There are days in which you may be not in a chatty mood or perhaps calling people is something that makes you anxious. Whatever the reason is, sometimes you would simply like to go straight to voicemail without calling someone else’s phone.
This is completely normal and understandable. Each of us has had to make, at least once in our life, a phone call that we didn’t want to make. After dialing the number, the phone starts ringing and a slight anxiety takes over us… our hands start to sweat, the words we wanted to say fade from our head and we begin to pray that the person we called won’t answer and the voicemail will pick up instead.
How do you leave a voice message to someone without calling them?
Fortunately, there are solutions for this problem and you won’t have to speak directly to the person you need to call if you don’t want to. In addition to the good old way of praying that the person you are calling decides not to answer, or that of resorting to the expedient of calling at a time when you can reasonably assume that the person you called will not answer (for example, calling them in working hours, or when you know he’s working out at the gym), there are other easier and safer ways to leave a voicemail without calling.
There are two main methods we can use to avoid talking directly to someone while still leaving a voice message:
- Use an app that allows you to leave a voicemail without calling, such as Slydial or WhatCall
- Send a message directly via service provider
Use a ringless voicemail messaging app like Slydial or WhatCall
Slydial is undoubtedly the best known option among the apps, for those who just want to leave a message and avoid talking to the person who called.
It must be said that although Slydial is far more popular than the WhatCall app, it certainly does not enjoy an exceptional reputation.
In fact, at the time of writing this article, Slydial’s average score on the iOS App Store is 2 out of 5, while that on Google Play for Android phones is 2.8 out of 5.
We also remind you that Slydial offers a free and a paid version. Both allow you to leave a voicemail without calling, but if you use the free version you will need to hear an announcement before you can make the call.
How Slydial works is really simple.
- Once the app has been downloaded and installed, you will need to create an account and log in
- After these initial steps, dial 267-SLYDIAL will be enough to connect to the service
- At that point you will simply have to type in the phone number you wish to reach and record your voice message
It is important to take into account that Slydial does not allow calling any number, in fact the app only works with mobile phones. You will therefore not be able to use it to call landlines, prepaid mobile phones or VoIP numbers.
The other option available among the apps is WhatCall, whose operation is almost identical to that of Slydial. The main difference between the two apps is that WhatCall does not have a free version, however it has a very reasonable cost (starting from $ 0.99 for the 5 credits pack).
WhatCall is available for iOS and Android (only sideload), in both cases it enjoys a better score than Slydial (4.3 / 5 in the App Store).
Send voicemail directly through your service provider
Another option to avoid having to speak directly on the phone and be able to leave a message in the voicemail instead is to use your service provider. However, it must be borne in mind that this option is not always available and in any case it will only work if both, the caller and the receiver, use the same service provider.
Here is a list of some of the major carriers and how you can send a voicemail directly to another subscriber.
How to send a voicemail to a AT&T subscriber
- In order to enter your AT&T voicemail, hold the 1 key and then press 2
- Enter the phone number of the person you want to reach
- Record your voice message and then press the # key
- In case you want to select a special delivery option, press 1 and then pick one of the following options:
- press 2 for urgent delivery of your message
- press 3 for private delivery of your message
- Once you’re done, finally press the # key to send your voicemail
Send a voicemail between Verizon numbers
- Dial your voicemail access number and press 2 to send your message
- Follow the instructions that Verizon will provide at his stage
- Pick your favorite delivery options between: 1 (private), 2 (urgent), 3 (request confirmation) or 4 (future delivery)
- When done, press the # key to finally send the message
T-Mobile voicemail service
- Dial the number 1-805-637-7243
- Follow the instructions to log into your voicemail account
- You will be guided through the options to send a message
How to send a voicemail with Sprint
- Just call your personal voicemail number and sign into your account
- Pick the desired option and follow the prompts
Send an incoming call directly to voicemail
In addition to the situation described above, it can also happen that you are on the other side of the line: someone is calling you and you would like to be able to divert their call directly to your voicemail.
The good news is that it is possible, though this method only works on some Android phones, meanwhile doesn’t apply for iPhone.
You can divert a call easily by setting your phone to airplane mode or by activating the “Do not disturb” option. This will reject all incoming calls, sending them directly to voicemail.
In case you don’t want to divert all calls from all of your contacts, you can easily set up exceptions. Just open your phone’s Settings and select Notifications. Once the “Do Not Disturb” option is activated, you can add exceptions by choosing “Allow” and adding the contacts you wish to receive calls from.
Another option, again only for certain Android users (it will depends on the model of your phone), is to select “Route to Voicemail”. To do so:
- Select the contact you don’t want to receive call from (if the caller isn’t a contact of yours, navigate yo you call list and add the number as a contact)
- Once in the contact screen, tap the icon with the three-dots
- Just select “Route to voicemail” and all the calls from that specific contact will be automatically divert to voicemail
In case you have a samsung smartphone, you might also be interested in knowing how to change voicemail in your phone.
