Make your phone ring for longer before going to voicemail

Andy Simpson

Don’t you hate it when you get to the phone just as it goes to voicemail? Luckily, there’s a way to make that time longer, just by dialling a few special codes on your phone. Here’s how to make your phone ring for longer.

Just bring up your dialer app, type in one of the codes provided below, then press SEND or CALL. You won’t be charged for changing these settings.

All codes start with *61* and end with the number of seconds desired (in multiples of five), followed by the hash key. Most networks have 25 or 30 seconds as their maximum ring times. In the examples, we’ll be using 20 seconds as our desired ring time.

GSM standard codes

The first thing you should try is the GSM standard code, which should work on all phones and all networks.

**61*[your mailbox number]*11*20#

To find out your mailbox number, just dial *#61# and press SEND or CALL. Your mailbox number should be listed at the top.

UK mobile network codes

If you’d prefer a shorter code or the GSM standard doesn’t work, you can try these codes, which are specific to a certain UK network.

EE

**61*07953222222**20#

giffgaff

**61*443*10*20#

O2

**61*901*11*20#

Orange

**61*07953100123**20#

TalkTalk

**61*121*11*20#

T-Mobile

**61*[your mobile number]**20#

Vodafone

**61*61414121000**20#

Did we answer your question?

I hope we answered your question. Be sure to let us know how you get on in the comments below! You can also reach us on Twitter @mobilefun!

82 thoughts on “Make your phone ring for longer before going to voicemail”

  1. Thanks your codes worked well. I have a phone that diverts to voice mail after 30 seconds.

    I am a bit miffed with Tesco Customer services though. When I asked them if I could extent the delay before the phone diverted to voicemail they said the maximum delay was 15 seconds, in other words, they said it can’t be done. this surprised me as my previous phone on Tesco’s network did divert after 30 seconds.

    To view your mail box number you may have to enable voice mail before the number is visible. On tesco mobile dial 2905 for voice mail on (2915 for voice mail off). On my HTC desire I found the voicemail box number at ‘settingscallcall forwarding’. The mail box number was +447802091905. On my phone I dialled **61*+447802091905**30# and sucesss.

  3. on my Lumia 920 its **61*121**20# (for 20 seconds) thanks for this info, its been driving me mad!! the default gave me just enough time to see who’s calling then straight to answer phone.

  4. I had same problem 4 rings only then on to VoiceMail. You will need the Tel. No. of your server, mine is Orange or EE and is 07973 100 194.
    Go to the screen for dialing a call. Put in **61* (now the providers number)then * followed by the number of seconds delay you want, the maximum for LG E400 is 20 then # Press send and it will now be re-set to 20 seconds. So it’s: **61*provider number*20# then SEND.
    Hope that helps.

  5. I had the same problem, about 4 rings then onto VoiceMail.

    You need the phone no. of your provider (mine was Orange/ now EE and their number is 07973 100 194) Get your screen up ready to make a call. Type in **61* now put in the phone number of your provider, then ** then the number of seconds you want it to ring for, my maximum is 20, then # and then press Send. So that’s **61* number ** 20# Send. I hope that works for you.

  6. No ‘menu’ function available at that stage (either on screen or via buttons) on a Ssg Galaxy II (but dialing the code worked)

  12. Thank you for the help above, but I can’t find my answer phone number. I am using the iPhone 3G and using O2 as my provider. Can you help me to find it please.

  15. Just minimize the keypad and the delay should be there in a separate dropdown menu. I have an HTC and this works

  17. And for an i-phone it’s:
    star star 61 star 121 star 11 star 30 hash

    Where the 30 sets the time delay before diverting, so set it to what you prefer.

  19. i cant see the menu after forward when unanswered, just a place to type your mailbox number. where is the menu to change it it?

  22. do you know how to do it for a blackberry 9300 i tried this way but i keeps say conditional forwarding no reply and then 447802091901 which i then tried as the access code but it just did the exact same

  23. Is it free… And by that I mean the service provider won’t charge you a fee for makin your phone ring longer?

  25. Thanks for your information, but I am very new at this stuff. I have a Telstra Smart-Touch phone and when I go to Voicemail setting, then Setting for my carrier, this is what it reads…
    +61101, then it asks me to OK or cancel. So I am not sure what I should do to make my phone ring longer, can you help me please?

  26. I have a Samsung galaxy S GTi 9000 on talktalk and this almost works! What you need to enter is **61*121*11*NN#. Hope this helps any frustrated users

  28. doh, this is the simple way to set your ring for 5 seconds to 30 seconds.

    Settings > Call > Call forwarding > Forward when unanswered > Menu >…then adjust the Delay to your liking, 5secs to 30secs > Update.

    Chappie, Edinburgh, single, looking for love, lol, xxx

  30. Thankyou so much I didn’t actually think this would work but it did! Now my phone rings until I pick it up :)

  31. I’m guessing you’re outside of the UK as a Vu isn’t a phone we have over here. Non-UK Carriers will use a different set up so these codes won’t work. Your best bet will be to contact your network for info on how to change it.

  36. just tried it on my htc legend, says approved but when i try it out it just rings for the same amount fo time.

  37. Yaaay, you’re a star Marko! I had missed out the + sign before the number. Have now done it and it works. :)

    When you say though: ‘to verify that your voicemails are still being sent to the correct place, repeat step 1 and check that the phone number matches’ do you mean the phone number you see should match your own mobile number or the one you’ve found by entering the code?

    Many thanks, Carrie

  38. By the way, I tried Marko’s way on my Viewty and just received the message ‘Error.’ :(

  39. Hi,

    I have a LG Viewty & it stops ringing after 3 rings, very annoying! I can’t find my voicemail number on my phone to do as you suggest, could you possibly tell me where it is? Many thanks. :)

  42. Ok heres how i always do it step by step. Let me know if you got any problems.

    How Do I Make My iPhone Ring Longer?

    1.Dial *#61# and touch Call.

    2.Jot down the phone number displayed on the screen. This is where your voicemail calls are directed to (as shown in the screenshot below).

    3.Dial **61*(THE NUMBER YOU WROTE DOWN)**30# and press Call.
    Your Phone should now ring longer — that is, for the full 30-second duration of your ringtone. To verify that your voicemails are still being sent to the correct place, repeat step 1 and check that the phone number matches

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  44. You are a genius Andy! It actully works on my UK T-Mobile Blackberry 9700, which now means that when I am abroad and landline calls auto re-route to my mobile (which delays getting the call by a few secs, especially i the USA), I will now get more than a few seconds to answer. No more spectacular dives required!

    thanks

    A

  48. The 3 network uses completely different technology to the others so there was a chance this wouldn’t work.

    thanks for letting us know

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