsung Galaxy model or a Google Pixel. This service is provided by your carrier, not your phone brand, so it doesn't matter which phone you have. Go to the website or call your carrier to make it go away.
Deal with those voicemail SMS messages once and for all
It may take a little wrangling with your carrier, but you can turn off voicemail-to-text services and stick with visual voicemail. Give your carrier support a call or open their chat app and ask your voicemail question if you run into trouble. They may need to deactivate it on their end.
If your carrier doesn't offer the voicemail services you need and you want to switch carriers, check out our recommendations for the best carriers.
