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voicemail notifications

I bought a factory unlocked Samsung S8 from Best Buy to use on Verizon where I have been customer for 16 years. I bought unlocked because it was cheaper than buying a Verizon Locked phone. The phone for the most part works fine but I don't get any notifications that I am getting voicemail's. I have to randomly call every couple of hours to see if I have gotten a voicemail. I can check it fine. I called support and was told it is not their problem that I bought a non Verizon phone and they cannot send me the basic voicemail app it has to come pre-installed on phones locked for Verizon that the only thing I can do is buy another phone from Verizon or deal with it. I am seriously thinking of leaving Verizon over this. I have to get notifications that I have emails.

Comments

Ann154

The voicemail application is for the visual voicemail. Did you use visual voicemail on our previous phone? If so, you should call customer service and ask them to add a block visual voicemail to your line. Then you will need to verify your basic non-visual voicemail is setup by dialing *86 to access the voicemail system.

Verizon_Support

JDHUD01- we want to make sure that you get your notifications for your Voicemail. Please respond to the Private Message I have sent you so that I can assist you further. I look forward to your response.

YeseniaV_VZW

Follow us on TWITTER @VZWSupport If my response answered your question please click the Correct Answer button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!

kmratliff75

I have this same issue and received the same feedback when I called into customer care, really disappointing.

TNECDEB

I have had this same issue ever since I purchased an unlocked Galaxy S8+ from Best Buy. Have spent countless HOURS on the phone with Verizon customer service and still has not been resolved. I am able to get notifications for everything EXCEPT voice mail. One representative from Verizon said that I would need to go back to using the *86, enter code, and listen to all the prompts. I haven't had to do that since way back in the day with a flip phone. Even my previous phone, Galaxy S5, allowed me to push the play button and listen to messages...FOR FREE.

Problem with this is, I don't even know I have messages because of not getting any notifications. Going back to *86 etc is like going backwards with technology instead of forward. I'm not a happy Verizon customer and seriously thinking about changing providers even though I have had service with them for 20+ years.

Ann154

Was your previous phone a Verizon Wireless branded device?

TNECDEB

Yes Ann154, my previous phone was a Verizon Galaxy S5. The voice mail on there was simple to use, no having to dial *86 and the various options. All I needed to do was hit the arrow button to play the message. I didn't have voice to text option on the S5 and I don't need it on here. I just need a voice mail application that gives notifications and a simple way to access it instead of reverting back to the flip phone era.

Ann154

Yet you decided to purchase the unlocked model for the s8. The Verizon Wireless branded device will have the visual voicemail application included in the build. The unlocked model won't. So your options are to used the basic non-visual voicemail or a third party voicemail system like Google Voice or YouMail. Unlocked devices don't always work fully with whichever carrier you choose to use it on. This is one of those examples. The instructions for restoring your notifications for the Verizon Wireless voicemail system have already been provided in the thread and it would be using the basic non-visual voicemail.

TNECDEB

Ann,

I am a 20+ year customer of Verizon Wireless. Contrary to what you may think, I don't need an 'excuse' to change carriers. I believe it's my money that purchased the phone and my money that pays the bill...so should I choose to change carriers, it's really of no concern to you or anybody else.

While I came to this forum to search for answers to my voice mail problem, it was not my intention to be ridiculed by you or anyone else. As a long standing customer of Verizon, I have to wonder WHY the price of the phones purchased through them is so much more expensive than purchasing from a 3rd party. Obviously customer loyalty isn't something they value. If Verizon offered comparable deals on their phones, I would have never gone to searching Best Buy for a new phone. Again, customer loyalty SHOULD account for something.

Someone asked if you were a Verizon employee...and I am beginning to wonder the same. Having spent countless HOURS on the phone with Verizon customer support, I have yet to get a satisfactory answer from them that will solve my problem. Not once have I said that I was ridiculed by customer support, nor have I complained that they have been anything but kind to me. Even when I had to call Samsung customer support to reset my phone because of inaccurate information from Verizon Customer Support, I have not been rude to anyone. Again, I came to this forum for information, not to be treated with disrespect because I chose to spend my money elsewhere.

For the record, I (with NO help from Verizon) have solved the problem by using 'YouMail' on my new phone. Anyone who has this phone and wants to continue with Verizon will find that 'YouMail' is a great solution to a problem that seems to have no resolution from Verizon.

In the future, should you wish to get involved in a discussion with someone who is seeking information, I would hope that you would show more restraint with others than you did with me. We are customers who are here to get a problem solved, not to be disrespected by people such as you.

Should you be a Verizon employee (or have family/friends who are), then shame on you for your attitude. If it wasn't for long standing customers such as I, there would be no need for customer service, thus eliminating jobs that could affect you or those who are employees of Verizon. As my Mother taught me, 'if you can't say something nice, keep your mouth shut.'

Have a wonderful day!

Ann154

So my suggestion to use a third party voicemail service in Re: voicemail notifications was correct? Since you are now using it according your post, it appears so.

TNECDEB

Ann, sorry to spoil your moment of fame but I researched the issue for quite some time before I decided to try the third party email. It isn't perfect, it didn't bring my saved voice mails to the app, but I now have voice mail. Now I plan to research other wireless providers and will make a decision as to what provider is best for my needs.

As I've had this phone for 2 weeks now, it's sad that I have had to go through so many issues to get voice mail that should have been available to me as a Verizon customer.

Sorry if I don't say thanks, but I surely wouldn't have trusted any possible solutions you might have recommended because of your bad attitude. Maybe you should get a job with Verizon since you feel that you are such a good problem solver. Then again, I, like another poster on this subject, am not convinced that you don't work for Verizon already. Glad I didn't have to get you when I called customer service many times. The people I spoke with were polite, even if they couldn't solve my problem.

Ann154

If you had known you needed to use a third party voicemail system, why didn't you include that information when you first posted in this thread?

As I have stated in many other threads before, I have never been an employee of Verizon Wireless nor do I have any inclination to be one in the future. The real VZW employees are clearly defined by their username (usually ending in _vzw), avatar and the signature they add to the end of their posts. Your accusation against me is false.

TNECDEB

I didn't know when I purchased the unlocked phone that I would need to use a third party voicemail. When speaking with Verizon customer service, I was instructed to try downloading several different third party voicemails with no success. The one I finally got to work was because of my extensive search on the unlocked Galaxy 8+ and possible solutions to problems that others were having.

Your responses to me concerning why did I buy an unlocked phone vs a Verizon phone may have led some of us to believe that you could be posting under an alias while actually being a Verizon employee. However, your lack of politeness, your arrogance, and your rude disposition clearly shows that you are unlike ANY Verizon employee that I have ever dealt with. None of them have been able to help me with this issue, but I was always treated with respect when calling their customer service.

My issue with voice mail on my unlocked phone has been solved, I have no need to come to this topic on the forum again.

rcschnoor

I find it odd one of the reasons people purchase "unlocked" devices from outlets other than Verizon is so that the phone will not have the "Verizon bloatware" that is commonly ridiculed in these forums. NOW people are starting to complain they cannot use that "Verizon bloatware" because they purchased an unlocked phone. I guess you can't please everyone.

Yes if you purchase an unlocked phone, the corresponding "bloatware" will not be on your phone. Conversely, you will not be able to use that "bloatware".

Personally, I prefer to use Google Voice for my voicemail and have been doing so for several years. That way, if I choose to purchase an "unlocked" phone or switch carriers, my voicemails will travel with me to a different phone(iPhone, android, etc...) or a different provider(AT&T, T-Mobile, etc...) without a hitch.

POSSIBLY, at some point Verizon will offer their VVM in the Google Play Store for those who purchase unlocked phones. But then again, I suppose many people will ridicule Verizon for offering such an app which no one in their right mind would consider using when other options are available. Just can't win.

Ann154

Or the manufacturers of the unlocked phones can get on the same bandwagon and incorporate the voicemail system including the visual voicemail type like the Pixel phones have done. There is no need for a separate "Verizon Voicemail" application to access the Visual Voicemail feature on the Verizon Wireless network. The carrier branded devices could work that too if the carriers required.

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