Voicemail **** when travelling abroad - can you rescue me

Question

Voicemail **** when travelling abroad - can you rescue me

Voicemail works fine in the UK. And in Holland, when I dial 901.

But in Russia and China, it doesn't work. When I don't pick up the phone, it doesn't go to v-mail. Instead just goes dead or says "please send a text instead". Its as if the whole thing just switches off when travelling.

This is a BIG problem with the phone, a major shortcoming to use it as a business tool.

Have spent 5 hours with (useless) O2 helpline, and 5 different people.All their tips failed:
1. Despite what some O2 people said, you CAN't get an international voicemail retrieval number for an iPhone
2. Being in an Edge zone doesn't help
3. Nor does being on the network O2 recommend (e.g. Unicom in China)

Can anyone rescue me from this voicemail ****!

David

iphone, Mac OS X (10.2.x)

Posted on Dec 3, 2007 8:12 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 3, 2007 10:45 PM in response to David Taylor21

I'm not sure how this can be an iPhone problem - especially when it works fine in the UK and in Holland.

When a cell phone is not answered, the network handles the voicemail, not the phone and with the iPhone's visual voicemail feature, the messages are downloaded to the phone from the network via EDGE or data access. If not downloaded to the iPhone, the messages should be available on the network for access as with standard voicemail. But since there is not an option for someone to leave a message when in China, this sounds like an O2 network problem.

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Answer 2

Dec 8, 2007 11:16 AM in response to Christian Stewart

Yup, tried that and no luck. And anyway, there are no messages to pick up as you can't leave them. Instead of diverting to v-mail, the phone just goes dead.

And you CANNOT get a voicemail retrieval number for an iPhone on O2! I spent hours wasted trying to do this on the advice of O2, only find out it doesn't work
David

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Answer 3

gbliss

Level 1

8 points

Jan 26, 2008 3:57 AM in response to David Taylor21

This is a major issue and no-one seems to have an answer. O2 don't even recognise there is a problem. This makes a great peiece of kit virtually unusable as a business tool in many part of the world. Could do with someone from Apple putting some pressure on O2 to get a fix for this.
Don't waset your time with O2's 'so called ' suggestions - none of them work.

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Answer 4

gbliss

Level 1

8 points

Mar 13, 2008 7:27 AM in response to Tamara

This problem is still ongoing for me. Has anyone managed to solve it? O2 are being particulraly unhelpful, not even recognising that the problem exists. If anyone else is havign trouble plese contact them - the more of us that raise the issue the more likely they'll believe us!

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Answer 5

Nathan C

Level 5

6,266 points

Mar 13, 2008 8:26 AM in response to gbliss

gbliss,

There is multiple carriers involved, and to illustrate what appears to be happening let me share something from my personal understanding.

When you are overseas, and your iPhone is registered with a GSM Carrier, your home carrier forwards the call to that carrier. If you do not answer, or decline the call, that carrier is responsible for forwarding it back to your home carrier's voicemail system.

It sounds like the carrier you are using in China is not forwarding it back to O2, or forwarding it incorrectly to O2.

Hope this helps,

Nathan C.

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Answer 6

Nathan C

Level 5

6,266 points

Mar 13, 2008 10:14 AM in response to gbliss

gbliss,

The problem is when it comes to forwarding back the issue could be with O2, or it could be with the carrier in China, and since it worked in Holland while roaming, I would suspect the issue is with the carrier in China.

Hope this helps,

Nathan C.

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Answer 7

Apr 7, 2008 3:58 AM in response to David Taylor21

I've stumbled across this thread after coming up against the same brick wall. O2 have admitted today that it is not possible to get a Voicemail Retrieval Number that will work with an iPhone. It's down to the way they have implemented Visual Voicemail.

There suggestion was to use texts or e-mail - so things have not moved on since your original post...wonderful O2, not.

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Answer 8

DanH

Level 5

4,372 points

Apr 7, 2008 6:41 AM in response to David M Thompson

Slightly OT, but possibly sheds some light . . .

AT&T told me when I activated International Roaming that VV would NOT work in the Dominican Republic and I would have to use the manual retrieval number. However, while I was there it worked fine. I had int'l data roaming turned off, BTW, so the theory that it requires a data connection seems to be incorrect.

All of this suggests to me that many of the carriers are having trouble figuring out how best to implement VV properly.

-dan

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Answer 9

Dec 4, 2007 2:08 AM in response to Allan Sampson

Yep, you're right Allan, its an O2 problem... just wondered if anyone else in the UK had managed to figure it out, as O2 helpline has been less than useless!

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Answer 10

Dec 4, 2007 6:22 AM in response to David Taylor21

Have you tried +44<your cellular number> then * followed by your pin?

Message was edited by: Host

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Answer 11

Dec 4, 2007 5:55 AM in response to Christian Stewart

The above number may of course be a unique VRN (voicemail retrieval number) and therefore of little use to you - apologies - I'll ask a Host to edit/delete.

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Answer 12

Tamara

Level 6

13,744 points

Jan 26, 2008 4:27 AM in response to gbliss

I'm going to guess that this behavior would affect any O2 cell phone in those areas, not just the iPhone. It sounds like customers need to start pressuring O2 to correct this problem.

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Answer 13

gbliss

Level 1

8 points

Mar 13, 2008 9:31 AM in response to Nathan C

Thanks for that - it makes perfect sense and would explain the problem.
I wish you worked for o2!!

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