Answerphones, network by network

The answerphone services provided by the mobile networks can be quite sophisticated. There are several options even on the simplest systems, and finding your way round them can be confusing. This is particularly true if you don't have a hands-free unit, because you can't hold the handset to your ear and press the buttons at the same time!

To help you find your way round your answerphone system, we've provided more details of the options available. Just choose your network.

O2

The O2 answerphone access number is 901. See here for more details of the O2 answerphone.

T-mobile

The T-mobile answerphone access number is your own mobile number. See here for more details of the T-mobile answerphone.

Orange

The Orange answerphone access number is +44 7973 100123. See here for more details of the Orange answerphone.

Virgin

The Virgin answerphone number is your mobile number, but prefixed +44051 or +44058 instead of the 0. For example, the answerphone number for 07941234567 would be +440517941234567. See here for more details of Virgin answerphone.

Vodafone

The Vodafone voicemail number is 121. See here for more details of Vodafone answerphone.

What do options mean?

Select/change pin code

If you set a pin code, you can access your answerphone from another phone - your home or office phone, for example. Without a pin code set, this is not possible for security reasons. You also need to set your pin code if you want to access your answerphone when roaming overseas.

Listen to messages

This may seem a pretty obvious option, but the Orange answerphone also handles faxes. "Listening" to a fax means being told when it arrived, and where it came from.

Save a message

The answerphone system will delete a message after a set period. If you have listened to the message, it will be deleted more quickly, unless you choose to "save" it. Even then, it will only be retained for a limited period.

Delete a message

Once you have listened to a message, it stays in your answerphone as an "old" message unless you delete it. It's generally best to delete messages if you won't need to listen to them again.

Pin code disable

If you call from another phone, you will have to enter your pin code every time, but if you disable the pin code request, when you ring from your own mobile, you won't need the pin, saving time (and money, if you're paying for the call). Only do this if no-one else uses your mobile phone.

Change name

When callers reach your answerphone, even if you haven't recorded a personal outgoing message, they'll hear you speak your name as part of the greeting. For example: "You've reached the mailbox of "Joe Bloggs". Please leave a message..." With some systems, you can send messages to other answerphone mailboxes, and the message will be recorded as coming from "Joe Bloggs".

Change personal greeting

This is where you record your own message to callers. Try to record it slowly and clearly, without a lot of background noise. It is useful to write down what you plan to record.

"Sorry I can't take your call. I'm taking an extended lunch break at the bottom of a potash mine. Please leave a message and I'll call you back when I reach the surface"

See also [ Using Answerphone ]: [ Wildfire ] : [ Message Services ]

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