Does your phone consistently have voicemail notifications that won't go away? The situation might differ depending on the phone, but generally what causes the problem is either the service provider failed to mark the message as read, or there is a bug in the system.
If you are experiencing this issue, I will help you to sort it out. In this article, we will look at different ways of getting rid of these false notifications
- How Do I Get Rid of a Voicemail Notification That Won’t Go Away?
- 1. Restarting Your Phone
- 2. Re-Enable Voicemail Notification
- 3. Clear Phone App Data
- 4. Double-Check Your Voicemail
- 5. Force-Stop Visual Voicemail App
- 6. Uninstall Applications
- 7. Factory Data Reset
- 8. Get In Touch With Your Wireless Provider
- FAQ
- Why doesn't My Voicemail Notification Go Away?
- Final Thoughts
How Do I Get Rid of a Voicemail Notification That Won’t Go Away?
There are several ways to try to solve this problem, and they include:
1. Restarting Your Phone
This quick trick is one of the most common ways to solve a majority of phone issues. Smartphones tend to get slower in performance and start misbehaving if they go for a long time without a reset.
Here's how to restart an Android device:
- Long press the Power button until the shut-off menu appears
- Once your mobile has been switched off, turn it back on
Restarting an iPhone is a bit more complicated than an Android:
On iPhone X and newer models
- Press any volume button and the Side button
- Wait for the power-off slider to appear and drag it once it does.
- Once it has shut off, press the Side key to power it back on
On iPhone 6,7,8 and SE (2nd generation)
- Press and hold the Side button
- Wait for the power-off slider to appear and drag it once it does.
- Once it has shut off, press the Side key to power it back on
On iPhone 5 and earlier models and SE (1st generation)
- Press and hold the top button
- Wait for the power-off slider to appear and drag it once it does.
- Once it has shut off, press the Side key to power it back on
2. Re-Enable Voicemail Notification
Re-enabling voicemail notifications might help. I found this solution simple yet effective because all you have to do is:
- Access the voicemail icon under application manager
- Uncheck and check "Show Notifications"
3. Clear Phone App Data
If you clear data, the process clears application data without causing you to lose any voicemails held by your network provider's server. At times the voicemail application might be buggy, so this simple action can make the notification go away.
How do you clear app data? You can remove any cache.
Here's how you clear app cache on an Android:
- Go to Settings
- Tap Storage
- Under Device Storage, click on Internal Storage
- Click on Cached Data
- A prompt would appear asking you whether you'd would to want clear data
- Tap clear data
Here's how you can erase app cache on iOS:
- Settings > General
- Tap iPhone storage
- Select the program in question
- Click Offload
- Confirm
Afterward, you need to restart your smartphone.
4. Double-Check Your Voicemail
What if you do have a voice message and the notification is genuine? Double-checking to confirm this can save you a lot of time and effort.
Here's how you can double-check your voicemail:
- Swipe down to enter the notification bar
- Tap on any new voice messages that are available
Another neat trick is to leave a new voicemail to yourself. Even though this is a bit unorthodox, calling yourself, leaving a voicemail, listening to it, and erasing it can make the notification disappear. However, do not use visual voicemail to erase the message.
Here's how you can do this:
- Get another cell phone and dial your number
- Enter voicemail and leave a message
5. Force-Stop Visual Voicemail App
The new voice mail notification could be due to a random, isolated software glitch. You should be able to fix it by closing the voicemail app.
This is how you close it on an Android:
- Swipe up from the bottom to enter App preview
- Find the voicemail application preview
- Swipe up to close it
Here's how you can force-stop the program on iOS:
- Swipe down to enter the App Preview
- Swipe up to close the voicemail application preview
6. Uninstall Applications
Phone apps could be the source of all your problems. If you notice the problem after downloading a new app from the Play Store, chances are that it is the cause of the false notifications. It could be a game, weather, or any other type of application, so I recommend force stopping it or uninstalling it to keep your phone from misbehaving.
If the voice message problem is due to an app, but you've recently downloaded many applications, it might be hard to find the culprit unless you enter safe mode.
What is safe mode, you may ask? It's a security feature where your mobile runs without any third-party programs. If you enter safe mode and don't see the annoying voicemail notification, you would know why.
Here's how you can enter safe mode on an Android phone:
- Press and hold the Power button
- Hold Power Off
- Wait for your device to reboot. The Safe-mode prompt would appear
- Confirm
Here's how you can enter safe mode on an iPhone:
- Hold the Power button until the power-off slider appears
- Press and hold the power off prompt until you see the safe- mode prompt
- Select safe mode
- Confirm
Once you figure out which app is the culprit, exit safe mode by restarting your phone. Once your phone reboots remove the app in question by long pressing on the app in the home screen and clicking "remove" or "uninstall".
One of the selling points of iPhones is that Apple is strict about the programs they let into their App Store. On the other hand, you could easily have downloaded a buggy or even malicious app on your Android. This is especially true as you could download APKs off the internet on Android smartphones.
7. Factory Data Reset
If none of the solutions above work, you should reset your handset. This will erase all data and settings. The idea here is to undo any changes that might have brought about the notification, and there is no better way to do this than a factory data reset.
Before you go forward with the reset, you're advised to backup all your files. Both Android and Apple devices have automatic backup features. Check if you've enabled them.
With that out of the way, let's talk about how you can factory reset an iPhone:
- Settings > General
- Tap Reset
- Choose Erase All Content & Settings
- You might be asked for your mobile's pass-code
- Confirm
If you're an Android user, here's how you do a factory reset:
- Settings
- Scroll down and click System
- Click on Reset
- Click Erase all data
Afterward, you would have to set up your device as if it was brand new.
Sometimes the reset settings might be in a different location. In that case, simply search for the word "reset" in the settings search bar and tap on "erase all settings"
8. Get In Touch With Your Wireless Provider
Lastly, if the factory reset does not work, get in touch with your network service provider so that they can troubleshoot the issue from their end.
They may be having issues with their call services. This network issue could be why the voicemail notification icon keeps appearing.
FAQ
I've answered some popular questions below.
Why doesn't My Voicemail Notification Go Away?
Well, this could be due to a number of reasons. For one, the visual voice mail app could have a glitch. Or, a third-party application may have bugged out. It could be due to a minor software issue on your phone's operating system too. The software error could keep notifying you of old notifications, including old voice messages.
Related Reading
- Not Getting Notifications on iPhone? 19 Quick Solutions
- [SOLVED] Why is My iPhone Not Notifying Me When I Receive a Text?
- Voicemail Not Working On iPhone 12? Here's the Real Fix!
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, you found this troubleshooting guide helpful. My tips will help you resolve the new voice message problem no matter what device you use, whether it is a Samsung Galaxy, iPhone, iPod Touch, or OnePlus.
As mentioned, your phone could keep showing the new voicemail messages because your system apps or operating system is buggy. Or else, your cellular provider may not have marked a message you received as read. There is a slight chance that although the voice message is old, it might in fact be new. Open it to check.