How to turn off voicemail on any UK network

Voicemail is useful to some people and a constant annoyance to others. If you would rather missed calls simply stop ringing rather than divert to an answerphone — or you are tired of the voicemail notification, the storage warnings, or callers being charged to leave messages — you can turn voicemail off. How you do it depends on your network and, to a degree, your handset, because voicemail is a network service that your phone interacts with rather than something stored on the phone alone. This guide gives you the practical, network-by-network methods for EE, O2, Vodafone, Three and giffgaff, plus the handset-side settings on iPhone and Android, and explains the difference between fully disabling voicemail and just stopping calls from diverting to it.

#First, decide what you actually want to turn off

Before changing any settings, it helps to be clear about which of two different things you want, because they are turned off in different ways. The first is the voicemail service itself — the mailbox on your network that stores messages. Fully removing this is usually done by the network (via the app, your online account, or customer services), and once removed, callers can no longer leave you a message at all. The second is the diversion to voicemail — the rule that sends an unanswered, rejected or unreachable call to that mailbox. You can switch this off from your handset using call-divert cancel codes, so that calls ring out or show as missed instead of being answered by voicemail, even though the mailbox technically still exists. For most people who are simply annoyed by voicemail, turning off the diversions is the quickest fix and is fully reversible. If you want callers to never even have the option, ask your network to deactivate the mailbox.

#The universal method: cancel call diverts

Across UK networks, voicemail is reached because your phone is set to divert calls to it in three situations: when you are busy, when there is no answer, and when you are unreachable (off or no signal). Cancelling those diverts is the most consistent way to stop calls going to voicemail, and it uses standard GSM codes you type into the dialler like a phone number and press call. The single most useful one is the 'cancel all diverts' code:

For most people, dialling ##002# and pressing call clears every diversion at once, so calls no longer reach voicemail. If you would rather keep one divert (say, you still want 'unreachable' to go somewhere) you can use the more specific codes instead. These are network-level codes, so they work regardless of handset, and you can always re-enable voicemail later by asking your network or re-setting the divert. Bear in mind that if the network re-provisions voicemail (for example after a SIM swap or a plan change) the no-answer divert can quietly come back, so it is worth re-testing occasionally.

#Turn off voicemail on EE

On EE (including the former Orange and T-Mobile bases), the quickest route is to cancel the diverts with ##002# and call, which stops calls reaching the EE voicemail (1571) mailbox. To remove the voicemail service more fully, use the EE app or your online account, or call EE customer services from your handset and ask them to deactivate voicemail on your line. If you only want to stop the constant 'you have voicemail' nuisance but keep the mailbox, clearing the no-answer divert with #61# is usually enough. EE pay-as-you-go and pay-monthly work the same way for these codes. If your goal is the opposite — accessing or setting voicemail up rather than removing it — our EE voicemail number guide covers calling, setup and PINs in detail.

#Turn off voicemail on O2

On O2, the same divert-cancel approach applies: dial ##002# and call to clear all diverts, or #61# to stop just the no-answer route to voicemail. To switch the mailbox off properly, use My O2 (the app or website) under your call settings, or contact O2 and ask them to disable voicemail. O2 voicemail is reached on 901, and the network sometimes re-applies the no-answer divert after account changes, so re-test if voicemail reappears. O2 pay-as-you-go customers use the same codes. If you actually want to manage rather than remove O2 voicemail — setting it up, changing the PIN, or turning it off temporarily — our O2 voicemail number guide walks through every option.

#Turn off voicemail on Vodafone

Vodafone voicemail (reached on 121) can likewise be bypassed by cancelling diverts with ##002# and call, or selectively with #61#, #62# and #67#. For full removal, use the My Vodafone app or website, or ring Vodafone customer services and ask them to deactivate the voicemail service on your number. As with the other networks, a SIM change or plan update can reinstate the no-answer divert, so check afterwards by leaving your own phone unanswered. Our Vodafone voicemail number guide covers the reverse — accessing, setting up and managing the mailbox — if that is what you actually need.

#Turn off voicemail on Three and giffgaff

On Three, voicemail is reached on 123, and the same GSM divert codes apply — ##002# to clear all diverts, or the specific #61#/#62#/#67# codes — while full deactivation is handled through the Three app, your online account or customer services. giffgaff keeps things simple: you can turn voicemail on or off from within the giffgaff app or your online giffgaff account under your number settings, and the divert codes also work from the handset. Other smaller networks and MVNOs (Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Lebara, Lyca and so on) generally follow the same pattern — try ##002# first, then look in their app or call their support to remove the mailbox itself. Because these providers ride on the big networks' infrastructure, the standard codes usually behave identically.

#Turn off voicemail on iPhone

iPhone is the source of a lot of confusion here, because there is no single 'turn off voicemail' switch in iOS — voicemail is provided by your mobile network, and the iPhone's Phone app simply gives you a Voicemail tab to access it (Visual Voicemail, where supported). So on iPhone you turn voicemail off by stopping the network diverts and, if you want, asking your network to remove the mailbox. Practically, dial ##002# and press call to clear the diversions that send unanswered calls to voicemail. You can also go to Settings → Phone → Call Forwarding and make sure it is off, though on many UK networks the voicemail divert is conditional (no-answer/busy) and is best cleared with the GSM codes above rather than the simple Call Forwarding toggle, which only governs 'forward all calls'.

Two extra iPhone notes. First, if you have Visual Voicemail set up and you want a clean slate, you can clear stored messages from the Voicemail tab, but that does not disable the service — only the network can do that. Second, after a carrier settings update, an iOS update or a SIM swap, the no-answer divert can return, so if voicemail starts intercepting calls again, simply re-dial ##002#. If you find calls from unknown numbers keep slipping to voicemail and you are trying to screen them instead, you might prefer iOS's 'Silence Unknown Callers' (Settings → Phone), which sends unknown numbers to voicemail deliberately — turning that off keeps unknown calls ringing through. For working out who those unknown callers were, our who called me guide explains how to check a number quickly.

#Turn off voicemail on Android

Android handsets (Samsung, Google Pixel, and others) also rely on the network for voicemail, but the Phone app gives you a little more direct control than iOS. Open the Phone app, tap the menu (three dots) → Settings → Voicemail, and you will find options that vary by manufacturer: you can often change or clear the voicemail number, turn off Visual Voicemail, and adjust notifications. Clearing or blanking the voicemail number can stop the phone from routing you to a mailbox in some setups, but the most reliable result still comes from cancelling the network diverts with ##002# and call, exactly as on any other handset. On Samsung devices the path is typically Phone → Settings → Voicemail; on Pixel it is Phone → Settings → Voicemail as well, with a toggle for the service.

As with iPhone, remember that turning off Visual Voicemail or clearing the voicemail number on the handset does not necessarily deactivate the mailbox on the network — callers may still be able to leave messages you simply do not see. For a complete switch-off, combine the handset settings with the GSM divert-cancel codes, and if you want the mailbox gone entirely, ask your network to remove it. If your real frustration is calls from unknown numbers diverting to voicemail, check whether you have a 'send unknown callers to voicemail' or spam-filtering option enabled in the Phone app, since turning that off keeps legitimate unknown calls ringing through to you. Our guide to UK mobile networks by 07 prefix can help you recognise which network an unknown mobile belongs to while you are at it.

#What changes once voicemail is off

It is worth knowing what to expect once voicemail is disabled, so nothing catches you out. The main change is simple: when you do not answer a call (or your phone is off or out of signal), the call will ring out and then end, or show as a missed call, rather than being picked up by an answerphone. Callers will not be able to leave a spoken message, so anyone who needs you will have to call back or contact you another way — by text, email or messaging app. For many people that is exactly the point: missed calls show up clearly in the call log, and there is no mailbox to check, no PIN to remember and no notification badge nagging at you. If you rely on people being able to leave messages (for work, for a business line, or for elderly relatives who prefer to talk), weigh that up before switching it off completely; stopping the diverts is easily reversed if you change your mind.

A few practical knock-on effects are worth flagging. With voicemail off, you will no longer be charged for, or bothered by, voicemail-retrieval notifications, and callers will not incur any cost to leave a message. You may also notice that calls ring for longer before ending, since there is no mailbox cutting them off at the no-answer point. If you share the number for two-factor or delivery notifications, nothing changes there — those are texts, not voicemails. And if you ever want voicemail back, you simply re-enable it through your network's app or by calling customer services, and re-set your greeting and PIN. Because the mailbox and its settings are held by the network, turning the service off and on again does not usually wipe your number or affect anything else about your plan.

#Why people turn voicemail off — and when to keep it

It is worth taking a moment on the 'should I?' question, because turning voicemail off is easy to reverse but worth doing deliberately. People disable voicemail for a handful of recurring reasons. The most common is nuisance: the constant notification badge, the storage-full warnings, and the messages that turn out to be silent or junk. A second is screening: some people would rather see a clean list of missed calls and decide for themselves whom to call back, without an answerphone collecting recorded sales pitches and scam messages on their behalf. A third is cost and clutter on a business line, where an overflowing mailbox of half-finished messages is less useful than a tidy call log plus a text auto-reply. And a fourth is simply preference: in an era of texts, WhatsApp and email, plenty of people never check voicemail anyway, so the feature is pure overhead. If any of those describe you, turning voicemail off — or at least cancelling the diverts so calls ring out — is a sensible bit of digital housekeeping.

There are, equally, good reasons to keep voicemail. If you run a business, miss calls while driving or working, or are the contact point for elderly relatives, schools or services, a voicemail box means an important caller can still leave a message rather than simply giving up. Some people compromise: they keep the mailbox active but cancel the no-answer divert so that calls ring through for longer and only the truly unreachable ones (phone off, no signal) reach voicemail, which cuts the junk while preserving a safety net. Others keep voicemail but record a greeting that tells callers they are better off texting, nudging people toward a channel they actually monitor. The point is that 'off' and 'on' are not the only options — the divert codes let you tune exactly which situations send a caller to voicemail, so you can shape the behaviour to your life rather than accepting the default. And because none of this touches your number or plan, you can experiment freely and change your mind at any time.

#Troubleshooting: voicemail won't turn off

If you have tried the steps above and voicemail is still intercepting calls, work through these likely causes in order. First, re-check the divert codes. Dial *#61# and press call to see whether a 'no answer' divert is still active and where it points; if it is, #61# should clear it, and ##002# clears everything. A single lingering conditional divert is the most common reason calls still reach voicemail after you thought you had turned it off. Second, consider whether the network re-provisioned it. SIM swaps, plan changes, upgrades and even some carrier-settings updates can silently reinstate the no-answer divert; if voicemail reappeared around the time of a change like that, simply re-run ##002#. Third, check for plan restrictions. Some business or wholesale plans block customer-set diverts, so the codes return an error — in that case the only route is the network's app or customer services. Fourth, look at handset-level features such as iOS 'Silence Unknown Callers' or Android spam filtering, which deliberately send certain calls to voicemail; turning those off keeps the affected calls ringing through.

If none of that works, the issue is almost certainly on the network side, and the fix is a quick call to your provider. Ask them explicitly to 'deactivate voicemail' or 'remove the voicemail divert' on your line, rather than just resetting your PIN, since support staff sometimes assume you want to keep the mailbox. Make a note of the date you asked, and re-test by ringing your phone from another line and leaving it unanswered. It is also worth being aware that turning voicemail fully off can take a short while to propagate across the network, so if your test still hits voicemail immediately afterwards, wait an hour and try again before assuming it failed. Finally, if your underlying frustration is really about *who* keeps calling and filling your voicemail — rather than voicemail itself — it may be more effective to identify and block the culprits than to remove voicemail entirely; you can look up the numbers that have been bothering you and block the repeat offenders, keeping voicemail for the calls you actually want.

One last reassurance for anyone hesitating: nothing you do here is permanent or risky. Cancelling diverts with ##002#, toggling handset voicemail settings, or asking your network to switch the mailbox off can all be undone in minutes, and none of it affects your phone number, your plan, your texts or your data. If you turn voicemail off and find you miss having it, a quick call to your network (or a re-set divert) brings it straight back, and you simply record a fresh greeting and PIN. Because of that, the sensible approach is to just try it: cancel the diverts, live with the cleaner 'missed call' behaviour for a week or two, and see whether you prefer it. Most people who were irritated by voicemail find they never look back; the few who relied on it more than they realised can restore it instantly. Either way, you end up with your phone behaving the way you actually want, which is the whole aim.

#Bottom line

Voicemail is a network service, so the most reliable way to turn it off is to cancel the call diverts that feed it — dial ##002# and press call to clear them all — and, for a full removal, ask your network (EE, O2, Vodafone, Three or giffgaff) via their app or customer services to deactivate the mailbox. On iPhone and Android there is no universal off switch, but stopping the diverts achieves the same practical result: unanswered calls ring out or show as missed instead of going to an answerphone. If you only want to manage voicemail rather than remove it, see our network voicemail guides such as O2 and Vodafone, and use who called me to identify the callers you missed.