Hi there. My system is a Vodavi 3500-01 StarPlus STS. We want to record a new voicemail message which seems like it should be very simple, but unfortunately it is not.

The message we want to change is for when the general voicemail picks up when no one answers the phone (not a specific extension). I believe this should be done through the attendant, but I don't think ours is setup this way.

The phone answers like this, it plays the message we need to change then it says something like "If you have a mailbox, enter your mailbox number now." It will not let someone leave a message after the tone. Our message has to say "you must press 8 to leave a message" for our customers to leave a message for us. Ext. 100's voicemail then picks up, you listen to that voicemail message and THEN you can leave a message.

I have no clue what the VMID is for the message we need to change. I do know that I can listen to the message if I dial 450, but it doesn't give me the option to login and change the message.

We hired someone to fix other problems with our voicemail, but unfortunately, he didn't really have a lot of experience with our system. He recorded the message we are now trying to change. Once he got figured out what he needed it to do, he wrote it down so we could change the message ourselves, but I think my boss might have thrown out the instructions. AND I can't get a hold of the guy.

I'm really sorry if this is confusing, but I really don't know what I am doing. Just want to change a simple voicemail message and I can't figure it out.

If you terminal into the voicemail you should be able to see which mailbox is being used for the general voicemail. However, from your description I'm wondering if the original technician may have changed some of the default system greetings as well..

Don't suppose your system has a modem installed?

It sounds like you have the flash voice mail. You can only rerecord your opening greeting via the administrator mailbox. Your vendor should have provided you with this information. This administrator mailbox is fixed and cannot be changed.

The STS flash voice mail will repeat the general announcement 3x and then transfer the caller to the attendant station.

Caller entered digits are programmed by the installer. Users control if the auto attendant transfers calls to their stations or direct to their mailbox.

Any technician trained in the Vodavi STS should be able to assist you but no one is permitted to post system access codes and passwords in this forum.

You may request private assistance from one of us here who is Vodavi trained. There will probably be a small fee but then you can obtain the information that you need.

Thanks guys for the input. I don't know how to terminal into the voicemail at all or whether we have a modem. I have seen other people connect a laptop to the big grey Vodavi box, but I don't know how to do it and would be afraid of causing more problems.

I do think the original installer set up our voicemail strangely, but I have been told it did work properly once upon a time.

I don't think it's flash voicemail. It doesn't repeat the message at all. The message that our customers get on the main voicemail should be something internal (since it asks about having a mail box on the system) and was in fact what we contacted the new tech to change, but he was uncertain how. Shouldn't the main voicemail allow you to leave a message without having to transfer to another mail box?

Is there any way to find out what the administrator mailbox is without going back to the new technician? I don't think my boss is going to pay someone again for what this other guy already did.

So he wants free technicial support from one of us because he paid someone else? "That's poor form" said Captain Hook to Peter Pan.

While you ponder that, please check your original invoice to figure out which voice mail product you are using. We could go in circles all day otherwise.

Welcome to the board!

You're not getting a "main voice mail", you're getting a greeting. After the greeting plays through, the system automatically throws in the message, "if you have a mailbox on this..."

So, you shouldn't be looking to change a mailbox, but rather a menu. If you're going to do this yourself, you're going to need to get a system manual and read over the voice-mail section.

Please keep in mind that our forums are for end users to ask about features that would generally appear in the user's guide, not the admin system manual. A lot of people get upset when they hear us say this, but look at it this way: We don't really know who you are, or if you actually work for the company with the phone system. You may just be someone that wants to hack someone's voice-mail. None of us wants to be responsible for helping with that.

Hopefully, we can help you, but please understand if we can't.

Shucks, I don't post directions to change system greetings on my own site and I have a lot of stuff there.