Voicemail to text: what your phone does, and what we send you

On an iPhone, open a message in the Phone app's voicemail list and its transcription appears in the bottom half of the screen. On a Pixel, turn on Voicemail transcription in the Phone app's voicemail settings, and on a Galaxy or any other Android phone it depends on the phone and the carrier.

With VettedCalls, a caller you miss on Pro leaves the message with us once your cell forwards to our number. We text you when a message comes in, email you its full transcript with a link to play it, and add it to your dashboard.

Voicemail to text on the phone you already have

Two different features go by this name. Voicemail transcription turns a message that's already saved into text you open in your voicemail list. Live Voicemail, on an iPhone, shows the words on screen while the caller is still talking. Apple says Voicemail, Visual Voicemail and Live Voicemail all come from select carriers in select countries or regions, so what you get depends on your carrier and where you are.

Voicemail to text on iPhone

Open the Phone app and find the message: on the Voicemail tab if you use the Classic layout, or under Calls with the filter set to Voicemails if you use the Unified layout. Tap a message and its transcription appears in the bottom half of the screen. Apple's iOS 26 page says voicemail transcription is available from select carriers in select countries or regions. On iOS 17, Apple limited transcription to voicemails in English.

Live Voicemail has its own switch. On iOS 18 and later, go to Settings, then Apps, then Phone, and turn on Live Voicemail. On iOS 17 the path is Settings, then Phone, then Live Voicemail. It isn't available in every country, region or language, and calling and data rates may apply. If the iPhone is off or out of your carrier's range, the call goes to carrier voicemail instead.

Voicemail to text on Android

On a Pixel, the switch is Voicemail transcription, under More options, Settings, Voicemail in the Phone app, and it covers messages already saved as well as new ones. The option shows up only with some carriers and devices, and transcription covers English and Spanish on Android 8.0 and up. Pixel 6 and later phones in the United States also have Take a Message, a separate feature for calls you miss or decline. Google says it's free, and it saves a recording and a written transcript to the phone.

Newer Samsung Galaxy phones, those on Android 16 with One UI 8.5 or higher, have Direct voicemail in the Phone app's settings. Samsung warns the transcription might not be accurate, and that it stays readable on a locked screen. On other Android phones it comes from Google's Phone app, where your carrier and device are supported, or from the carrier's own visual voicemail app. Our guide to voicemail to text on Android goes through each phone maker and carrier, and what to check when no transcript shows up.

Carrier voicemail apps

Carriers sell their own versions, and the iPhone and Android products differ. Each row is what that carrier's own pages said in October 2026; plans and add-ons change, so look at your carrier's current terms before paying for one.

On an iPhone, Live Voicemail overrides Verizon's Voicemail to Text for iPhone, except when the device is powered off, in Airplane Mode or out of network range. Verizon also says a message that arrives while Live Voicemail is active isn't saved on its system and can't be reached by calling *86. If your carrier isn't in the table, its own support page for visual voicemail has the rules.

What changes when calls go through VettedCalls

Setup forwards every call from your cell to your VettedCalls number, so each call reaches us before it reaches you. A caller who doesn't get you leaves the message with us, after a greeting in your business name, and we send it to you in writing. Here's the whole sequence on Pro, where every call you miss goes to voicemail.

1. Your phone rings

   A caller who passed screening rings you in the Cloud Softphone app, with their number showing. On Pro it rings for up to 25 seconds. A priority call (the caller said one of your priority words) rings for up to 40. Setup has you allow Notifications for the app and, on an iPhone, turn on Background App Refresh, or on Android set its Battery setting to Unrestricted.

2. You get a missed-call alert

   If you don't pick up, we text your cell about the missed call, whether or not the caller agreed to texts, unless you've switched that alert off in Settings. If the same number calls again within 10 minutes, you get a single alert. Priority calls always alert.

3. The caller may get a text from you

   If the caller pressed 1 at the start of the call and you haven't switched that text off in Settings, we send them a short sorry-I-missed-you text with a reason and the number you'll call back from. Anyone who pressed 2 is left alone, and so is a priority call, which skips that question. The missed call text back page has the details, and six replies you can send yourself.

4. They hear the voicemail greeting

   “[business] can't take your call right now. Leave a quick message, your name and what you need, and someone will call you back as soon as possible.”

   They have up to 120 seconds to talk.

5. A text tells you there's a voicemail

   When the transcript is ready within 15 seconds, the text carries what the caller said, in up to two messages, cut at a word with a pointer to your email or dashboard for the rest. If it isn't ready in time, or your trade starts with the short alert (see below), you get the caller's name, number and topic instead.

6. The transcript lands in your email

   You get an email with the full transcript and a link to play the message. That's your voicemail to email: read it in a meeting, forward it to whoever's handling the job, or tap play when a name or number in the transcript looks off.

7. It's logged in your dashboard

   The same voicemail shows up as an entry in your VettedCalls dashboard, so there's a record of it even if the email gets buried.

8. The caller hears back that it went through

   If they pressed 1 and you have that text switched on in Settings, they get this short text once the message is in (a priority call never does):

   “Got your message, thanks. [business] will be in touch soon.”

9. If they call again, they skip the questions

   A caller who left a voicemail skips screening if they call back within 4 hours, so they aren't asked who they are a second time.

Some callers hang up at the greeting without leaving a message. You still have the missed-call alert from step 2, and if they pressed 1, they've already had the text from step 3, so they know you'll be in touch. Call the number back from your own cell.

What the voicemail text says

By default, the voicemail text includes the caller's words. Settings has an "Include their message in that text" switch under "Text me when someone leaves a voicemail", and the voicemail alerts for plumbers, HVAC technicians, general contractors, real estate agents and property managers start with the words included. Accounts for financial trades such as insurance agents and financial advisors, for wellness trades and for community groups such as clergy start with the short alert instead, until you switch that setting on.

Attorney accounts are different. Voicemail transcription is switched off when you sign up as an attorney, or when you change your trade to attorney later, so you play the recording, and the text is the short alert.

Each automatic text and email has its own switch in Settings, all on until you turn them off: "Text me when someone leaves a voicemail", "Email me each voicemail with the full message" and "Text callers a thank-you after they leave a voicemail". Priority calls always text you, and priority voicemails are still emailed.

Reading a transcript quickly

The greeting asks callers for their name and what they need, so read for those two things first. After that, look for anything that changes how you call back: a different number to reach them on, a time that's bad for them, an address. If a word in the transcript doesn't make sense, play the message from the link in the email before you dial. A misheard street name costs more than the thirty seconds it takes to listen.

Some callers would rather text. Texts sent to your VettedCalls number are forwarded to your cell, one way, so you read those in your regular messages and reply from your own number.

On Receptionist (coming soon), the AI takes most missed calls

The timeline above is Pro. On Receptionist (coming soon), a call you don't answer goes to the AI receptionist instead of voicemail, in or out of business hours. Two kinds of call still go to voicemail: priority calls and saved contacts. A missed priority call follows the steps above.

When the AI answers, the missed-call texts in steps 2 and 3 don't go out. What you get instead is an entry in the dashboard's AI call history with a summary and a transcript of the conversation. The call transcripts page lays out where each kind of transcript lives.

Saved contacts are handled a little differently on every plan. When you miss one, neither you nor they get a text, but they can still leave a voicemail and you get the transcript the usual way.

Which plans include voicemail transcripts

Both. Pro and Receptionist (coming soon) each include voicemail with transcripts, along with screening, the shared spam registry, Priority Passthrough and missed-call texts, and Pro is the plan you can sign up for today. If voicemail in writing is what you're after and you answer most calls yourself, Pro covers it. Setup has you forward your cell by dialing your carrier's forwarding code, and the how to forward calls guide explains the codes. Plan prices are on the pricing page, and the features page has the rest of what's included.