How to set voicemail message on iPhone 12 running iOS 26?

Are you asking how to setup or change your voicemail greeting on your iPhone 12? If so, here are the steps on how to do it.

Open the Phone app

1. Tap Voicemail (bottom-right corner)
2. Tap Greeting (top-left area)
3. Choose Custom
4. Tap Record
5. Say your voicemail message
6. Tap Stop
7. Tap Play to review it
8. Tap Save (top-right)

Live Voice Mail and Traditional Voice Mail

Live Voicemail (iOS Feature)

Live Voicemail is an iOS feature introduced in iOS 17 that provides real-time transcription of incoming voicemails as they are being recorded. This feature works on-device, meaning it does not rely on the carrier for transcription. However, your carrier must support conditional call forwarding for Live Voicemail to function properly.

Traditional Carrier Voicemail

Separate from Live Voicemail, regular voicemail is a carrier-provided service, meaning your cellular provider handles the voicemail storage and retrieval. This includes:

• • Basic Voicemail (Dial-in system)
  • Visual Voicemail (Introduced in iOS 1, displays voicemail messages in a list format within the Phone app)

Key Differences

• Live Voicemail transcribes in real-time on your device and allows you to pick up the call while the message is being recorded.
• Carrier Voicemail stores messages on the carrier's servers, and transcription (if available) is dependent on the carrier.
• Live Voicemail requires iOS 17+, while Carrier Voicemail works on all phones that support voicemail (even non-smartphones).

With Live Voicemail in iOS 17, you can view a real-time transcription of the message someone is leaving you as they speak, ...

Use Live Voicemail on your iPhone