Voicemail is full on your iPhone and you’re not sure why. With this problem, the iPhone displays a notification saying voicemail is 95% or 100% full, even though there are no voicemail messages or there are just a few messages.
Are you also getting voicemail full warnings and deleting messages is not solving the problem? Then this troubleshooting guide is for you.
Why Is My Voicemail Full?
Most of the time, your iPhone voicemail is full because the voicemails you deleted on your iPhone are still being stored somewhere else. In most cases, those voicemails are still being stored with your carrier.
Call into your voicemail on your iPhone and play your voicemails. At the end of each voicemail, press the number designated for deleting voicemails. This will erase the messages saved by your carrier and free up space in your voicemail inbox.
If your voicemail is still full, please try each step below until your issue is resolved.
Clear All Deleted Messages
– Please make sure that you deleted voicemails completely. I say this because until you clear your "Deleted Messages" folder, the voicemail files will stay on your phone. Before deleting messages, make sure that your wireless coverage signal is strong enough for your voicemail services to work.
- Open the Phone app and tap Voicemail" in the bottom-right corner.
- Tap ”Deleted Messages”, and then hit ”Clear All” at the top right.
- Tap Clear All again to permanently erase your deleted messages.
All the voicemail files are now gone. Now check to see if you are still getting this warning messages.
Clear All Blocked Voicemails
Voicemails from blocked numbers can take up space in your inbox too. A lot of iPhone users are unaware that blocked numbers can still leave messages. These types of messages won’t show up in your list of voicemails, but they can still take up space without you knowing it!
To delete block messages, follow these steps:
- Open the Phone app and tap Voicemail" in the bottom-right corner.
- Tap ”Blocked Messages”, and then delete the ones you don’t want. (If you do not see the Blocked Messages option, you haven’t received any voicemails from blocked numbers).
Toggle Airplane Mode on and off again
If you are still facing this problem, switching Airplane Mode on and then off again may fix the problem. Followed these steps specifically:
- Open the Settings app and toggle on Airplane Mode.
- Open the Phone app and tap Voicemail. Tap ”Deleted Messages”, and then hit ”Clear All”.
- Now open the Settings app and toggle off Airplane Mode.
Change your voicemail password
- Open the Settings app and go into Phone.
- Tap Change Voicemail Password, then enter the new password.
- Open the Phone app and then call Voicemail (dial *86 for Verizon for example)
- Youll get a prompt asking for voicemail password. Do NOT enter it. Just hung up. And now check to see if your problem is resolved.
Please note that there is no way to reset voicemail password on your iPhone if you forget it. If you forget, you need to call your cellular carrier.
Update your iPhone
This may be a bug that creates problems with your voicemail. Ensure that your iPhone has the latest version of iOS.
- Open the Settings app and go into General.
- Tap Software Update and if there is an update, update your iPhone.
Carrier settings update
Check for a carrier settings update. Your carrier may have released updates that fix this problem.
- Open the Settings app and go into General.
- Tap about. If there is an update, a popup will appear saying “new settings are available, would you like to update them now?”. If you see this popup, follow the onscreen instructions.
Ensure that your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network before checking for carrier settings update.
Reset network settings
If the issue continues, now it is time to reset your network settings. This will erase all of your network-related settings, and doing so may fix this voicemail problem.
- Open the Settings app and go into General.
- Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone and then tap Reset.
- Tap Reset Network Settings and follow the onscreen instructions.
Contact your carrier
If your voicemail inbox is still full, it’s time to contact your cellular network provider (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint etc) as they are in control of voicemails. They are stored on the provider’s servers. They will have to fix this problem if you are still experiencing it.
Here are the customer support pages for major cellular providers:
Just let them know that your iPhone voicemail is full and they’ll help you fix the problem!