Changing Voicemail Options

Last updated: February 23, 2024
Audience: InstructorsStaffResearchersIT Staff / TechnicalDecision Makers

You can change greetings and notifications settings for your voice mailbox. To do so, first access the voicemail system by phone or on the web, following the Accessing the Mailbox instructions.

For a summary of system features and interactions, see the Quick Reference.

Changing Your Greetings

The voicemail system provides three choices of greetings: personal, extended absence, and name.

Note: If you are assigned an existing voice mailbox, you may need to change both the personal greeting and the name greeting.

Personal Greeting

The personal greeting is an everyday greeting that your caller will hear when they reach your mailbox, such as “Hello. You’ve reached [First Name], [Last Name] in the [Department]. Please leave a message after the tone and I will return your call.”

While listening to your greeting, callers can press [#] to bypass your message. Your greeting will stop and the caller will hear a beep indicating they may begin recording their message. You can include this information in your greeting so they can skip through your recording every time they call.

Changing Your Personal Greeting by Phone

To change your personal greeting from a phone:

  1. Access voicemail by phone following the Accessing Your Voicemail instructions.
  2. Press [4][1][3][2].
    • For quick access, press [4][4] instead to directly record a new greeting without replaying your existing greeting.
  3. Record your new personal greeting.
  4. Press:
    • [5] to store the new greeting.
    • [6] to replay the new greeting.
    • [4] to re-record.

To change your personal greeting from Web PhoneManager, see Changing Greetings from the Web.

Extended Absence Greeting

The extended absence greeting is a temporary greeting commonly used for temporary absences, i.e. out-of-office for vacations, meetings, and other temporary circumstances. This greeting does not allow callers to bypass this greeting by pressing [#].

The extended absence greeting does not replace your personal greeting. When you check your messages, the system will ask if you wish to retain your extended absence greeting. You can choose to retain or delete it. Until you choose to delete it, you will be asked each time you check your messages if you wish to retain or delete it.

Changing Your Extended Absence Greeting by Phone

To record an extended absence greeting from a phone:

  1. Access voicemail by phone following the Accessing Your Voicemail instructions.
  2. Press [4][1][3][3].
    • For quick access, press [4][6] instead to directly record a new greeting without replaying your existing greeting.
  3. Record your extended absence greeting.
  4. Press:
    • [5] to store the new greeting.
    • [6] to replay the new greeting.
    • [4] to re-record.

To change your extended absence greeting from Web PhoneManager, see Changing Greetings from the Web.

Recorded Name Greeting

When you set up your mailbox, the system asks you to record your name. This is played to identify voicemails that you send to other voicemail subscribers (e.g. “This message was sent on [date], by [Recorded Name]).

Changing Your Recorded Name Greeting by Phone

To change your recorded name greeting from a phone:

  1. Access voicemail by phone following the Accessing Your Voicemail instructions.
  2. Press [4][1][5].
  3. Listen to the prompts to record your name.
  4. Press:
    • [5] to store the new greeting.
    • [6] to replay the new greeting.
    • [4] to re-record.

To change your recorded name greeting from Web PhoneManager, see Changing Greetings from the Web at the end of this page.

Changing Greetings from the Web

You can change any of your greetings from Web PhoneManager.

To change a greeting from a computer:

  1. Log in to Web PhoneManager by following the Accessing Your Voicemail instructions.
  2. On the left, select the Personal Settings page.
  3. On the top, select the Recordings tab.
  4. Select the recording you would like to change:
    • To change your Personal Greeting, click on the speaker button next to Standard Greeting.
    • To change your Extended Absence Greeting, click on the speaker button next to Out-of-Office Greeting.
    • To change your Recorded Name Greeting, click on the speaker button next to Recorded Name.
  5. A record window will pop up. To record the message using your UW phone, click on the Record button.
    • The voicemail system will call your UW phone associated with your mailbox.
    • Pick up the call and record your message after the tone.
    • When you are done recording your message, click on the Stop button.
    • To replay your message, stay on the line and click on the Play button.
    • To re-record your message, click the Record button again.
  6. To save the new greeting, click OK.

Exiting the System by Phone

After changing or recording your greeting, the system will return you to the Personal Options menu.

  • Press [*] to exit to the Main Menu, or
  • Press [*][*] or hang up to exit your mailbox.

Establishing or Changing Your Notification Settings

The Notification Schedule feature allows you to instruct the system when and where to call you when there are waiting messages. You may change your schedule(s) at any time.

To establish or change your notification schedule from a phone:

  1. Access voicemail by phone following the Accessing Your Voicemail instructions.
  2. Press [4][1][1].
  3. The system will let you know if notification is on or off and will report your notification settings. To change your settings, listen carefully to the prompts.

To establish or change your notification schedule from a computer:

  1. Log in to Web PhoneManager by following the Accessing Your Voicemail instructions.
  2. On the left, select the Notification Settings page.
  3. Edit your settings with options on the page.
  4. To save your settings, click OK.