How to set up a voicemail box on a VICIdial phone

A voicemail box catches calls a phone can't answer and gives the agent a place to retrieve messages. In VICIdial, you turn it on by filling one field on the phone entry, then a few optional fields shape how it behaves.

The phone entry is the same record that holds the login, the Extension, and the registration password used in the auto-generated Conf file. Voicemail is just another section of that record.

The one field that matters

The Voicemail Box field sets which mailbox messages go to for the user of this phone. VICIdial uses this value two ways: to check for new messages, and to make the VOICEMAIL button work on the Agent interface. Without it, the button has nothing to open and unanswered calls have nowhere to record.

Setup steps

1. Open the phone entry you want to give a mailbox.
2. Enter a value in Voicemail Box. Many shops use the same number as the phone extension to keep it simple.
3. Set Voicemail Zone if the agent is in a different timezone than the dialers, so message timestamps read correctly.
4. Optionally pick a Voicemail Greeting audio file from the audio store, otherwise the default greeting plays.
5. Save the phone entry.

How a missed call reaches the box

flowchart TD
  A[Call rings agent extension] --> B{Answered before timeout}
  B -->|Yes| C[Agent handles call]
  B -->|No| D[Greeting plays]
  D --> E{Voicemail Instructions on}
  E -->|Yes| F[Instructions play]
  E -->|No| G[Skip straight to beep]
  F --> H[Caller records message]
  G --> H
  H --> I[Message lands in box]

Voicemail Instructions controls whether the spoken instructions play after your greeting when a ringing call times out to voicemail. It defaults to Y. Voicemail Options lets you add extra settings, but leave it blank unless you know exactly what you are doing.

The voicemail fields live alongside the rest of the phone settings, so it helps to see the full record laid out. Read the VICIdial phones and aliases guide for the whole picture, or how to modify a VICIdial phone if you just need to edit an existing one.

VICIfast gives you a managed VICIdial box where these voicemail fields are wired up and ready. See pricing.