Unable to Receive Voicemail Notifications on Moto G6 with Sprint

[js10]

I'm having a pretty extreme problem with a new Moto G6 and a new carrier -- Sprint (I switched both at once). To make a long story short, I'm unable to receive voicemail notifications on the device (I'm able to get the voicemails themselves, but not the notifications, which are important). Everything was fine right out of the box, but the notifications I successfully received promoted Sprint's Visual Voicemail app. Wanting to just give it a look and see if it's something I'm interested in, I tapped on the link and downloaded it. Not liking it, though, I uninstalled it. Ever since, I have been unable to receive notifications.

Sprint's customer service has been of little help and has given me lots of contradictory information. A lot of it, though, leads back to the fact this is a BYOD phone and one that was unlocked.

I find hard to believe that anyone with a BYOD phone is unable to receive voicemail notifications. Does anyone here, in fact, have a BYOD phone with Sprint (not even necessarily the G6 or a Moto at all)? If so, are you able to access the phone's built-in voicemail notification service?

Any information would be appreciated -- I just want to know if they are in any way telling me the truth. Thank you!

 

[B. Diddy]

Go to Settings>Apps, select the Phone app, then Notifications. Is Voicemails checked on?

Also, if you open the Phone app and tap Menu>Settings>Call Settings>Voicemail, is the correct number there for Sprint's voicemail inbox?

 

[js10]

Hi. Thank you for the response. On a side note, first, how come I NEVER receive notifications from this forum when someone has replied to my post?! Otherwise I wouldn't be so late in my own response.

Anyway, speaking of not receiving notifications (this seems to be a theme with me recently), yes, all of the dots are clearly slid to "on" position. Quite frankly, I've been on the phone with Sprint technical support for hours, so all of the easy fixes have already been tried. That's why what I'm kind of trying to figure out here is if it's the carrier (Sprint) or the phone (Moto G6), and how relevant the BYOD/unlocked thing is.

I also think we must be talking about a different version of Android, because I couldn't complete the process you suggested. However, I was able to go to Settings, Voicemail, Advanced Settings, and then Setup, and then yes, my own phone number was listed there. I assume that's what's supposed to be?

 

[B. Diddy]

To get an email notification of a reply, go to your forum General Settings (easiest to find on the main forums desktop website -- click the gear icon at the upper right and then General Settings). Then scroll to Default Thread Subscription Mode, and choose one of the options there.

It's not that we have different versions of Android -- it's that different manufacturers often have differences between their menus, both for the system and for preinstalled apps like the Phone app. I also realized that Sprint does things a little differently from other carriers (like T-Mobile, which is what I have). T-Mobile has a voicemail inbox phone number that the system will call in order to access my inbox; Sprint, however, just uses your own phone number, after which I think you have to press * and then your passcode.

Have you already tested this in Safe Mode, in case something you installed is interfering? https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/indevice_detail/a_id/127893/p/30,6720,10385

 

[js10]

Okay, just one more quick kind of add-on question about this issue -- this question a bit more general. Right now what Sprint is telling me is that once I download their Visual Voicemail app, it "builds a bridge" (he actually used those words) between my phone and that app/service. This "bridge" is apparently so strong that even a factory reset (which was one of the first things I tried) doesn't undo it. In other words, once I download it, it's essentially married to my phone forever!

Does this sound at all right to you? I mean, I thought that a factory reset was just that -- a reset back to the phone's state as it left the factory. Is that not, in fact, the case? Are there aspects of what you do with a phone and its software that even a factory reset doesn't undo?

Any clarification would be appreciated. It certainly surprised me!

 

[B. Diddy]

Hmm, I've never heard that before. Let me ask one of our other Ambassadors who's on Sprint.

 

[STARGATE]

Okay, just one more quick kind of add-on question about this issue -- this question a bit more general. Right now what Sprint is telling me is that once I download their Visual Voicemail app, it "builds a bridge" (he actually used those words) between my phone and that app/service. This "bridge" is apparently so strong that even a factory reset (which was one of the first things I tried) doesn't undo it. In other words, once I download it, it's essentially married to my phone forever!

Does this sound at all right to you? I mean, I thought that a factory reset was just that -- a reset back to the phone's state as it left the factory. Is that not, in fact, the case? Are there aspects of what you do with a phone and its software that even a factory reset doesn't undo?

Any clarification would be appreciated. It certainly surprised me!

Sprint's voicemail (visual voicemail) comes pre installed on Sprint phones, you can't uninstall it, but you can uninstall the updates and then disable it.
That car probably didn't know what to say or how to explain it.

 

[js10]

Sprint's voicemail (visual voicemail) comes pre installed on Sprint phones, you can't uninstall it, but you can uninstall the updates and then disable it.

Except that this isn't really a "Sprint phone" -- it was a BYOD unlocked phone. I can assure you that it didn't come with the phone because the only way I even found out about the app is from Sprint promoting it (providing the Google Play link) in the regular/default voicemail notifications. In other words, if it really came installed in the phone, Sprint would never have had to push it.

Also, by the way, since my last post, I discovered this little nugget. From the description of the app on its own Google Play page:

"If Sprint Visual Voicemail doesn't work for you, we recommend forwarding all voicemails before you delete the app."

Which clearly indicates that it CAN be deleted and that it doesn't HAVE to be used with this phone.

 

[kbz1960]

Okay, just one more quick kind of add-on question about this issue -- this question a bit more general. Right now what Sprint is telling me is that once I download their Visual Voicemail app, it "builds a bridge" (he actually used those words) between my phone and that app/service. This "bridge" is apparently so strong that even a factory reset (which was one of the first things I tried) doesn't undo it. In other words, once I download it, it's essentially married to my phone forever!

Does this sound at all right to you? I mean, I thought that a factory reset was just that -- a reset back to the phone's state as it left the factory. Is that not, in fact, the case? Are there aspects of what you do with a phone and its software that even a factory reset doesn't undo?

Any clarification would be appreciated. It certainly surprised me!

I think he means it's not in your phone but your account with Sprint which, I don't know, but would think would just be setting on their end unless they require all users on their network to use visual voicemail.

I'm on Verizon with an unlocked one and I don't use visual voicemail, which you have to pay more for on Verizon and I'm not even sure if it works on unlocked phones. I do have an issue sometimes where it tells me that my password is invalid but will take it another time.

Edit: some Verizon apps were pushed to my phone like my Verizon etc.

 

[js10]

Well, Sprint is trying to tell me that they DO require the use of a visual voicemail app (even if not their own) and that the phone can't receive such notifications the old-fashioned way -- just through the phone itself (again, like flip phones used to). And, yes, this is for an unlocked phone as well.

 

[kbz1960]

Isn't visual voice mail an additional charge?