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Voicemails delayed on iPhone

iPhone 14 pro voicemail notifications are delayed by hours or days. Latest iOS and carrier update. We are open to iOS fix suggestions if not on the carrier level.

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iPhone 14 Pro

Posted on Aug 19, 2023 11:22 AM

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SravanKrA

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Posted on Aug 20, 2023 1:37 AM

Please contact your Carrier as VoiceMail is a carrier-specific feature --> Check your voicemail on iPhone - Apple Support

You may try some of these steps, please check after each step...

The delayed Voice Mail message typically indicates an issue with the settings on your iPhone. There are several potential reasons for this error, and here are some troubleshooting steps you can follow to resolve the problem:

Ensure that your iPhone has a stable internet or cellular connection. Voicemail services may require a data connection to function correctly.
Check if there are any carrier settings updates available for your iPhone. Carrier updates can sometimes resolve voicemail-related issues.
Contact your carrier's customer support to ensure there are no known issues with their voicemail services in your area.
If you have call forwarding enabled, try disabling it to see if it resolves the voicemail problem. Go to Settings > Phone > Call Forwarding and turn it off if it's enabled.
Sometimes, a simple restart can resolve temporary software glitches. Turn off your iPhone, wait for a few seconds, and then turn it back on.
1. Restart the device. That's it.
2. Still not solved --> Force restart iPhone - Apple Support
If the issue persists, you can try resetting all settings on your iPhone. This will not erase your data but will reset all personalized settings to their default values. Go to Settings > General > Transfer & Reset > Reset > Reset All Settings and confirm the action. Note that you will need to reconfigure your settings afterward. All settings—including network settings, the keyboard dictionary, the Home screen layout, location settings, privacy settings, and Apple Pay cards—are removed or reset to their defaults. No data or media are deleted.
1. Reset All Settings: Return iPhone settings to their defaults - Apple Support:- Return iPhone settings to their defaults
2. You can return settings to their defaults without erasing your content.
3. If you want to save your settings, back up your iPhone before returning them to their defaults. For example, if you’re trying to solve a problem but returning settings to their defaults doesn’t help, you might want to restore your previous settings from a backup.
Make sure you have the latest updates installed.
1. Update Over-the-Air (OTA) —> Update your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support (IN)
2. Update using iTunes/Finder —> Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support (IN)

If none of the above steps resolve the issue, it is recommended to reach out to Apple Support or visit an authorized service center for further assistance. They can provide specific guidance based on your device model and iOS version.

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Similar questions

81 replies

Oct 17, 2023 8:51 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

I don't know if this is helpful, but I have noticed that sometimes no voicemail appears until I open the Phone app. Then the Phone app icon gets a (1) on it and the voicemail appears. It's not always the case, sometimes the voicemail will show up on its own and notify me a few hours (or a day) after the message was left. It appears that the Phone app is doing something to "notice" that there is voicemail when I open it.

Oct 26, 2023 2:41 PM in response to noochy1

I have AT&T and my voicemail messages are never delayed. I'm on iPhone 15 Pro Max and now the latest iOS 17.1. If it's a bug in iOS, it's a very selective bug, which doesn't effect me or our other iPhone 15 Pro, also on iOS 15, or anyone in my office with iOS 15 on any number of models of iPhone.

You need to contact AT&T as this is not an iOS bug.

forum83 Author

Level 1

57 points

Nov 15, 2023 3:05 PM in response to Its_me0

We have been testing iOS 17.1

Apple introduced live transcribing of voicemails and this has helped delivery of the voicemail notifications.

it is not 100% and we are still testing, but I would suggest trying iOS 17.

We also raised a ticket directly with the executive team at Verizon… they may have actually fixed something. We will never really know.. large companies rarely admit to an issue. (remember Apple throttling based on battery health)

We will keep this thread updated with our testing and results. Please keep replying if you have this issue.. it’s our belief this issue is VERY common.. but most people don’t say anything.

forum83 Author

Level 1

57 points

Nov 18, 2023 9:39 AM in response to shirley ontiveros

We have seen both Apple and Verizon blame each. We believe both are at fault. Would open tickets with both and refer them to this thread. I will have Google rank this thread and hopefully more people can respond.

Clearly there is a problem.

Bhrozell

Level 1

8 points

Feb 3, 2024 1:57 PM in response to jaredfromsaint petersburg

I agree with Jaredfromsaint peter. I’ve had this issue for many years across several generations of iPhones. It’s not limited to the 14 and it’s not a carrier issue, as I see reports from multiple carriers. I currently have a 13 Pro, and voicemail notices are routinely delayed by hours, sometimes as much as 24 hours.

What I’ve noticed is that it seems to delay the notification until I use the phone. When I open the app to make a call or answer an inbound call, the notice will come through.

forum83 Author

Level 1

57 points

Aug 20, 2023 11:10 AM in response to SravanKrA

Thank you for responding. Unfortunately none of the steps outlined above help.

iPhone users really don’t have much control over voicemail notifications. They can turn phone notifications on or off.

I am leaning towards an iOS issue that needs to be addressed by Apple.

It will be one of two things -

1. An error on the Verizon voicemail system and delayed notifications being sent to devices.

2. An iOS error where the device is receiving the notification within a timely fashion max 60 seconds and it is delaying the notification to the user locally.

Any help is appreciated.

forum83 Author

Level 1

57 points

Aug 20, 2023 2:53 PM in response to lobsterghost1

I agree Voicemail is a carrier feature and this could be caused by Verizon not delivering the voicemail on time.

iOS is transcribing the message into text and displaying it as visual voicemail. There could be an issue in this process and how iOS is getting this information from Verizon causing the delay.

Many times the voicemail icon will disappear from the phone app. Leading me to believe it’s an iOS issue. I am open to any suggestions. Verizon thinks this is happening on the phone level.

forum83 Author

Level 1

57 points

Aug 24, 2023 8:43 PM in response to lobsterghost1

While I agree this problem is most likely coming from the Verizon side. It is still possible it could be happing locally on the phone. Whenever the voicemail system is called directly *86 the voicemail is current and can be listen to, but this is not a long term solution. Verizon likes to pass the blame to Apple all the time.. but Apple has done the exact same thing in return. Unfortunately neither company is willing to take responsibility, and in the end it may be both at fault. There needs to be a channel where they can work together to find a solution instead of both playing the blame game.

5 hour delay

Oct 16, 2023 9:40 AM in response to ThereforeITouch

ThereforeITouch wrote:

I am wondering if it's related to some push notification settings on the iPhone, since as you point out, it uses an internet connection. (I have a reliable home internet connection and I work from home. So it's not lack of connectivity.)

Your notifications can be delayed if you do not have an active cellular data connection.

Oct 16, 2023 10:46 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

That's exactly what happens - finger pointing every time.

One would think if the MVNO (Consumer Cellular) had delays getting messages to AT&T's network, there would be a large up-swell of complaints and they would address it. However, they disavow any knowledge of an issue when I speak with them. (See "Finger pointing" above.)

I have reset my network credentials several times, once on Consumer Cellular's tech support advice. It was a good suggestion. Unfortunately, no sweet sauce by doing so.

The good news is that it's only about 30% of voicemails which get delayed and usually only by several hours or a day. :-)

forum83 Author

Level 1

57 points

Oct 16, 2023 6:54 PM in response to lobsterghost1

Yes the carrier sends the notification to the phone. There is still a possibility the phone itself is delaying the notification after that is received. It might be rare. But as we all know iOS is not bug free.

The solution to issues like this is for Apple and the carrier to work together. A user should be able to submit a joint trouble ticket, so that the entire system from the carrier to the iOS layer can be tested. Without this… I don’t believe it will be resolved.

Oct 17, 2023 8:54 AM in response to ThereforeITouch

There can be lots of reasons.

I don't see VM notifications for a lot of people until the end of the day as I have a work Focus that does not permit my neighbor to interrupt me with a request to buy him more birdseed.

Nov 1, 2023 2:37 PM in response to ThereforeITouch

I'm seeing similar.

No voicemail notification, but if I go to the Phone app, and tap Voicemail, all of a sudden it is there.

Today I noticed I'd had a missed call yesterday (16 hours ago), but not the usual follow up text that Telstra (Australia) sends saying "you had a missed call but they didn't leave a message". Weird I thought, no voicemail, and no missed call text.

So I open the voicemail app, where a previous voicemail message is still open. Click the back button to go to the main voicemail screen, all of a sudden, bing bing, you've just received a voicemail. It was from 16 hours ago.

I'll add that this started happening when i got my new iPhone 15. Same carrier, new phone.

Nov 7, 2023 3:17 PM in response to lobsterghost1

This EXACT issue has been happening to me since I bought my iPhone 14. And I’m a TMobile user, so it’s certainly not a Verizon issue. I’ve never had hours of delay to receive a VM notification. And it’s not even a notification issue—- the actual VM never shows up until randomly hours or a day later. LOTS of missed messages and unnecessary Delays esp with business calls. This is a problem. YES- I have restarted my phone many times. YES- I’ve gone in to settings - phone - etc. YES- I have the latest iPhone updates. NO- this didn’t happen with my iPhone XS while still using same carrier TMobile. This isn’t a carrier issue.

Nov 9, 2023 10:53 AM in response to lobsterghost1

I have an iphone 12 pro running ios 16 on AT&T and I’ve had this problem for years. I usually just have to restart my phone for them to pop up if I’m expecting a call back from someone, otherwise they always pop up hours or days later. It’s very annoying and as of the day of this post, even restarting my phone doesn’t work. I just had a missed call and saw an icon for a new vm and when I opened it the icon went away and there was no new message showing. Very frustrating since I use my phone for work.

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Voicemails delayed on iPhone