Google Voicemail - no longer working with iPhone

[steve_o]

I have an iPhone 5s & have used Google Voice as my voicemail for at least a decade.  I was receiving voicemails on it up until July 1, 2020.  Since then, no calls go to it.  The message the caller receives the automated (Verizon) message that says, "I'm sorry, the person you are calling has a voice mail system that has not been set up yet."  

Google voice still records the call log, but the voicemail no longer picks up.  I have tried the call forwarding on the Verizon site, but that appears to have no effect.  I've gone through hours on the line with tech support, who basically gave up.  

Has google voice been blocked by Verizon?  Or is there something else that is blocking it?  And no, I do not want to use Verizon voicemail.  Any help appreciated.

[vzw_customer_support]

steve_o, 

Sometimes you come across an app that perfectly meets your needs, and you hang on to that app forever. I have a few of those apps myself! Google Voice has not been blocked, however the app may be experiencing a technical issue. You can visit the Play Store, to make sure your app is up to date. If it is updated, and you are still experiencing issues, you can scroll down on the app page in the Play Store to find the developer contact information. The developer will be able to assist you with getting it to work once again. 

Thanks, 

Michelle_VZW 

[steve_o]

Although I have uninstalled & re-installed the Google Voice app from the App Store, it did not make any difference.

Also, I do not believe that the app itself is the issue.  The call forwarding to the voicemail number does not appear to work.  I have gone in to my account & removed it, then re-instated it since re-installing the app but it made no difference.  

In addition, when setting the call forwarding within the website, when I enable it I have 2 choices:

1. Forward all calls
2. Forward calls when my line is busy or does not answer (select at least one) [one choice is when busy, another choice is when the call goes unanswered]

I selected the second option, and checked both boxes (busy & unanswered calls).  When I go back in to verify the changes, the second checkbox is always unchecked, even though I checked it when setting call forwarding.  

That, in addition to the message I hear when I attempt to call my phone ("I'm sorry, but the person you are calling has a voice mailbox that has not been set up") is a Verizon message & not a Google Voice message.  Within the app, I can still listen to voicemails received on or before July 1, 2020 without an issue; and, the calls I make show up in the call log of Google Voice.  Since they are reaching the app, I can only assume the issue is with call forwarding and not the application.  Nevertheless, I have reached out to the developer for input.  

[vzw_customer_support]

steve_o, 

I appreciate those details, and I can understand why you may be concerned regarding the forwarding of your calls. I am glad to see that you have reached out to the developer regarding your Google Voice issues. Please keep us posted, and let us know what their response is. They may be able to fix any issues on their end that could be impacting your voicemail service. If you continue to have trouble after working with them, or they determine that the issue is related to the forwarding, please reach out to us for additional assistance. 

Thanks,

MichelleH_VZW 

[steve_o]

Update & Resolution:

I was able to chat with a VZW tech support representative, and we were able to determine the calls were not being forwarded when they went unanswered.  I have another phone number forwarded to my cell, and even though that forwarding worked to deliver a call to my cell, the unanswered call would then get a VZW message similar to "Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and try again.  Verizon message 95-101" and was not being forwarded to my Google voicemail number.

The issue turned out to be in the Call Forwarding menu on  the website, where it gives the choice to forward all calls or busy/unanswered calls, and  I would select both busy & unanswered checkboxes.  My selected settings were not being saved when I went back to verify them (only the busy forwarding was checked).  Disabling, then re-enabling forwarding multiple times from the website did not fix the issue, nor did uninstalling the Google Voice app on the phone.  

The tech support person had to make multiple attempts but was eventually able to force that setting (to forward BOTH busy AND unanswered calls) to be retained.  Now, when I verify that setting now, both checkboxes are checked, and unanswered calls are now correctly forwarded to Google Voice.  I do not know what the person at VZW actually did, only that they had to do something to force that change to be accepted.  

[vzw_customer_support]

Thanks for the feedback and update steve_o. I'm happy your issue has been resolved. Do you have any other concerns?

[rarbel]

I ran into the same problem you described. After hours with customer support, we got it to work--sort of. Here's what we did:

For some unknown reason, we first turned on immediate call forwarding (*71xxx-xxx-xxxx) where the x's represent the number you want the calls forwarded to (your Google Voice number).

Then we turned on conditional forwarding by dialing *71xxx-xxx-xxxx where the x's are your Google Voice number.

This worked, but with one caveat. When calls come in, my phone rings once, then goes silent after the first ring. I can see that the caller continues to wait for the forward for another five rings before the call goes to Google Voice, but the ringer doesn't make noise. 

This paragraph from the Verizon site may also help:

Forward Calls Only When Busy or on Another Line

What if you want to forward calls only when you’re unable to pick up or on another call? Then the No Answer/Busy Transfer feature (also known as Conditional Call Forwarding) may be the solution. Use this feature to send calls to another phone when your phone is busy or when you don’t answer after three or four rings: Dial *71 and the number you want to forward calls to.  You may activate Conditional Call Forwarding through My Verizon as well. While this feature is active, your phone will ring several times when you get an incoming call, giving you the chance to answer. If you’re on the phone or choose not to answer, the call will be forwarded to the destination phone number. You can still make outbound calls with this feature activated. To deactivate the No Answer/Busy Transfer feature, just dial *73. 

[KH-OrnEsh]

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