How to Fix iPhone Voicemail Full (Step-by-Step)

Your iPhone voicemail is full even though you’ve deleted and cleared all messages. So why is your iPhone saying your mailbox is full?

It is a frustrating problem, but it’s fixable. In this guide, you’ll find instructions on how to clear a full mailbox on an iPhone step by step. Let’s get to it.

Check this out: How to Turn Off Voicemail on iPhone (3 Simple Steps)

1. Make Sure Voicemails are Deleted

First, we’ll make sure you delete the voicemails for good. Most of the time people let the deleted messages sit in their voicemail inbox.

To permanently delete your voicemails follow these steps below:

1. Open the Phone app.
2. Tap on the Voicemail icon at the bottom right corner of the screen.
3. Next select Deleted Messages
4. Tap Clear All in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
5. Finally, tap Clear All to permanently clear deleted voicemails.

2. Delete Blocked Voicemails

Just because you block someone on your iPhone doesn’t mean that person cannot leave you a voicemail.

When you block someone, your iPhone automatically routes that person to your voicemail.

While these voicemails won’t show up in your voicemail box, but they still can take up space on your iPhone. And many iPhone users don’t know that.

Your iPhone creates a special category called Blocked Messages in your voicemail inbox for blocked numbers.

3. Delete Voicemails in Airplane Mode

A delayed voicemail sync between your iPhone and your carrier might prevent your voicemails from being deleted properly. For that, you’re going to put your iPhone into Airplane mode and delete your voicemails.

Next, turn off the Airplane mode and see if the warning goes away. If your voicemail is still full, move on to the next step.

When someone leaves you a voicemail, it’s stored directly in your cell phone carrier server. Your iPhone only downloads and stores these voicemails in the Phone app for your convenience.

Your cell phone carrier provides limited storage capacity for your voicemails. Once you run out of storage, you’ll receive a message that says the voicemail is full.

You won’t be able to receive any more voicemail unless you free up your carrier space. The instructions below will explain how to delete voicemails from mobile carriers.

Check this out: Why Is My iPhone Going Straight to Voicemail? The Fixes

Verizon – To retrieve and delete your voicemails, dial *86 on your phone. If you’re calling from another number, call your phone number and press # to cut through the greetings. Follow the prompts to access and delete your messages.

AT&T – Press and hold 1 to access your voicemail. When prompted, enter your password. If you are using a different phone, dial the 10-digit mobile phone number. When you reach the voicemail system greeting, press the Star key (*), and then enter your password to log into your voicemail account. Listen to your messages; then erase them.

T-Mobile – Call your own number or long-press 1 or dial 123 on your dialer to access your voicemail. This method doesn’t always work. Alternatively, call 1-805-637-7249, enter your 10-digit number. When you hear the voicemail greeting message, press the star key (*) and enter your password. Then, use the appropriate keypad number to delete your voicemails.

Sprint – Call your phone number or long-press 1, wait until the call goes to voicemail. When the greeting message starts playing, press the star key (*), then enter your passcode. From there, you can listen and delete your voicemails.

You can contact them via their customer support number or via their website by logging in to your account.

Sprint for example has a dedicated customer support chat service. One day I had an issue with my voicemail, I contacted them via the chat service and within a few minutes, my problem was resolved.

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