How to turn off voicemail on Vodafone (Australia)
Last checked 31 July 2026 · Vodafone's own help page ↗
Vodafone 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 Vodafone?
- Dial 1210 from your Vodafone service and follow the prompts.
Stops calls diverting to voicemail and leaves any forward you’ve set alone. (Don’t use 1213 — it cancels ALL diversions, including your forward.) If unanswered calls still aren’t ringing through afterwards, dial 121600 and check Call Catcher is off too.
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 Vodafone?
No. Vodafone 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 Vodafone?
- Dial 1211 from your Vodafone service and follow the prompts.
Turns voicemail back on.
Does Vodafone 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 Vodafone 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.