Another common issue I get at work is voice mail. This is usually a very easy call because voice mail is not hard to troubleshoot. Here are some ways to do it without calling customer service, please keep in mind that these are all AT&T specific. Other carriers may vary.

Symptom: When I hold the one key down to get my voice mail it asks me to put in my 10 digit mobile number.

Problem: This is caused because the “retrieval number” that is stored in your phone is incorrect. This causes your call to go to the wrong platform, the system doesn’t recognize your phone, and so asks you to enter it.

Fix: In the voice mail settings, check your retrieval number (also called a voice mail number). If you don’t know what it should be, get a friend’s phone and see what theirs is, chances are yours is the same (as long as they use the same carrier you do). If that does not work, you will have to call customer service to get the correct number. DO NOT assign a speed dial to the 1 key!

Symptom: I set up my voice mail, but when people call it says I have a voice mail box that has not been set up yet.

Problem: This one kind of irritates me to be honest. It is caused because when you set up your voice mail you hung up before the instruction recording was complete.

Fix: When you set up your voice mail, you have to listen to the whole recording, Specifically you have to listen to the complete recording about recovering deleted messages. Once it says “Press 2 to continue”, your box will be set up correctly. It is a long, boring recording and for some reason the system wants you to hear it all.

Symptom: When I try to listen to my voice mail, it says press 7 to delete a voice mail I received 14 days ago, but it will not allow me to listen to any new messages.

Problem: Basic voice mail service only keeps messages for 14 days, and that is it. Once the 14th day comes, the system wants you to delete the message. It does not do this automatically because you are being given the chance to listen to the message in case it is information you need.

Fix: The only thing to do here is to press 7 and delete the message. You will then be able to access your voice mail normally. If you want to keep your message for more than 14 days, you will have to get “Enhanced Voice Mail” which allows you to re-save messages after 14 days.

These are just a few tips on voice mail. If you have questions about an error or problem you are getting with your voice mail, drop me a comment and I’ll do my best to find out the fix.