Setting number of rings before rolling to Voice Mail

Question

Setting number of rings before rolling to Voice Mail

Does anyone know how to set the number of rings before a call goes to Voice Mail? My phone (or AT&T) seems to be variably set to roll over at 2-3 rings, which is just too short.

I haven't seen a way to do this in the settings, and I've looked at the AT&T web site and don't see it either.

This is unrelated to the situation that occurs when one is checking e-mail or using the web via EDGE.

Thanks!

Chris

G5 Dual 2GHz, Mac OS X (10.4.10), Powerbook G4

Posted on Aug 18, 2007 3:29 PM

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Answer 1

mikeab

Level 2

255 points

Aug 20, 2007 2:53 AM in response to 4n6doc

4n6doc -

Finally got to it. Works exactly as you related.

Thanks for your assistance.

mikeab 🙂

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Answer 2

xnav

Level 5

7,113 points

Aug 18, 2007 3:50 PM in response to Christine Doyle

You can call AT&T to change it. However, if the number of 'rings' is set too high then AT&T may charge minutes for the call even though it did not connect. This has not been an issue for me since I had it changed.

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Answer 3

bnbzone

Level 2

405 points

Aug 18, 2007 3:58 PM in response to Christine Doyle

QUESTION:
How can I adjust the number of times my wireless phone will ring before the caller goes to voicemail?

ANSWER:
Contact Customer Care at 1-800-331-0500 or dial 611 from your wireless phone to change the amount of time your phone will ring before going to voice mail. The adjustments made by Customer Care are based on the traditional ring heard by the caller, not the unique Ringtone you hear from your phone.

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Answer 4

acer21

Level 1

0 points

Aug 18, 2007 4:22 PM in response to Christine Doyle

Yes there is a way to set up the default number of "time" not rings. Default is 20sec I have mine at 30sec (max)

Voicemail No-Answer Length
check to see vm number *#61#
Cing 61*1areacodevmnumber*1130#

First Dial *#61# to see your voice mail number (this is the number that the phone fowards the call to when there is no answer) write it down including area code

Then dial 611(VOICEMAIL NUMBER) 1130# then dial or send
There should be no spaces and make sure you enter the number correctly (ie) 61*13235552323*1130# then you should see a comfirmation.

This works only on at&t and T-mobile
the number 30 is time length you can set it shorter if you want but 30 is recommended max.

Say Thank You!

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Answer 5

4n6doc

Level 4

2,323 points

Aug 18, 2007 6:57 PM in response to acer21

I did not even think of doing it through the GSM codes...doy...thanks for setting me straight, acer21

by the way, shouldn't that be **61... for the string to set the length?

most GSM codes start with ** to set the feature, ## to cancel the feature, and *# to query the current status of the feature

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Answer 6

Aug 18, 2007 7:38 PM in response to acer21

so when you do the *#61# you should see:

Setting Interrogation Succeeded
Voice Call Forwarding
When Unanswered Forwards to +1(areacode/VM)
Enabled

After typing in the line, it should say:
Setting Activation Successful
Voice Call Forwarding
When Unanswered

Once I reset this, I got 6 rings on the calling phone, and 4 rounds of the Marimba ring tone. BTW, the default 2 marimba sets is only 15 seconds (which is why I could never grab the phone fast enough if it was in my purse).

The first screen will also list the following, all disabled:
Data Call Forwarding
Fax Call Forwarding
SMS Call Forwarding
Synd Data Circuit Call Forwarding
Async Data Circuit Call Forwarding
Packet Access Call Forwarding
Pad Access Call Forwarding

THANK YOU!

Chris

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Answer 7

mikeab

Level 2

255 points

Aug 19, 2007 7:51 AM in response to 4n6doc

I must not have an iPhone because when I called #61# I got messages like:

Setting Deactivation Succeeded
Voice Call Forwarding When Unanswered

Setting Deactivation Succeeded
Data Forwarding When Unanswered

Setting Deactivation Succeeded
Fax Call Forwarding When Unanswered

Setting Deactivation Succeeded.........on and on....

There is also a Green Dismiss Button at the bottom.

I also called my phone from a land line and found out it went 7 rings before voice mail picked up.

7 rings is fine with me. This other spookie wording is beyond my comprehension.

mikeab 🙂

Message was edited by: mikeab

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Answer 8

4n6doc

Level 4

2,323 points

Aug 19, 2007 9:24 AM in response to mikeab

The correct string is *#61# (note the star at the beginning) and the reply should be "Setting Interrogation Succeeded" (instead of "Deactivation").

Glad to hear it's still going to voicemail. The result you got would have led me to believe that your phone would not transfer to voicemail when unanswered.

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Answer 9

4n6doc

Level 4

2,323 points

Aug 19, 2007 2:09 PM in response to mikeab

If you do a *#61# it should list a bunch of setting interrogations...basically the same list you saw before, but with the word "Interrogation" in the heading of each one.

The one of importance is the very first one..."Voice Call Forwarding When Unanswered"...it should show "Forwards to +1xxxxxxxxxx" (the xxx's are your voicemail number) and "Enabled"

All the other categories should show as "Disabled"

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Answer 10

romad

Level 3

933 points

Aug 20, 2007 10:55 AM in response to acer21

acer21 wrote:

Then dial 611(VOICEMAIL NUMBER) 1130# then dial or send
There should be no spaces and make sure you enter the number correctly (ie) 61*13235552323*1130# then you should see a comfirmation.

I ran into a problem when I first tried this. My vm number is 11 digits starting with a 1 so I ended up with an error. By dropping the initial 1 and only using the last 10 digits, it worked fine. I guess the *#61# code works differently on each model phone; some display 10 digits and some 11.

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Answer 11

4n6doc

Level 4

2,323 points

Aug 18, 2007 3:33 PM in response to Christine Doyle

Unfortunately, there is no way to change this setting.

If you think this is a feature Apple should include in the future, please leave a suggestion at http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

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Answer 12

cf3

Level 1

0 points

Aug 18, 2007 9:01 PM in response to Christine Doyle

This does not disable visual voicemail, does it?

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Answer 13

h2ok9

Level 1

4 points

Aug 18, 2007 10:16 PM in response to acer21

Thanks for the awesome tip! Works like a charm.

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Answer 14

4n6doc

Level 4

2,323 points

Aug 19, 2007 7:40 AM in response to cf3

This does not disable visual voicemail, does it?

No it doesn't. All it changes is the length of time an incoming call rings without being answered before it gets sent to voicemail.

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Answer 15

mikeab

Level 2

255 points

Aug 19, 2007 2:05 PM in response to 4n6doc

4n6doc

Thanks -

I did not pick up on that * before the #61#. Will check it out in a little while. I think that I will get a 32" screen so that I can view things better.

mikeab 🙂

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