How many voicemails before your mailbox is full?

The last thing you want is for someone to call you and hear a recording,“The mailbox is full," instead of your typical voicemail greeting. You could miss an important message. But how many voicemails can you store before your mailbox is full? It depends on your mobile carrier and your plan. Don’t worry. We’ll explain. Asurion experts can answer all your tech questions, whether your phone is going straight to voicemail or you want to check your messages from another phone. Here’s our guide on how to find out if your voicemail is full and what to do if it is. 

What’s voicemail capacity? 

Voicemail capacity refers to the number of messages your phone can hold in its voicemail inbox. Once the mailbox is full, callers can no longer leave messages. Storage capacities depend primarily on your carrier and plan. Some mobile carriers and plans offer more inbox storage than others. Contact your carrier to find out what’s available and the cost of extra features. 

Average voicemail storage by carrier

The number of voice messages you can keep in your mailbox and the charge for doing so varies, so you’ll need to check directly with your carrier. Here’s what some carriers typically offer: 

AT&T

• With Basic Voicemail, you can store up to 20, 2-minute messages. 
• When you use Visual Voicemail on AT&T, your voicemail is downloaded onto your phone and stays there until you delete it. To save messages, you’ll need to back them up when you switch phones or carriers.  

Verizon

• With Basic Voicemail, you can store 20, 3-minute messages. Premium Visual Voicemail on Verizon lets you download your messages to your phone. You can keep the messages until you delete them. If you want to save them, make sure to back them up when you get a new phone or carrier. 

How do I know if my voicemail is full?  

Some carriers notify you of how much space is left for voicemails when you log in to check your messages. Typically, you’ll see or hear an alert if your mailbox is close to full. The best way to find out if your voicemail box is full is to check your messages and while you’re at it, delete those you don’t want.

On Android

1. To connect to voicemail, press and hold the “1” key on your dial pad. Or, open your Voicemail app on your home screen. 
2. Follow the prompts to check and delete any unwanted voicemails. 

Check out our guide on how to set up Visual Voicemail and check and delete voice messages on Android™. 

On iPhone

1. Open the Phone app and tap Voicemail in the bottom right corner. 
2. Tap the message, then tap the arrow to play it or the trash icon to delete it.

Check out our guide on how to set up Visual Voicemail and check, and delete messages on iPhone®.

Tips for managing your voicemail

Here’s how to keep your voicemail from reaching its limit: 

Regularly check and delete voicemails

Make it a habit to listen to and delete unwanted voicemails. 

Store important messages 

Save voicemails you want to keep on another device or in the cloud. 

Change voicemail settings

If your carrier allows it, adjust your voicemail settings to increase message length and storage time. 

Consider voicemail-to-text services

Some carriers offer transcription services that convert voicemails to text and send them directly to your email or phone as a text message. Use this service to reduce the number of voicemail messages you save.