How to Turn Off Voicemail on an iPhone

In the modern era of instant messaging and high-definition FaceTime calls, the concept of leaving a voicemail is rapidly becoming obsolete. Many iPhone users actively despise receiving voicemails, as it forces them to dial a number, listen to a robotic menu, and sit through a rambling 3-minute message just to hear a simple question that could have been a text message.

Unfortunately, Apple does not provide a simple “Turn Off Voicemail” switch in the iOS Settings app. Voicemail is fundamentally a carrier-level feature (controlled by AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile), not a hardware feature. To turn it off, you must use secret carrier dial codes or call customer service.

Method 1: The Secret Carrier Dial Codes (Fastest)

Cellular networks utilize hidden “MMI” (Man-Machine Interface) codes that allow you to reprogram how your carrier routes phone calls directly from your keypad. You can use these codes to disable the “Call Forwarding” system that diverts unanswered calls to the voicemail server.

1. Open the Phone app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on the Keypad tab at the bottom.
3. Type this exact sequence into the dialer: ##002#
4. Press the green Call button.

The screen will briefly go grey and display a complex status message (usually saying “Setting Erasure Succeeded”). This code tells your carrier to completely erase all call forwarding rules.

When someone calls you now, the phone will ring indefinitely until they hang up, or they will hear a busy signal. The call will not be diverted to a voicemail box.

(Note: If you ever want to turn voicemail back on in the future, you must dial *004# to restore the default forwarding settings).

Method 2: Fill Up Your Mailbox (The Passive Aggressive Method)

If the carrier dial codes fail (which frequently happens on prepaid networks or MVNOs like Mint Mobile), you can intentionally sabotage your own voicemail box so no one can leave a message.

1. Change your voicemail greeting. Record a new audio message that explicitly says: “Hello. I do not check voicemails. Please hang up and send me a text message instead.”
2. Borrow a friend’s phone (or use a secondary VoIP app like Google Voice).
3. Call your own iPhone number.
4. Let the call go to voicemail.
5. Leave a 5-minute rambling message.
6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 until your voicemail box is 100% full.

Every carrier has a strict storage limit for voicemails. Once that limit is reached, any future caller will hear an automated voice saying, “The mailbox of the person you are trying to reach is full,” and the call will instantly disconnect. You have successfully disabled your voicemail.

Method 3: Call Your Carrier (The Permanent Fix)

If you are traveling internationally and want to guarantee that you are not charged exorbitant roaming fees for incoming voicemail deposits, you must have the feature nuked at the account level.

1. Dial 611 from your iPhone to connect to your carrier’s customer service department.
2. Navigate the robotic phone tree until you reach a human representative.
3. Explicitly state: “I want the voicemail feature completely removed from my line.”

The representative will click a button on their internal dashboard that completely deletes your voicemail inbox from their servers. If anyone calls you and you do not answer, they will simply hear a recording saying, “The subscriber you have dialed is not available.”

What About “Live Voicemail” in iOS 17?

If you recently upgraded to iOS 17, Apple introduced a feature called “Live Voicemail” which intercepts the call on the device itself and provides a live transcription on your lock screen while the person is speaking.

If you hate this specific transcription feature and want your calls to go straight to the normal, old-school carrier voicemail box, you can turn this off in Settings.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on Phone.
3. Scroll down and tap on Live Voicemail.
4. Turn the toggle switch to Off.