Voicemail Greeting

[Rebecca_1768665]

Is it possible to change my voicemail greeting to something that doesn’t include recording myself ?

[Michael_T]

Just record your name tag, then other will just get the standard message, and you saying your name

[Tippon]

That's kind of missing the point of not having to record ourselves though 

[Michael_T]

You are correct.  My reply was on the merely suggested work around of not having to record a full message, using just a “name tag” instead.  Perhaps if there is an objection to actually speaking then use an AI bot to say your name and record this,  or record a silence as previously suggested in a previous post on this thread?

[MSF]

Get a friend or family member to record the message for you?

[Rebekah_150]

Hey  Rebecca_1768665

I think your only option would be to record silence if you did not want to use your name or voice, you can do this by dialling 123. 

[billy]

Tried this one today. It blurts out "That greeting's not been recorded", before prompting again for a name. You quite literally can't record silence.

[8MINKI88]

I’ve started a chat with someone asking about this so I’ll keep you updated, but they seem to think when I say the service is “inaccessible” because to people with anxiety and disabilities, they mean I physically can’t access it. 🙄 Not the first time this has happened. SMARTY is not accessible for disabled people in the slightest. 

[8MINKI88]

Oh, I didn’t mean to randomly put because after accessible. My bad!

[MSF]

@8MINKI88  Please can you explain what you mean by "inaccessible"? In what way? Is there something missing that is offered by other networks?

[8MINKI88]

No other network forces you to have to speak to set up your own mailbox. Nor does any other network pause your services because you’re having a breakdown to your carer and you’re “sending too many messages”, and then take 24hours to get it back up and running again, while you’re stranded 3 hours away from home and can’t get back because you have no signal and no 4G.

[MSF]

@8MINKI88  When you refer to "sending too many messages", how many roughly?  I know that the system will suspend users who try to send out bulk messages as this looks like commercial activity.

As far as setting up a voicemail is concerned, it is possible to have someone else merely say "please leave a message" if the system will not accept silence (I've never tried that)

[8MINKI88]

Okay, the issue is that we shouldn’t have to do that to be able to set up a voicemail. It should be accessible for us anyways. Do you not think? It doesn’t accept silence either. You don’t have to record a message but you still have to record your name to set it up. I also don’t have anyone that could do that for me and I need my voicemail system for my medical care.

And it really wasn’t many. It was 5 minutes of freaking out before I lost all signal. Regardless, they shouldn’t then suspend you and have it then take “up to 24 hours” (it took 23) for it to be sorted. And how on Earth are you supposed to be able to contact support with no signal and no data, especially if you’re in the middle of nowhere? It’s not safe. 

[MSF]

@8MINKI88  Suggestion - Don't give name, but just give number - this reduces the nuisance value since the caller dialled that anyway.

Also don't forget that many medical providers will not leave a message as they are not assured of confidentiality.

If you did not send that many text messages, I think it is worth you raising a complaint as this will move further up the 'chain of command' in the company.

Finally, I understood (but have not tested) that emergency calls to 999 will still operate ss they 'piggyback' off any available network where you are.

[8MINKI88]

THE ISSUE IS HAVING TO SPEAK. NOT WHAT WE ARE SAYING. When are people like you going to listen to disabled people? 

I’ve already raised a complaint thanks.

[MSF]

@8MINKI88 "People like me" try to offer help to people on here who have problems - people like you. We rarely appreciate being 'called out' when we have only tried to assist.

For your information, I spent many years after retirement from my first career working with many disabled people at Citizens Advice, both as a volunteer and then in senior positions. The object is always to try and find a workaround that will represent a good compromise. Sorry you find that unacceptable and I shall not bother agin.

[8MINKI88]

I have quite literally never ever EVER had to record my own voicemail messages. There’s always an option too, but it’s never default and the ONLY way of having one. I’ve never had to “set up” a voicemail either. 

[8MINKI88]

Okay update, you quite literally can’t bypass it if you don’t have someone else record it for you. Which is absolutely insane and completely ableist. I keep asking to speak to someone higher up but he just keeps repeating himself. This is so frustrating, all just because I want a voicemail! 🤦🏻‍♀️

[DTyllye_2689832]

Rub you finger over the microphone for 3 sec or so then press # Then job done.

[LA9988 · Accepted solution]

Hi there. I know this thread is a few months old now, but I completely understand where you’re coming from with this. I have the same issues. What I did, was Google a text to speech service that said my name and record that as the greeting. There’s also “how to pronounce” videos on YouTube that have many names. That’s my workaround to the. I agree though, forcing people to record their own name to set up voicemail does make it inaccessible to some disabled people. Lots of folks are non-verbal for example.