The fastest way to listen to your messages

To check your voicemail on Verizon, press and hold the 1 key on your phone's keypad. Your phone will dial your voicemail automatically. When prompted, enter your voicemail password — the same one you set up when you first activated your account, or the one you changed in your account settings.

If you do not remember your password, you can reset it through your Verizon account online. Log in at verizon.com, go to your account settings, find the voicemail section, and select "Reset Voicemail Password." Verizon will send a temporary password to the email address on file, and you can change it to something new once you log in.

From outside the United States, or if you do not have access to your phone's keypad, you can call your own Verizon number and wait for the voicemail greeting. When the greeting finishes, press the * key to interrupt it and enter your password.

Key Takeaways

  • Press and hold 1 on your phone to reach voicemail, then enter your password when prompted.
  • If you forget your password, reset it through verizon.com in your account settings under voicemail.
  • You can also call your own phone number from any phone and press * to reach the voicemail login screen.
  • Change your password regularly and use a combination of numbers and letters to reduce the risk of unauthorized access.

Resetting a forgotten password

Go to verizon.com and sign in with your phone number and account PIN or password. Once you are logged in, navigate to Account, then Settings, then Voicemail. Look for the option that says "Reset Voicemail Password" or "Change Voicemail Password."

Verizon will send a temporary password to the email address associated with your account. Check that email, copy the temporary password, and use it to log into your voicemail. You will be prompted to create a new permanent password. Choose something you can remember but that is not straightforward to guess — avoid birthdays, phone numbers, or straightforward sequences like 1234.

Accessing voicemail from another phone

If you are away from your Verizon phone, you can check your messages from any phone by calling your own Verizon number. Let the call go to voicemail, and when your greeting finishes playing, press the * key. This will interrupt the greeting and take you to the login screen.

Enter your 10-digit phone number when prompted, then enter your voicemail password. You will then hear your messages in the order they arrived. This method works from landlines, other cell phones, or even payphones, though payphones are now rare.

Managing your voicemail password

Your voicemail password is the main barrier between your messages and someone who has your phone number. Change it at least once a year, and change it when ready if you suspect anyone else knows it. A strong password uses a mix of numbers — not just your birthday or the last four digits of your Social Security number.

Do not share your password with anyone, including Verizon customer service representatives. Verizon employees can reset your password if you forget it, but they will never ask you to tell them what it is. If someone calls claiming to be from Verizon and asks for your voicemail password, hang up and call Verizon directly at 611 from your Verizon phone or 1-908-559-4899 from another phone.

Voicemail settings you can change

Log into your Verizon account online and go to Account > Settings > Voicemail to customize how your voicemail works. You can change your greeting, set up a separate business greeting, turn on or off the notification that tells callers how many messages you have, and choose whether callers can skip your greeting by pressing a key.

You can also set up voicemail-to-text, which converts your voicemail messages to text and sends them to your phone. This feature is not available on all plans, so check your account to see if it is included. If it is available and turned off, you can turn it on in the same voicemail settings section.

Voicemail transcription and storage

Some Verizon plans include voicemail-to-text transcription, which attempts to convert the audio of your voicemail into written text. The transcription is not always perfect — background noise, accents, and technical terms can cause errors — but it gives you a quick way to scan messages without listening to them all.

Verizon stores your voicemail messages on its servers, not on your phone. This means you can delete a message from your phone and still retrieve it later from another phone, as long as you have not permanently deleted it from your voicemail account. Messages are typically kept for 30 days after you delete them, though you should not rely on this as backup storage.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I never set up a voicemail password?

Verizon assigns you a temporary default password when your account is created. You should change this when ready by resetting your password through your online account. A default password is straightforward for someone else to guess if they have your phone number.

Can I check my voicemail through the My Verizon app?

Yes. Open the My Verizon app, go to Account, then Voicemail, and you can listen to your messages directly from the app. You can also manage your greeting and other voicemail settings from the app without calling in.

What happens if I enter my password wrong three times?

Your voicemail will lock you out temporarily to prevent someone from guessing your password. Wait a few minutes and try again. If you continue to have trouble, reset your password through your online account or call Verizon customer service at 611.

Can I delete a voicemail message permanently?

Yes. When listening to a message, press 7 to delete it. Deleted messages go to a trash folder and are kept for about 30 days before Verizon removes them permanently. If you delete a message by mistake, you can usually recover it within that window by calling voicemail and selecting the option to restore deleted messages.