How to turn off voicemail on Kogan (Australia)
Last checked 31 July 2026 · Kogan's own help page ↗
Kogan voicemail answers calls you don't pick up. If you'd rather those calls ring out — or go somewhere more useful — here's how to switch it off, and how to put it back if you change your mind.
Takes about a minute. Nothing here needs you to be a Don't Miss A Call customer.
How do I turn off voicemail on Kogan?
- Dial 1214 — stops all calls going to voicemail
- Dial 121600, stay on the line and choose option 2 to switch Call Catcher OFF
- Do both BEFORE you set up any call forwarding — not after
Kogan runs Call Catcher alongside voicemail — it answers unanswered calls and texts you the number, so 1214 on its own still leaves something answering your calls. Kogan’s help page puts the target state plainly: with both off, unanswered calls simply ring out.
How do I check my voicemail is actually off?
Dial *#61# and press call — your network replies with what your number currently does when you don't answer. The better test is to have someone ring you and let it ring right out: if it rings out and stops, with no greeting and no message, voicemail is off. If it still goes to voicemail, ##004# clears no-answer diversions and is the first thing to try.
Does turning off voicemail also turn off Call Catcher on Kogan?
No. Kogan runs on the Vodafone network, which has a second service called Call Catcher. It isn't voicemail, but it does the same thing to your calls — it answers when you don't and texts you the caller's number.
Turning voicemail off does not turn Call Catcher off, and on some brands the code people are told to use for “voicemail off” actually switches Call Catcher on. Dial 121600 and follow the prompts to switch Call Catcher off as well.
How do I turn voicemail back on for Kogan?
- Dial 1211 from your Kogan service and follow the prompts.
Re-activates voicemail on no-answer. This puts the conditional divert back on voicemail, so any forward you had set stops firing.
Does Kogan voicemail stop a missed-call text-back from working?
Yes. Voicemail and a missed-call text-back trigger on exactly the same conditions — you didn't answer, you were engaged, or you were out of range. They compete for the same slot on your service and only one of them gets the call. If voicemail is switched on, voicemail wins, so it has to come off before a text-back service can answer instead. This is also why people wrongly conclude that call forwarding doesn't work on prepaid — it isn't the plan, it's voicemail getting there first.
What else answers your calls without you noticing?
Newer handsets have started answering calls themselves. Google's Take a Message on recent Pixels picks up calls you don't answer and transcribes them; Apple's Call Screening does something similar on recent iPhones. They're handy, but they are another thing that answers before your phone finishes ringing out, and they can arrive in a software update without you switching them on.
If you've switched voicemail off at Kogan and calls still aren't ringing right through, check your phone's own call settings.
Why turn voicemail off at all?
Voicemail made sense when the alternative was nothing. Now it mostly loses you work: most people who reach a tradie's voicemail hang up and ring the next name on the list rather than leave a message.
Switching it off is also the first step if you want a missed call to do something more useful instead — like texting the caller back automatically.