Phone numbers start at launch, and voicemail and call forwarding come with the Standard, Pro and Enterprise plans. This guide explains how they’ll work once you have a number.
Voicemail works as soon as you get your number, with a standard greeting. You can set up your own greeting now, and callers will hear it once custom greetings go live. Call forwarding is there for when you’d rather take calls on another phone.
How voicemail works
Callers can leave you a message when you don’t answer, when Do Not Disturb is on, or when none of your devices is online to ring. Each message is saved in your Talkwish account with a written transcript.
Voicemail is on to start with. To turn it off or back on, open Settings in the web app, then Voicemail, and use the Voicemail switch. With voicemail off, callers can’t leave a message.
Choose your greeting
Playing your own greeting to callers is coming soon. You can record or type it now, but until then callers hear the standard greeting.
Open Settings, then Voicemail. Under Greeting, pick what callers hear:
- Standard greeting: a short Talkwish greeting that asks callers to leave a message.
- Typed greeting: type a message of up to 500 characters, and we read it aloud to callers.
- Your own recording: record a greeting in your browser, or upload an audio file.
Type a greeting
- Choose Typed greeting.
- Under What callers hear, type your message. For example: “Hi, you’ve reached Alex. I can’t answer right now, so please leave a message.”
- Select Preview to hear it. The preview uses your browser’s voice, so it may sound a little different on calls.
- Select Save greeting.
Record your own greeting
- Choose Your own recording.
- Select Start recording. If your browser asks to use your microphone, choose Allow.
- Say your greeting. Select Stop recording when you’re done. Recording stops by itself after 60 seconds.
- Play it back. If you’d like another try, select Record again.
- When you’re happy with it, select Save this greeting.
Talkwish records with the microphone chosen under Settings, then Audio. A headset in a quiet room gives the clearest greeting.
You can also upload a greeting you made somewhere else. Under Or upload an audio file, select Choose an audio file and pick an MP3 or WAV file of up to 2 MB and 60 seconds.
A new recording replaces the old one. To go back to the standard greeting, select Delete my recording and use the standard greeting.
Listen to your messages
- Sign in to the web app and open Voicemail.
- Each message shows who called, when, and how long it is. Select one to open it.
- Play the message. Playing it marks it as read.
The transcript appears under the player. From there you can also Call back or Text back, mark a message as unread, download it, or Delete it. Deleting a message also deletes its transcript, and it can’t be undone.
Voicemails are private to your account, and you see them on every device where you sign in. For more about transcripts, see Read voicemail and call transcripts.
Forward calls to another phone
Call forwarding sends calls to your Talkwish number on to another phone, like your mobile or a landline.
- In the web app, open Settings, then Calling, and find Call forwarding.
- Turn on Forward calls.
- Under Forward to, enter a 10-digit US or Canada number, then select Turn on forwarding. It can’t be one of your own Talkwish numbers, a premium-rate number or a number outside the US and Canada.
- Under When to forward, choose Always, When I don’t answer, or When I’m busy or don’t answer.
- For the last two, choose how long your Talkwish apps ring first, under Ring for.
Changes save as you make them. To check that it works, call your Talkwish number from another phone.
What forwarded calls look like
When you forward to a regular phone, calls arrive on it from your Talkwish number. That way you can tell them apart from your other calls. It also means that phone doesn’t show who is calling, so check your call history in Talkwish to see the caller.
A forwarded call counts toward your plan’s fair use twice: once as it comes in and once on its way to your other phone. Your dashboard shows how much you’ve used.
While Do Not Disturb is on, calls aren’t forwarded. They go straight to voicemail instead.
Turn forwarding off
Go back to Settings, then Calling, and turn off Forward calls. Calls ring your Talkwish apps again, and calls you don’t answer go to voicemail.
If calls aren’t ringing where you expect, see Fix calls that don’t ring or keep dropping.