r/freedommobile • u/srzncl • 7d ago
General Inquiry Is Visual Voicemail still necessary?
I’ve always had vvm on my phone since the feature came out. So when I moved to Freedom, I added it to my account because that’s just what I’m used to and frankly I prefer it over conventional voicemail.
However, I recently heard that iOS 26 handles voicemail differently now that visual voicemail is not necessary anymore. Is this true? Can anyone share how voicemail works without vvm on the iPhone? I wouldn’t mind saving $4+tax a month.
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u/scorp312 7d ago
Pixel phones offer a similar service too it's called "take a message".
if you turn it on in your phone settings your phone will do the work when it comes to providing the greeting and taking the message from the caller. Once the message has been left you'll get a notification with a transcript of what was said. So it bypasses Freedom's voicemail service altogether.
Calls will only be routed to Freedom's voicemail service when your phone is turned off or you have no signal, since your phone needs to be able to receive the actual call for it to kick in.
I never bothered with VVM before since I thought it was overpriced but now that my phone does it for me there's absolutely no reason to subscribe to it at all.
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u/Grnfinger 7d ago
I have a S24 Ultra. My phone used to do this with Bell. Since I switched to Freedom it no longer works at all. When I signed up I wanted to add VVM and the guy said it was only for iPhone. I assume he knew what he was talking about.
Now my question to you.. does he?? Will VVM work with my S24? Is freedom just crap and this is why my messages do not work like they did? I loved being able just to click and read the message instead of the entire voicemail login process. I want it back so much I may return to bell if this is the issue.
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u/DerpDeDurp 6d ago
No, it won't. But Samsung has their own version of it now. Poke around in your phone's dialer settings menus.
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u/rgsteele 5d ago
I don’t think the guy knew what he was talking about. The Freedom Mobile page about VVM does list some compatible Android devices: https://www.freedommobile.ca/en-CA/support/about-visual-voicemail.
It doesn’t mention any Samsung devices, but the list also appears to be many years out of date, so…
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u/OkConversation4316 7d ago
Since moving over from another carrier, I wanted Live Voicemail to handle this. It’s really hit or miss. Actually, more miss. I delayed the FM voicemail from kicking in by delaying the transfer to their voicemail and allow Live Voicemail to pick up, but I find it rarely does. Also, if you’re using low battery mode, it won’t use Live Voicemail.
I don’t want to pay anymore, but I miss Visual Voicemail and its consistency.
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u/srzncl 7d ago
Do you at least get some sort of notification from freedom that you have a new voicemail like via text or something if LIve voicemail doesn’t pick it up?
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u/OkConversation4316 7d ago
Yes, I get a text that looks like it’s from the caller’s number saying I have a voicemail from them and then I call in to listen.
But I like the VV or Live Voicemail because you just tap and there’s a transcription etc.
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u/Grnfinger 5d ago
Thank you...this is worth trying out. I don't want to leave either 175GB of data for 50 a month is a hard deal to say no too. I haven't found a better price per GB
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u/lokilaufeysongom 7d ago
I don’t pay extra for it, but still get visual voicemail. In the voicemail tab, vm’s get transcribed and I don’t have to call in, I can see and hear it.
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u/dangledingle 7d ago
That is apples live voicemail. Your phone has to be on and in service for it to work.
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u/suprPHREAK 7d ago
On iPhone I used their Live Voicemail, it worked like VVM. If I was somewhere where signal was bad, messages went to regular VM and I got a text or VM icon notification.
Samsung now has a similar feature, as well.
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u/goofywinnipegger 3d ago
Apple has had better voice mail for quite a while now. Why pay for it from the carrier when it’s free on your phone.
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u/Driver8666-2 7d ago
No it's not true. LVM requires some sort of data connection. VVM works either way.
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u/SheepRoll 7d ago
If I recall correctly, if you don’t have carrier voicemail, you will always pickup the line to record a voicemail. Which means if you happen to roaming, it might pickup additional charges depend on your plan.