With today’s emphasis on texting over calling, it’s easy to forget that there are good reasons to know how to change the voicemail message on your Android phone. If you run your own business or work a side hustle, having an outgoing voice message presents a much more professional image to potential clients or customers than the stock automated greeting. And if your business has a crisis, being able to change your voicemail greeting easily helps you get out in front of damage mitigation and customer service issues.
And remember that in an emergency, if you are going to lose cell coverage or your battery is dying and your power is out, a voicemail message recorded by you that includes your location and your condition (healthy vs injured, able or unable to travel, availability of water, exposure to elements, etc) will be heard by those calling your number, regardless of the state of your phone or cell service. This allows you to either let people know you need help or keep them from worrying if you’re OK. So let’s go over how to change the voicemail message on your Android phone.
QUICK ANSWER
To change the voicemail message on your Android phone, press and hold the number 1 on your phone keypad to reach your voicemail service. Then press 3 to go into your message options. Press 2 to record a greeting. Speak your message after the tone, and press the pound key to end the recording. When prompted, press 1 to save the message or 2 to record again.
JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS
Your outgoing voicemail message can serve as a form of marketing in that it can affect your customer’s impression of you. For a quality voicemail greeting—one that’s clearly audible and pleasant in tone—you should avoid using the built-in microphone, since it is of basic quality. Connect a headset or recording microphone to your phone. Almost any external microphone will improve your audio greatly, whether it is a wired microphone or a Bluetooth headset.
Regardless of how you choose to record, make sure you do it in a quiet environment to avoid background noise. Decide what you are going to say before you hit the record button. And stand up straight and take a few deep breaths before you begin; this will affect how you sound for the better.
While Android can only have one message at a time, the Google Voice app will allow you to record up to 10 different outgoing messages. You can download Google Voice at the Google Play store. From the app’s home page, tap the three-line icon in the upper left.
Kevin Convery / Android AuthorityChoose Settings from the menu that drops down.
Kevin Convery / Android AuthorityIn the Settings menu, scroll down and tap on Voicemail greeting.
Kevin Convery / Android AuthorityTap on Record a greeting and get ready to record your outgoing message.
Kevin Convery / Android AuthorityWhen you are ready, tap on the microphone icon and begin.
Kevin Convery / Android AuthorityTap on the red button to stop the recording.
Kevin Convery / Android AuthorityNow you can choose whether to save what you have recorded, or repeat the process.
Kevin Convery / Android AuthorityAs we mentioned, you can repeat this process until you have up to 10 stored messages for different people or situations. Callers will hear the message you select when they call your Google Voice phone number, and their call will be forwarded automatically to the number you entered when you set up your Google Voice account. You can switch between messages in the Settings menu under Voicemail greeting. Just click on the three-dot menu next to the recording’s name, and select Set as active. You can switch between your messages any number of times.