How to Call Directly to Someone’s Voicemail

Whatever situation you’re in, there are times we find it necessary to avoid making certain important calls. Instead, you may prefer leaving a voicemail. However, if you simply call the person’s phone number, they might pick up and not give you the chance to leave a voicemail.

So, can you call someone’s voicemail directly?

We’ve discovered multiple methods to bypass those troublesome phone conversations, allowing you to simply leave a voicemail and carry on with your day.

Let’s take a look at how to call directly to someone’s voicemail.

Can I Call Someone and Go Straight to Voicemail?

Some wireless carriers give their subscribers the option to send voicemail directly without ringing the other party’s line. This generally is only available if both parties are on the same carrier, but when it’s available it’s super easy.

AT&T

To send a voicemail directly to another AT&T subscriber:

1. Enter your voicemail box by holding the ‘1’ key and press 2.
2. Enter the 10-digit phone number you want to send your message to.
3. Record your message and press the # sign. (To replay your message before you send it, press 1).
4. If you want to select a special delivery option, press 1. Special delivery options are:
   • 2 for Urgent.
   • 3 for Private.
5. Press the # sign to send your message.

Verizon

To send a voicemail directly to another Verizon subscriber:

1. Call your voicemail access number.
2. Press 2 to send a message.
3. Follow the instructions as prompted. You’ll either record the message and then enter the phone number or the other way around.
4. Set your delivery options: 1 for private, 2 for urgent, 3 to request confirmation, or 4 for future delivery.
5. Press # to send the message.

T-Mobile

To send a voicemail directly to another T-Mobile subscriber:

1. Call 1-805-637-7243.
2. Log into your voicemail account.
3. Select the option to send a message and follow the prompts.

Sprint

To send a voicemail directly to another Sprint subscriber:

1. Call your own voicemail number and sign in.
2. Select the option to send a message and follow the prompts.

Other Ways to Go Directly to Voicemail

If you aren’t on the same network as the person you want to call, the next-best option is to use an app.

There are two popular apps to perform this service: Slydial and WhatCall. While Slydial used to be the market leader, it’s since been flooded with poor reviews due to the service only working sometimes. WhatCall continued to work for a time, but as of February 2021, also appears to be having major issues and is only working sporadically.

Slydial

Slydial is an app that is available for both iOS and Android. Free accounts are available but they require you to listen to an ad before making your call.

There are two tiers of paid accounts, giving you ad-free access, the ability to “Slydial” multiple people simultaneously, and other premium features. For most people, the free version is perfectly adequate.

Here’s how to use the service:

1. Download and install Slydial onto your phone.
2. Sign up for an account and log into the app.
3. Dial 267-SLYDIAL from your phone app on your cell phone to connect to the service.
4. When prompted, enter the cell number you are trying to reach.
5. Leave your message.

Slydial only works if you’re calling a mobile phone. Even if the landline you are trying to call has digital voicemail, the app will not work. Otherwise, the process automatically bypasses the live line and goes straight to voicemail.

WhatCall

WhatCall is also available for Android (sideload only) and iOS. The app similarly directs a phone call to another person’s voicemail without causing their phone to ring.

However, as of February 2021, reviewers share the same concern as was expressed towards Slydial — it only works sometimes. WhatCall imports all of your contacts, so all you have to do is open the app and tap a contact. From there, you will be directly connected with their voicemail. WhatCall is a cell-only app, costing $0.99 on the iOS app store.

Built-In Tools

Forget about messing around with apps. There’s a powerful voicemail handling system built into nearly every big carrier today — and that system almost always includes a system for recording a voice message and sending it directly without ringing the target phone. I will walk you through the process of doing this on Straight Talk (since that happens to be my carrier) but most carriers will have similar systems.

Follow these steps to use this method:

1. Dial the voicemail access number; for Straight Talk, that is *86.
2. Enter the PIN code that grants access to your voicemail.
3. To send a message press 2.
4. Enter the destination number and the #.
5. Record the message.
6. Press # to send the message.

How To Send a Call Directly To Voicemail

What if you’re on the other side of things?

Your phone rings, you see who’s calling, and wish you could send them straight to your customized voicemail message.

This can easily be accomplished by setting your phone to airplane mode or turning on Do Not Disturb. Additionally, you can reject any incoming calls, sending them straight to voicemail.

In order to automatically direct a specific caller to your voicemail without your phone ringing, you’ll have to use a different method depending on which phone you’re using.

Android

(Note: This only works on some Android builds.)

1. Navigate to your call list and add the number you want to avoid as a contact.
2. Navigate to Contacts and select the contact you just added.
3. Inside the individual contact, tap the three-dot menu icon.
4. Select Route to voicemail.

Another alternative for Android users who don’t have the option for ‘Route to Voicemail’ in their settings can use the Do Not Disturb function. Although this prevents anyone from calling, you can add exceptions.

Assuming you only care to hear from a handful of people, open your phone’s Settings, and tap on Notifications. From here, tap on Do Not Disturb and toggle it on. Now, you can tap Allow Exceptions and add the contacts you’d like to get calls from.

iPhone

Unfortunately, you cannot currently send individual calls to voicemail on an iPhone without using a non-native app.

If you want to avoid marketing calls, you can just block them instead. This won’t stop that first call, but it will stop subsequent calls.

1. Open the phone app and navigate to Recents
2. Find the telemarketer call.
3. Select the information icon on the right, then scroll down and tap Block this Caller.
4. Calls from that number will be blocked in the future.

Calls will still technically be delivered to your phone, but your phone will not alert you to the call. This is a handset block and not a network block. You can put a network block on persistent telemarketers, but you need to contact your network provider for that. To view voicemails from blocked calls, go to Voicemail, then scroll all the way to the bottom and tap “Blocked Messages.”

Final Thoughts

By following the methods provided above, you can easily send messages directly to someone’s voicemail and redirect incoming calls to your voicemail.

Do you know of any other ways to send a call directly to voicemail? Do you know how to selectively send a call to voicemail on an iPhone? Tell us about it below if you do!