Troubleshooting issues with your voicemail indicator
Clear a stuck voicemail indicator with these steps for Android and iPhone
It can be frustrating when your phone shows you have new voicemail messages, but you've already listened to them or there are no new ones in your voicemail mailbox. This "stuck" Message Waiting Indicator (MWI) is a common issue and these steps below can help you resolve it.
Call your voicemail
Listen to all messages, including any saved or old messages
After listening to each message, delete it by pressing
7
Ensure you listen to any prompts that confirm messages are deleted
When finished, exit the voicemail system by pressing
*
(star key) or by simply hanging up as instructed by the prompts. Sometimes, you need to wait for the system to say "no more messages" before hanging up.
Leave yourself a test voicemail by calling your number from another phone or asking a friend to call
Wait for the voicemail notification to appear on your phone
Access your voicemail again, listen to the new test message and then delete it by pressing 7
Exit the voicemail system correctly (press
*
or hang up after confirmation of deletion)
See if the indicator clears. These steps can often reset the notification system.
A simple restart can often clear minor glitches. Turn your phone completely off, wait a minute and then turn it back on.
Ensure that your voicemail feature is active and correctly set up on your account. You can usually verify your plan details and features by logging in to your
Check for any pending operating system updates for your phone as these can include bug fixes.
Android:
Go to
Settings
>
System
>
System update
(or similar)
iPhone:
Go to
Settings
>
General
>
Software Update
Android:
Clear cache for
Phone
or
Voicemail
app:
Go to
Settings
>
Apps
(or
Applications
/
Application Manager
)
You may need to tap
See all apps
or find a tab for
All
Locate your
Phone
app (it might be called
Dialer
or something similar)
Tap on it and then go to
Storage
(or
Storage & Cache
)
Tap
Clear Cache
If there's a separate
Voicemail
app listed or an app called
Call Settings
or
Carrier Services
, repeat the cache clearing process for those as well
Optional (use with caution): For the
Phone
app, you might also see an option for
Clear Data
(or
Clear Storage
). While this can sometimes help, be aware that it might reset your call history or phone app settings. Your contacts should remain safe.
Restart your phone after clearing the cache/data and check if the indicator has cleared
Toggle voicemail notifications:
Go to your
Phone
app's settings and then
Voicemail
settings, and look for
Notification settings
. Try turning this off and then back on
iPhone:
Check Visual Voicemail:
Open the
Phone
app and then tap the
Voicemail
tab
Ensure all messages here are listened to and deleted
Check the
Deleted Messages
section within the
Voicemail
tab. If there are messages there, tap
Clear All
to permanently remove them
Manage and clear your Live Voicemail (for iOS 17 and later):
If you're using Live Voicemail, messages are transcribed in real time. Ensure these messages are also managed and cleared from the
Voicemail
tab. You can turn Live Voicemail on or off under
Settings
>
Phone
>
Live Voicemail
Reset your network settings (resort to this as a later step if the other steps do not work):
This will erase saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords, VPN or APN settings and cellular settings
Go to
Settings
>
General
>
Transfer or Reset iPhone
>
Reset
>
Reset Network Settings
. Your phone will restart.
If you've tried all the steps above and the voicemail indicator still won't clear, there might be a synchronization issue between your device and the network's voicemail system. In this case, contact