A Simple Guide to Forwarding Voicemails: Across All Devices

Return to the Blog Did you know? The term "voicemail" was coined in 1980 by Televoice International for their brand new service covering the entire United States.

However, the idea itself dates back to 1877, when Edison filed a patent for his innovative phonograph. He described its purpose as follows: "to record telephone messages and transmit them again by telephone."

Fast forward to the present day, and voicemail has become an integral part of our daily lives. Well, at least for some of us.

If you frequently receive work-related calls, voicemail is an incredibly handy tool that ensures you won't miss any messages when you're occupied, driving, or otherwise unable to answer the phone.

But what do you do if you want to forward voicemail messages to another device or smartphone, or even to an email address? In this post, we'll delve into that topic and explore much more.

What exactly is voicemail forwarding?

Voicemail forwarding is a feature available on certain phone applications, which enables you to receive voicemail on one device and forward it to a coworker or friend.

Think of it as a call forwarding service, similar to forwarding an email. The difference is that instead of forwarding a text-based message, you're forwarding a voice message. (Although there is a way to convert this voice message into text, but we'll discuss that later...)

For businesses with extensive phone usage, such as sales teams or customer support departments, it makes perfect sense to have a dedicated communications platform, especially when multiple teams or departments are involved.

If you wish to minimize the number of voicemails you receive (since it's always better to answer customer calls instead of accumulating more voicemails), you can set up call routing rules for departments or even individual team members. By doing so, if someone on the team or in your store is occupied and unable to answer the phone, the call will be forwarded to the next available person.

(In theory, you may never have to deal with voicemails again...)

How to forward a voicemail on a computer

Now, let's assume you have some sort of business communications platform that allows you to make phone calls and potentially perform other tasks like sending SMS messages or having video conferences.

With most of these platforms, it should be fairly straightforward to manage your calls, configure your voicemail service, and forward voicemails (as well as send and receive text messages, but that's a topic for another day).

For instance, with Dialpad, you have the option to effortlessly forward a voicemail. Once you have received a voicemail that you wish to forward to another person, including clients or customers, follow these simple steps:

- Open the Dialpad app and navigate to your inbox where you can locate the "Voicemails" section.

- Locate the voicemail you want to forward and click on the accompanying drop-down menu. From there, enter the name or email address of the recipient you intend to forward the voicemail to.

- Finally, click on the "Forward message" button. That's all there is to it!

Be sure to explore Dialpad Ai Voice, which not only offers video conferencing and team SMS/MMS messaging, but also serves as a fully integrated contact center platform if needed.

(Psst! Here's an additional shameless plug: If you're considering switching to another phone system, the great thing about Dialpad is that you can keep your existing numbers without any hassle. Simply make a port request and your number can seamlessly transition to a Dialpad user with minimal downtime!)

Now, let's dive into other common techniques for forwarding voicemails.

How to Forward a Voicemail on an iPhone

While there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to forwarding voicemails from mobile devices, it's still beneficial to grasp the fundamentals. First off, let's examine how to forward voicemails on an iPhone.

1. Locate the desired voicemail on your iPhone and tap on it. The following image should appear:

Source: iphoneinaminute.com/forward_voicemail_iphone

2. Tap the Share button to prompt a screen displaying various sharing options for the voicemail:

3. Select the preferred method for sharing the voicemail message. You can choose to send it via text message, email, or utilize Airdrop if you wish to share it with another Apple device.

Once the voicemail message has been successfully forwarded, the recipient can easily open it and play it back.

If you want to provide additional context when forwarding a voicemail, feel free to include a personal message! When setting up a new phone or voicemail system, it is generally advisable to create a voicemail greeting before proceeding to other tasks such as voicemail forwarding.

How to Forward a Voicemail on an Android Device

If you own an Android phone like the Samsung Galaxy, forwarding voicemails may require an extra step, such as installing a dedicated app for this purpose.

Many individuals opt for Google Voice, which may already be pre-installed on your phone. If not, you can easily locate and install the app from the Google Play app store using your Google account. The app should resemble the following:

Once you have the app installed, forwarding voicemails becomes a breeze.

• If you prefer to send via a text message, check the box next to the associated phone number you want to send to (if the numbers are not already linked, you may need to add them).
• If you prefer to send via email, simply choose this option and enter the desired email address.

You can also forward your voicemail to another phone using an alternate method with additional steps: access your voicemail messages by using the designated button on your keypad or by dialing *86.

If you wish to access your phone from a different number, dial your number and then press the hash (#) key. (You may need to enter your password/code and then press the hash key again.)

If you want to forward a new message to another extension number or voicemail box within your business, follow these steps:

Naturally, it is highly improbable for all of your staff members to have the same Android or iOS device (unless significant resources were dedicated to achieve this). This is why utilizing a device-agnostic communication platform (such as Dialpad!) is a sensible choice.

Because Dialpad is a communications platform (incorporating a built-in cloud-based phone system) that seamlessly works across iOS, Android, Mac, and PC, it allows your staff members to stay connected in real time, regardless of the device they are using. With Dialpad, you not only have the capability to transfer incoming calls between these devices, but you can also send and receive SMS messages and voicemails directly from the app.

When is it appropriate to forward a voicemail message?

For most individuals, forwarding voicemails is a rare occurrence. (When it does happen, it is typically for sharing a message from a family member with other relatives.)

However, if you are in sales, customer support, or own a business, there are numerous scenarios in which forwarding a received voicemail message may be advantageous:

• You want to share received information with individuals within your organization without the need to type it out or transcribe the message.
• A voicemail is more relevant to one of your colleagues than it is to you.
• A satisfied customer or client calls to express their utmost satisfaction with your team's work, and you wish to share the praise with everyone involved in that account.
• You need to verify a problem or issue for someone.
• You wish to delegate the related task or project to another person.

Another valuable feature offered by Dialpad is the ability to set up forwarding prompts that will automatically transfer any message in your voicemail inbox to your Dialpad inbox.

Are you ready to begin forwarding voicemails?

Of course, there is no universal guide for forwarding voicemails.

Various devices utilize different operating systems, and when it comes to iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads, handling voicemails requires a distinct approach compared to Android and PC. While all these options can achieve the desired outcome to some extent, if you desire a convenient method to categorize and manage voicemails received from customers or clients (or even perform more advanced tasks like utilizing visual voicemail), it is highly probable that you will require a business communications platform.

Furthermore, considering the multitude of individuals using diverse devices, it is advantageous for most companies to consolidate all their department or team communications within a unified platform. This is precisely what you can accomplish with Dialpad. Whether it be phone calls, video meetings, SMS, or instant messaging, you can engage in communication according to your preferences, all within a single platform.