Finally turned off visual voicemail on my verizon G4

[Douglas_B]

I've had my G4 since release and have been been loving it, but Verizon's visual voicemail feature has been the one thorn in my side these past three months. Every time I get a voicemail it prompted me to sign up for the service, which I had no interest in. I was finally able to turn the feature off today (after a few headaches) and while you can't remove the app or even disable it from the menu, at least it's not pestering me any more.

Here's the convoluted steps to get rid of it:
1) Turn on mobile data if you have it off
2) Run the voicemail program and accept the conditions
3) Now go into the menu (three dots in the upper right hand corner) and select "end premium trial"
4) When prompted to switch to "basic visual voicemail" choose yes
5) Now log onto your myverizon account from the web
6) In the search bar at the top type "block services" and choose the option for "Block services - My Verizon"
7) Click the drop down menu for "Purchases" and click the box for "block visual voice mail" (incidentally, you can't block both visual voice mail and premium visual voice mail at the same time, however, you've already opted out of the premium service so it's fine).
8) Re run the voicemail app and you should be good to go

It may not be a big deal to many people but I searched everywhere for a way to get rid of VVM and hopefully my results can help others in the same boat.

 

[belodion]

This certainly sounds like it may be useful to others. Perhaps sswitzer will add it to his encyclopaedic compilation of sticky links if he happens to pass by.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Aflaaaak]

I activated it by accident when I first got the phone (my first smartphone and all), and called Verizon, who deactivated it with no hassle. Spent a few minutes with the rep, with an offhand comment on how to watch my data usage and not go over my 500MB limit (left over from my old flip phone allotment plan), and she comped my an additional 500MB of data/month for a year .

 

[Douglas_B]

I activated it by accident when I first got the phone (my first smartphone and all), and called Verizon, who deactivated it with no hassle. Spent a few minutes with the rep, with an offhand comment on how to watch my data usage and not go over my 500MB limit (left over from my old flip phone allotment plan), and she comped my an additional 500MB of data/month for a year .

My first smartphone as well and I couldn't have made a better choice. I was able to adjust pretty quickly and remove all of the unneeded applications, it was just the voice mail that kept giving me notifications. I guess its still a holdover from my flip phone days but I prefer the old school dial-in option.

 

[Aflaaaak]

My first smartphone as well and I couldn't have made a better choice. I was able to adjust pretty quickly and remove all of the unneeded applications, it was just the voice mail that kept giving me notifications. I guess its still a holdover from my flip phone days but I prefer the old school dial-in option.

Thought about keeping Visual Voicemail after I turned it off, but like you, figured I'd never use it and prefer hearing my voicemail old school as well .

 

[DLCPhototography]

Another option is to use your Google Voice Number (or get one if you don't), and allow Google Voice to act as a conduit for your Voice Mail. One options is to transcribe your Voice Mails, send it to you via text or email, etc.

This is what I'm doing, and I really prefer reading the messages, with the option of listening if the transcription doesn't give me what I need.

FWIW.

 

[lostchild]

For me, Visual Voicemail is a must have. I don't think everyone understands it because of the word "Visual" in the name. Most people new to smartphone thinks that because it is Visual, the voice is transcribed into Text. Yes it could do that but it is usually additional charge for that. The basic version of Visual Voicemail is just letting you see (visualize) all the voicemails (who called, what time, length of message) on a menu. Then you just click and listen to any or none of them instantly without having to dial voicemail, listen to the menu options, and then listen to the messages in order.

 

[Crashdamage]

+1 for lostchild. Gotta have visual voicemail. So easy to use and does so much more than straight voicemail. No dialing in. It's saved right on my phone so I can playback all or - and this is a big plus to me - any part of a voicemail with a tap. Text message and/or email transcripts make it easy to see phone numbers, addresses, etc instead playing the message over and over, straining to hear that number or address or whatever. If you don't use visual voicemail you're missing out on one of the best features of a smartphone.

 

[Douglas_B]

For me, Visual Voicemail is a must have. I don't think everyone understands it because of the word "Visual" in the name. Most people new to smartphone thinks that because it is Visual, the voice is transcribed into Text. Yes it could do that but it is usually additional charge for that. The basic version of Visual Voicemail is just letting you see (visualize) all the voicemails (who called, what time, length of message) on a menu. Then you just click and listen to any or none of them instantly without having to dial voicemail, listen to the menu options, and then listen to the messages in order.

I'd like to use it but I don't use data on my phone, only wifi, which unfortunately can't be used with visual voicemail (basic or premium).

 

[dungoyle]

+1 for lostchild. Gotta have visual voicemail. So easy to use and does so much more than straight voicemail. No dialing in. It's saved right on my phone so I can playback all or - and this is a big plus to me - any part of a voicemail with a tap. Text message and/or email transcripts make it easy to see phone numbers, addresses, etc instead playing the message over and over, straining to hear that number or address or whatever. If you don't use visual voicemail you're missing out on one of the best features of a smartphone.

Another +1. The convenience of not having to listen to voice prompts and memorize the functions of the buttons is a blessing, and the "visual" part (to me) refers to the interaction with the recorded message itself: you select play or pause to listen to the message, and drag the progress bar as fast forward and rewind. It couldn't be simpler, IMO.

 

[Crashdamage]

I'd like to use it but I don't use data on my phone, only wifi, which unfortunately can't be used with visual voicemail (basic or premium).

Google Voice or Google Voice Lite visual voicemail will work with WiFi, but that doesn't help if you're out about with no WiFi hookup.

Do yourself a huge favor and get at least a minimal mobile data plan for your phone. A smartphone with no data is like having a nice car with no gas.

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

 

[RedOctobyr]

Verizon won't even let you get a smartphone without a data plan. They have a lot of crappy policies. But I kind of think this one makes sense (though allowing exceptions would be nice).

I had basically an iPod Touch for a while. Not having a data connection everywhere I went was quite limiting, driven home by the change when I got my GS3.

It does seem like you'd give up much of the benefits of a smartphone if you don't have data.

And +1 to liking visual voicemail. If you haven't tried it, give it a shot. You can listen to a message right now, no waiting for menus, typing your PIN, etc. And you don't have to listen to your messages in order.

 

[greydarrah]

Is the basic (whatever that means) visual voice mail free and the premium version an extra charge, or do you pay a fee for both, the premium version just costed more?

 

[RedOctobyr]

Basic is free.

 

[Douglas_B]

Verizon won't even let you get a smartphone without a data plan.

This is true, but I'm on a family plan and we just pay for our own data. I opted to add none for myself since I always have wifi at work, home, and when about in Boston for the most part - so my bill is only $15 a month. The good news is if I do run into a situation where I need a little mobile data, I can turn it on and syphon a few megabytes from a family member then toss them a couple extra bucks at the end of the month. The money I save on the plan will allow me to upgrade/switch phones if need be, or replace my aging laptop at some point.

 

[iresq]

Google Voice recently updated their recognition system. It went from entertaining to very accurate.

G4

 

[Crashdamage]

I'm gonna miss the entertainment value. Sometimes it could make my day.

Android since v1.0. Linux since 2001.

 

[dungoyle]

Is the basic (whatever that means) visual voice mail free and the premium version an extra charge, or do you pay a fee for both, the premium version just costed more?

RedOctobyr already answered, but with my VZW Droid Turbo, Basic VVM was free, and "premium" (or whatever they called it) cost extra. Basic gets the job done just fine. Sprint has offered free VVM for a very long time. Other carriers: I don't know. Once you use VVM it's the equivalent of using your first DVR after a week: you'll wonder where it's been your whole life ;-)

 

[greydarrah]

RedOctobyr already answered, but with my VZW Droid Turbo, Basic VVM was free, and "premium" (or whatever they called it) cost extra. Basic gets the job done just fine. Sprint has offered free VVM for a very long time. Other carriers: I don't know. Once you use VVM it's the equivalent of using your first DVR after a week: you'll wonder where it's been your whole life ;-)

Thanks, I'm going to give it a try! I was scared to click on the Accept message because I thought they charged for using it in any form.

 

[lostchild]

This is true, but I'm on a family plan and we just pay for our own data. I opted to add none for myself since I always have wifi at work, home, and when about in Boston for the most part - so my bill is only $15 a month. The good news is if I do run into a situation where I need a little mobile data, I can turn it on and syphon a few megabytes from a family member then toss them a couple extra bucks at the end of the month. The money I save on the plan will allow me to upgrade/switch phones if need be, or replace my aging laptop at some point.

I see. If you want Visual Voicemail on WiFi, you could try HulloMail or YouMail apps. I believe they both will let you do it on WiFi only. I have HulloMail because I don't like to support carrier app so I don't use the AT&T Visual Voicemail.