Why Your Verizon iPhone Voicemail Is Full After Clearing Your Inbox
Must Read! Have you ever had people tell you that your voicemail is full, even when you only have a few messages on your phone? I experienced the same issue with my Verizon iPhone, and it turns out, the problem might actually be on Verizon’s end. Don’t worry; I’m going to guide you through the steps to fix this common issue. You won’t believe it, but now my voicemail works perfectly!
Why is my iPhone voicemail full after deleting my voicemails?
Your iPhone’s voicemail is full because your Verizon voicemail inbox does not have any space left. Verizon stores all of your voicemails on its servers (not your iPhone), which requires you to manually dial *86 so that you can clear up room for more voicemails.
After extensively researching Verizon and Apple troubleshooting forums, I have gathered enough information to determine why your iPhone’s voicemail is full even after deleting. My research has indicated that this is a common issue that is normally connected to the carrier and not the device.
Why is my Verizon iPhone’s Voicemail Full?
Does your Verizon iPhone’s voicemail say that it’s full after you just finished clearing out your inbox? A lot of iPhone users experience this problem, and more often than not, the issue is connected to Verizon.
When you receive a new voicemail on your iPhone, it can be easy to assume that your device is storing the recording in its physical memory.
While you can certainly set your iPhone to do this, your voicemails are actually being stored on Verizon’s servers.
Virtually all mobile carriers will store their customer’s voicemails for a short period before eventually deleting them.
This can be a bit confusing and frustrating for some people, as you may have just deleted the voicemails on your iPhone only to find that the inbox is still full.
How to Delete Verizon Voicemails on an iPhone
Your iPhone may have impressive physical memory, but that does not mean that the device will automatically store your voicemail inbox.
Given that Verizon is actually storing all of your voicemails, you need to delete what’s in your inbox within their servers to clear up space.
Most people assume that the voicemails stored on their iPhones are the same as the ones stored at Verizon.
You need to manually delete the inbox of both voicemails when clearing up space.
Keep in mind that resetting your Verizon voicemail folder will delete your entire inbox. If you want to save specific voicemails from your Verizon voicemail folder, make sure to backup everything beforehand. More on this later.
Follow these steps to delete Verizon voicemails on an iPhone:
- Dial *86
- Press the Send key
- Press 1
- Press the star key (*) 3x
Before you are given access to your voicemail, you must enter the pin code that is associated with your inbox.
You will not be able to clear up space in your inbox without the pin code.
Once you’ve entered the pin code and followed the prompts, Verizon will clear up your entire inbox.
Before you commit to deleting your inbox, you will be given a chance to go through your voicemails to save anything that you want to keep.
How to Reset Verizon Voicemail Pin
Mobile carriers such as Verizon have enhanced security protocols to protect their customers and their data, which is why a pin is required to access your voicemail inbox.
Given that so many people neglect their voicemails, it can be easy to forget the pin associated with your account.
This can be problematic when you want to delete your voicemails to clear up storage in Verizon’s servers.
Unfortunately, recovering the pin is not very straightforward, but resetting it is quite easy. Follow these steps to reset your Verizon voicemail pin:
- Dial *611 and then press Send
- Authenticate your identity
- When asked about your call, say “Reset voicemail password”
You will then be prompted with further instructions to reset your pin. These days, this procedure is completely automated and you can rest your pin in minutes.
However, if you want to reach the customer service menu to reset your pin differently, call (800) 922-0204.
This will take you to Verizon’s customer service where you can follow up with them about resetting your voicemail pin.
How Long Are Verizon Voicemails Stored After Received?
Verizon automatically stores all of your voicemails on its servers. This can be very convenient as the inbox does not take up any storage on your iPhone, and you can access your voicemails within seconds by dialing the inbox.
With that said, Verizon does not store your voicemails forever. Much like most mobile carriers, Verizon will clear out the inboxes on its servers periodically, which prevents old messages and recordings from piling up.
You can expect your voicemails to be stored on Verizon’s servers for 30 days before they get deleted
If you have sensitive information stored in your voicemail inbox that you want to save, I recommend backing up your inbox routinely to ensure that nothing important gets deleted by accident.
Can You Recover Deleted Verizon Voicemails?
Unfortunately, there is no way to recover a Verizon voicemail once it’s been fully deleted.
This can be rather frustrating if you delete your entire inbox on accident instead of just a single message or recording.
However, if you just deleted a voicemail that you want to recover, there may be a way to do it if you can reach out to Verizon within the first 24 hours.
When you delete voicemails from your inbox, they will be pending for a short period before getting fully deleted.
How long this grace period lasts can often vary, but you should be okay for the first 24 hours after deleting.
Your best bet is to call Verizon and explain the situation as they deal with these kinds of inquiries regularly.
To reach out to Verizon regarding a voicemail that you want to recover, call 800-922-0204 to speak to a customer service representative.
Make sure to act fast to increase your chances of recovering any voicemails that you delete.
How to Delete iPhone Voicemails
Although most people experience a full voicemail inbox due to Verizon, you need to keep in mind that voicemails can also be stored on your iPhone.
If you have programmed your iPhone to save voicemails, this can take up quite a bit of storage space and get cluttered over time.
Follow these steps to delete voicemails that are stored on your iPhone:
- Navigate to your iPhone’s Home Screen
- Select the Phone app (green phone icon)
- Select Voicemail
- Select the desired message(s) that you want to delete
- Select the Trash Icon (red trash can icon)
- Select Delete
- Select Clear All (upper-right side of the screen)
- Confirm Clear All
As you go through this process, keep in mind that you do not need to delete all of the voicemails in your iPhone’s inbox.
You can manually select specific voicemails that you want to delete and save the ones that you want to keep.
How to Backup Voicemails to iCloud
Although having enough storage on your iPhone is important, you also want to make sure that you are not deleting more than you need to.
If you have a lot of data on your phone, you may want to use your storage space wisely.
The best way to avoid having a full inbox or running out of storage space is to use a cloud storage service such as iCloud.
There are plenty of great cloud storage options out there, but I find most Apple users prefer to go with iCloud given the compatibility.
In addition, cloud storage is a great way to ensure that information such as your voicemails are protected. With cyber security threats increasing, there has never been a more important time to protect your data, which is why I highly encourage you to backup everything sensitive or important, including voicemails.
Follow these steps to backup your iPhone voicemails to iCloud:
- Go to Settings
- Select iCloud
- Select Storage and Backup
- Scroll down and select iCloud Backup
- Select OK (and confirm)
Once you confirm, your iPhone’s voicemails will start to backup to iCloud. If you want to restore any voicemails that you have backed up to iCloud, all you need to do is select ‘Restore from iCloud Backup’ when setting up a new device.
More Verizon and iPhone Articles
Key Takeaways
- Your iPhone’s voicemail is likely full because your Verizon voicemail inbox does not have any space left.
- Verizon stores all of your voicemails on its servers (not your iPhone), which requires you to manually dial *86 so that you can clear up room for more voicemails.
- Once a voicemail has been recorded, Verizon will store it for 30 days before automatically deleting it from its servers.
- A Verizon voicemail cannot be recovered once it has been fully deleted.
- To save voicemails on your iPhone, back them up to iCloud or another cloud storage service.