Visual Voicemail using Default Android 10 App (NOT T-Mobile App)?

ozozznozzy wrote:

Lerimer wrote:

Is there a way you can maybe do a video of it. I've tried this like 5 times with no luck. 

I have completely different phones now on multiple lines (OnePlus 9 and Galaxy S22+) and Android VVM worked out of the box. I really think the most important part is asking T-Mobile to completely reset your voicemail box. Everything else is redundant.

 

T-Mobile swears that they did not block Android voicemail, and Google swears that Android voicemail should work with T-Mobile. Using that information, I figured that T-Mobile just hasn't pushed the updated commands to old voicemail boxes. Having them do a complete factory reset on your voicemail forces the system to update.

 

This is me making assumptions from a distance, having no experience working for T-Mobile IT. But it worked for me and people I know, so I must be on to something.

I couldn't get this to work with my Samsung Galaxy even after having a customer service rep reset my voicemail. Just curious are all the phones it worked on for you unlocked? Also what app did you use on your Galaxy S22+ where it worked? 

Thanks for sharing anyway, hope one day T-Mobile just stops with all the carrier restrictions.

SereneFalls wrote:

ozozznozzy wrote:

Lerimer wrote:

 

I couldn't get this to work with my Samsung Galaxy even after having a customer service rep reset my voicemail. Just curious are all the phones it worked on for you unlocked? Also what app did you use on your Galaxy S22+ where it worked? 

 

Thanks for sharing anyway, hope one day T-Mobile just stops with all the carrier restrictions.

Honestly it's been a while. Ozozznozzy from a year ago was a lot more certain of the solution than I am today. Now all my devices work out of the box.

All my devices are purchased outright (no financing), but for sure the OnePlus 6t I first tried this on was still locked. So a little of both. I'm specifically referring to the built in Android phone app having a built in visual voicemail, and the "T-Mobile Visual Voicemail" app in the play store.

T-Mobile really just needs to resolve this. It's not even a money thing anymore, it's just a legacy bug from a relic subscription service. I think it just doesn't affect everyone so they haven't done much research into it.

I still think that long term customers who have had voicemail boxes for a long time seem to be missing an update that patched this problem. T-Mobile may just need to force a mass update to all voicemail boxes to fix this issue.

ozozznozzy wrote:

SereneFalls wrote:

I couldn't get this to work with my Samsung Galaxy even after having a customer service rep reset my voicemail. Just curious are all the phones it worked on for you unlocked? Also what app did you use on your Galaxy S22+ where it worked? 

 

Thanks for sharing anyway, hope one day T-Mobile just stops with all the carrier restrictions.

Honestly it's been a while. Ozozznozzy from a year ago was a lot more certain of the solution than I am today. Now all my devices work out of the box.

All my devices are purchased outright (no financing), but for sure the OnePlus 6t I first tried this on was still locked. So a little of both. I'm specifically referring to the built in Android phone app having a built in visual voicemail, and the "T-Mobile Visual Voicemail" app in the play store.

T-Mobile really just needs to resolve this. It's not even a money thing anymore, it's just a legacy bug from a relic subscription service. I think it just doesn't affect everyone so they haven't done much research into it.

 

I still think that long term customers who have had voicemail boxes for a long time seem to be missing an update that patched this problem. T-Mobile may just need to force a mass update to all voicemail boxes to fix this issue.

Hearing more now, it sounds like it definitely is on purpose by T-Mobile. At least for Samsung T-Mobile locked phones. My Samsung Galaxy phone was bought from T-Mobile and the default phone app has no built-in visual voicemail. I tried the Google Phone dialer app but the voicemail tab never shows up and trying to activate it fails. I found out Samsung has a Visual Voicemail app separately that comes with their phones but it's also no where to be found. Also it's been blocked from both the Google Play Store and Galaxy Store. When I try to open the link to install the app from a browser I get a note that says 'content blocked by my provider'. I can't help but think this is all done on purpose by T-Mobile to force users to use their own Visual Voicemail app and not due to some voicemail update I don't have. Honestly I wouldn't even mind if their T-Mobile's visual voicemail app worked great, but it really does not. I'll try again when my phone is unlocked, but doubt anything will work as long as I have a T-Mobile SIM with a Samsung phone.

I have always used the Visual Voicemail in the Google Dialer on my OnePlus 8T+ 5G and 7 Pro for my T-Mobile voicemail.  No issues at all. 

I have the unlocked version of the Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 and none of these solutions work. I've also contacted T-Mobile and it did not help.

Their app is horrible and doesn't work half the time. Wish they would fix this issue.

This is hard to wrap one’s head around, but every phone is unique—not the same as everyone else’s mobile device-even though we seem to think they're all the same.[1] They're not the same. Right there is the disconnect, right there, one of tens of thousands of disconnects! (-; (As a funny, aside comment: we humans are totally unique-just like everyone else. See how funny and convoluted it is? The same thing is happening to our mobile devices as we're customizing 'em.)

There seems to be three or four players that I need to be aware of:

1) the human,
2) the V V M app (spaces make it look like “V V” and not “W”),
3) Android, 
4) and TMobile.

Each has its own data store. Whether the stores are actually separated or not from each other, don't worry about it: it matters, but it doesn't matter. "Treat them as if they ARE all separate," and you'll be in a better place and a clearer state of mind and in a better state for understanding what the heck is going on. (-; again!

Here’s the basic, basic, base, base tech suggestion approach I always remember and which I remember to remember:

Restablecer TODO the players, then restart. Get everyone to ground zero, and go back to and pass GO! once again, for the first time. 

¿Por qué?

Because after you've put all your efforts into getting everyone to ground zero, it's when everyone can reasonably expect everyone to be starting from ground zero. It's when all four players ARE at ground zero, all players EXPECT all others players to be at ground zero, all old baggage (ideally) has been trashed and it no longer exists, and everyone plays with everyone else the best, easiest, and friendliest way possible. Nobody knows if others have been reset or not, and it doesn't matter, if all the old baggage is gone. We've cut 'em off at the pass, circled around back to the start, and started all over again, fresh. Repeating a fresh restart, once again, for the first time. <:shaking my head:>

When you get everyone to ground zero, 100% of their history—thinking of it as baggage-goes away. Baggage is almost always a problem, and nobody knows what everybody else's baggage is… or isn't, unless it's zero. By getting rid of the baggage, all four players start playing with no baggage! Everybody can talk to each other the clearest manner possible. Right there you can see how your efforts to get them all to ground zero starts paying off. If you DON’T put effort into getting everyone to ground zero, well, respectfully, then, you can go look in the mirror to see where the problem is. ;-)

1) Reset how you think about what's happening-be open to learning. That's your reset-your “Getting rid of your baggage.”
2) Delete the V V M app. Restart Android. Reinstall the V V M app (yeah, delete, restart, reinstall, because you don't know if the DELETE best deletes everything, or if better deletions come from the housekeeping from the restart process. Every mobile device is unique, and its rabbit hole is pretty complicated.[1])
3) You already restarted Android, right?
4) Give 611, mobile support, a call, and ask them to reset voicemail as @ozozznozzy has been saying. 

Hoping this helps, of course. 

D. P.
Henderson, NV

Just adding that this issue persists with a S23 Ultra purchased independently (on Amazon). Ozozznozzy's method is appreciated but did not work for me.

Otra información:

Device unlock status is Unknown, on T-Mobile's website. Perhaps the problem could be related to the device not being clearly within T-Mobile's network? I pay a T-Mobile bill and my cell service works fine.

Android v13.

unknown only means it was not purchased from TMO and they dont have all of that devices info in their system..has zero to do with how your phone works or doesnt work..thats a separate matter.

Some very interesting developments here: https://www.reddit.com/r/tmobile/comments/10j5kiy/tmobile_visual_voicemail_app_on_play_store/

Apparently the Play store version of T-Mobile's VVM (at time of writing) is v5, but there exists a v10 rolled out to certain users. Bizarre!

I’ve successfully installed the v10 on my device and it appears to be much more polished.

Despite a small win, this carrier lock-in to VVM is ridiculous and has seriously soured me on T-Mobile as a company. They're the only ones doing this crap.

Pixel 6a - Native VVM was not working

I will add, i had to have tmobile basically break my VM till my account was not recognized, once that was done and they fixed it my VVM now works