How to change your voicemail greeting on iPhone

Your voicemail greeting is the first thing callers hear when you miss a call, so it is worth a minute to get right. On most US carriers you can record it directly in the iPhone Phone app. If your carrier does not support that, you can still change it by calling your voicemail. Here are both methods, examples you can copy, and fixes if the new greeting will not save.

How to change voicemail greeting on iPhone in the Phone app

The Greeting option only appears when Visual Voicemail is set up and supported by your carrier. If you have never set up voicemail on this iPhone, do that first. See how to set up voicemail on iPhone.

Default or Custom: what callers hear

• Default: an automated voice reads out your phone number and asks the caller to leave a message. It is safe but impersonal, and callers cannot be sure they reached the right person.
• Custom: your own recording. It confirms who they reached and can tell them the best way to contact you.

You can switch between them at any time without losing the custom recording, which is handy for a temporary away message. Some carriers also offer a name-only greeting, where the automated message plays your recorded name, through the dial-in menu.

Can you have more than one voicemail greeting on iPhone?

Not at the same time. Each phone line has one active greeting, and the Phone app lets you pick Default or Custom, not different greetings for different callers. iOS does not have a setting that plays one greeting to family and another to everyone else. You can still keep a temporary message, such as an away greeting: record it, save it, and record your normal greeting again when you are back. Your carrier or a service like Google Voice may offer per-caller greetings, which is outside the iPhone settings.

Two lines or dual SIM?

Each line has its own voicemail and greeting. With two lines on your iPhone, such as a personal and a work number, the voicemail screen lets you choose the line before you open Greeting. Record a separate greeting for each so work callers hear your work greeting. If the second line is on a carrier without Visual Voicemail, use the dial-in method for that line.

Switched carriers? Record it again

Greetings are stored by your carrier, not on the iPhone. When you move your number to a new carrier, your old greeting and saved voicemails stay behind, and callers hear the new carrier’s default greeting. Set up voicemail on the new carrier and record your greeting again. Save any old voicemails you want to keep before you switch, by sharing them from the Phone app to Files or Notes.

Which Phone app layout do you have?

iOS 26 introduced a unified Phone app layout that shows calls, voicemails and favorites together, alongside the classic layout with tabs along the bottom. If you see a Voicemail tab at the bottom right, you are on the classic layout, and Greeting is at the top left of that tab. If there are no tabs, you are on the unified layout: open the menu at the top of the screen to find voicemail options, including the greeting. You can switch layouts from the same menu. On iOS 18 and earlier, the classic layout is the only one.

Change the greeting by calling your voicemail

If there is no Greeting option, or your carrier does not offer Visual Voicemail, record it through the voicemail menu instead:

A greeting recorded this way is stored by your carrier, so it works even if you later switch phones on the same carrier.

Tips for a clear greeting

• Record in a quiet room, holding the iPhone as you would for a call.
• Keep it under 20 seconds. Callers often hang up or skip long greetings.
• Say your name clearly and slowly so callers know they reached the right person.
• Tell people what to leave: name, number and reason for calling.
• Play it back before saving. You can re-record as many times as you like.

Voicemail greeting examples

• Work: “Hi, you’ve reached [name] at [company]. I can’t take your call right now. Please leave your name, number and a brief message, and I’ll get back to you within one business day.”
• Away or on vacation: “Hi, this is [name]. I’m away until [date] with limited access to my phone. Leave a message and I’ll call you when I’m back. For anything urgent, please text me.”
• Short and simple: “This is [name]. Leave a message and I’ll call you back.”
• Prefer texts: “Hi, you’ve reached [name]. I check texts faster than voicemail, so please send me a text, or leave a short message after the tone.”

Remember to switch back from an away greeting when you return. It is easy to forget, and callers will think you are still away. A reminder in the Reminders app for your first day back takes care of it. Avoid giving out details in any greeting that you would not share with a stranger, such as your home address or exact travel dates, since anyone who calls your number can hear it.

Setting a greeting for a parent or child

Greetings are recorded on the phone that owns the line, so you need their iPhone in hand. Sit with them, follow the same steps, and let them say their own name so callers recognize them. For an older relative, a clear greeting that asks callers to speak slowly and repeat their number is a small kindness. For a child’s first phone, a simple greeting without their full name or school is safer.

Voicemail transcripts

With Visual Voicemail, iOS shows a text transcript under each message where your language and carrier support it. It is handy for reading a message in a meeting, though names and numbers are not always transcribed correctly. Transcripts do not change what callers hear, so your greeting stays the same whether they are on or off.

Greeting will not save or record?

• Check your connection: the greeting uploads to your carrier, so it needs cellular data or Wi-Fi Calling. Turn on Wi-Fi Calling if signal is weak.
• Restart the iPhone and try again.
• Update carrier settings: go to Settings › General › About and wait a moment; if an update is available, you will be asked to install it.
• Use the dial-in method above, which works even when Visual Voicemail is misbehaving.

If voicemail itself is not working, such as messages not arriving or the voicemail tab asking you to call, see iPhone voicemail not working.

Change your voicemail password

On carriers that support it, go to Settings › Apps › Phone and tap Change Voicemail Password. If the option is missing, change it through the voicemail menu by pressing and holding 1, or in your carrier’s app. Use a PIN that is not your birthday or the last digits of your number, since voicemail accounts are a target for scammers.

Live Voicemail and Call Screening

Live Voicemail, on iOS 17 and later, shows a live transcript on screen while the caller leaves a message, so you can pick up if it matters. Call Screening in iOS 26 can ask unknown callers who they are before your phone rings. Both work alongside your greeting rather than replacing it. Callers who reach your carrier voicemail still hear the greeting you recorded above. To cut down on spam messages too, see how to block spam calls on iPhone.

Voice message, voicemail or greeting: which one are you changing?

People use different names for the same thing. The recording callers hear when you do not answer is your voicemail greeting, and it is also called your outgoing message, voicemail message or voice message. You change all of them in the same place: open the Phone app, tap Voicemail, then tap Greeting. The audio clips you send inside a Messages conversation are a separate feature, and they have no greeting to change.