Remove the Annoying Voicemail Notification on Android
Does your phone keep saying you have a new voicemail even after you dismiss it? This quick fix resolves the issue.
Android has a feature to remind users when a new voicemail arrives, but it isn’t without its quirks. Sometimes the notification shows up even when there are no voicemails. Sometimes it shows up just because a voicemail wasn’t marked as read by the service provider. On some Android smartphones, you can dismiss the icon, only to hear the clarion alert that a voicemail is waiting for you the next time the phone is restarted/shut down. If you’re sick of this notification, this is a quick trick to get rid of it.
Remove Voicemail Notification on Android
The first step is to open the Settings app. This can be done from the pull-down notification bar on some phones; however, the “tried and true” method that works on every Android device is to launch Settings from the App Drawer.
Once the Settings app is open, scroll down and select Apps.
If the tab at the top of the Apps screen isn’t already on “All apps,” the first step is to switch it over to that. The All Apps tab, just like the name entails, will show you a list of every app on the phone/tablet.
Scroll down and tap on the Phone app.
On the Phone App info page, tap on the Storage menu.
Now under storage, tap on the box titled “CLEAR DATA.”
A small prompt will appear asking if you are sure. Tap OK to confirm.
Done! Goodby voicemail. If it isn’t, you should now at least be able to swipe it to the side and dismiss it from your notification tray if you weren’t before.
50 Comments
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Dennis Jones
February 10, 2017 at 9:27 am
Is there a similar fix to get rid of the annoying notices for “visual voice mail” ? I don’t want to set this up, nor even have it at all. I have a Moto X phone with Verizon as my provider.
Gordon Millar
September 25, 2023 at 1:31 am
This worked for me on Galaxy S23 Ultra
Settings / Apps (show system apps)
Scroll to down anything listed under “Phone” category. There were quite a few on mine. Clear storage and cache on every one, think the one that worked for me was “Phone Services”
Jill
November 12, 2023 at 8:11 am
Finally, it worked. Not even Verizon escalated service dept could figure this out. Thank you!
Tina Wrend
January 7, 2024 at 12:11 pm
Thank you so much for this its been bugging me since christmas eve! I just did the clear cashe & storage one for phone services & it seems to have stopped the annoying pop up saying i have a voicemail when i havent any and it seems to have stopped if it returns ill try doing same in phone as my phones a s23 ultra as well
Frank
January 27, 2024 at 1:34 am
Followed your recommendation on galaxy note 9. Cleared data. Didn’t work
Mark
May 20, 2018 at 8:39 am
Thanks much!! It worked for ZTE
vernon Nevoraski
September 13, 2019 at 12:17 pm
didn’t work on my ZTE
Danielle
November 11, 2019 at 8:57 am
Does doing so erase your recent call log as well?
ß
March 6, 2022 at 11:35 am
Will it wipe out all contacts?
Mr. Fuddled
July 31, 2018 at 12:33 pm
I use Google Voice as my voicemail and had the same issue. Clearing the phone cache did make the notification go away…until I turned my phone on again. That is not a solution, only a bandaid fix. However, I may have accidently found a solution, at least on my phone (Samsung S5). I went to Settings-Call-Voicemail and removed the voicemail number from the phone. I then added a contact for my voicemail number. So far, no false notifications and voicemail works well. I have Google Voicemail set to send me a transcribed message.
Edward Reid
April 8, 2019 at 6:09 am
I have the same problem as Mr. Fuddled — using Google Voice for vm and notifications won’t go away. However, I’m using Android 8.1 on a Samsung J327 and therei s no Settings-Call.
Andrew Hinds
August 5, 2019 at 7:48 pm
I have the same problem, just started to happen. I have a LG Stylo 4 from Metro by T-Mobile and I don’t have a call or phone app to clear the cache or data from.
Max
December 29, 2019 at 9:41 pm
I found it on my LG under settings/apps and then tap the three dots and choose ‘show system’ and then ‘call services’
tony
May 4, 2020 at 10:37 pm
this worked for me. lg x power 2
Sanstudio.com
January 2, 2024 at 5:42 pm
Thank you! This worked for me on my discontinued/ancient LG Aristo 4+. The other advice didn’t work, it seems to be tied to a specific phone model. I would never have figured this out on my own!
Somehow I never have these kinds of mysteries on my iPhone (which is also ancient), it seems somewhat more intuitive to me.
Just dont
December 25, 2022 at 8:11 pm
Why has nobody answered this
oah
August 12, 2019 at 11:08 am
I have had a problem with “silent” phone calls, they will go to voice mail to make a sales pitch without showing up as a missed call and there is never a phone number associated with these. I have been getting 5 to 6 every morning and night. I had TMoble block my voicemail but still see the notifications in the list.
I have the Samsung N8. So far nothing has worked.
V
February 19, 2023 at 7:45 am
By the Gods thank you so much. This has been driving me insane for a year now. I hope good things happen to you.
Madison
December 27, 2019 at 1:15 pm
So i went to settings and went on apps but i could not find phone which i found really odd because i have the app on phone on the home screen. (I have an LG phoenix 3
ElizabethSchuylerHamilton
October 28, 2021 at 5:35 am
Yeah, same for me.
J
January 7, 2020 at 6:52 am
This can be turned off by going to Settings then Apps then show system apps. Look for Call Settings. You can clear the cache and data to remove the voicemail error or force quit.
Bassthang
August 11, 2020 at 3:58 am
This is the best tip so far. However nothing works on my Honor 9 Lite running 8.0.0. The messages come back again after a few minutes or on next restart.
RCRFish
October 20, 2020 at 3:32 pm
Worked on my samsung galaxy 7 edge
mike rafone
May 26, 2022 at 12:26 am
im looking for a way to stop the notification from appearing in the first place, while possibly still allowing the missed call notification to happen.
im not into checking voicemail. if i see i missed a call from someone possibly important, ill call them back.
who wants to have to do this to remove the vm notification everytime it pops up?
not me.
Sammy
June 19, 2020 at 12:19 pm
Nope, Samsung Galaxy S10, had a voicemail notification on for over a week & it won’t go.
santiago
July 7, 2020 at 1:19 pm
I am having the same problem.
BlissfullyD1strbd1
February 16, 2022 at 3:24 pm
Same here. I have done everything that I have found on the net short of going back to factory settings and nothing works. Now, even when I get a voicemail, I don’t get a notification that I have one. It’s so dang annoying.
Elon
January 24, 2023 at 12:13 pm
For Samsung S10: clear cash and data in ‘Phone services’ app, just removed this annoying message. Really hate it
A
February 4, 2023 at 11:55 am
Same problem with my S8. So annoying
diana
May 14, 2023 at 5:39 pm
Hey, THIS WORKED! Not sure what all I erased, but the stupid icon is gone! Thanks!
Neil
September 14, 2023 at 11:40 am
This worked for me! Thank you so much, that was really annoying me
Susan Hills
July 14, 2023 at 6:35 am
I cleared the cache and data and the notification is still there, and I cannot swipe it away.. aaaarrrggghhh….ps and I switched my phone on and off too
mike rafone
July 16, 2023 at 1:19 pm
hey susan, i used SystemUI Tuner by zachary wander.. i installed it and i dont remember exactly what i did, but i killed the notification and then i uninstalled it immediately due to the documentations warning about how powerful the app is.. and to this day, the only time i see any vm notification is when i reboot, but i can swipe it and it doesnt return until i reboot again.. so idk what the app did but whatever it was made it far less annoying to the point that im satisfied.. im going to try to find the site that told me what to do because those are the instructions i think i followed.. ill reply again if i find it.. it looks like i downloaded the apk back in january so findind the exact site i visited that told me to try it isnt going to be straightforward as i think chrome browser history only goes back 90 days.. but i will still try because now im curious.. good luck heres the playstore link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zacharee1.systemuituner
Torgrim
August 5, 2020 at 4:32 pm
It was under “Call Services” in my Android version, not “Phone”. Go to Settings, Apps & notification, Apps info, select the three dots (upper right corner), select Show system, scroll down to Call services, select Storage, then hit Clear data. My VM icon went away immediately.
Theresa
April 3, 2022 at 10:30 am
Will it delete my contacts?
mike rafone
February 10, 2023 at 6:52 am
@theresa -no it wont affect your contacts, they are stored in a different location.
Jonathan
May 18, 2023 at 7:34 am
That did it for my Galaxy Note 9, thank you!
Laina
February 27, 2024 at 7:24 am
Thanks so much. It worked! It was annoying the shiz out of me!
Ronald
March 20, 2021 at 9:57 pm
Yes. until the next voicemail message pops up… This is just a temporarory hider, not a fix.
Johnny Skids
April 12, 2021 at 5:39 pm
I found an easy fix. I just restarted my Moto G and, presto, the annoying problem disappeared.
Jesse Morales
July 17, 2021 at 3:48 pm
This doesn’t work
Karla
December 23, 2021 at 12:43 am
What I did is instead of pressing clear data, I pressed force stop and it disappeared and nothing bad has happened since then :)
James Mooney
August 19, 2021 at 5:55 pm
Doesn’t delete all data erase your contacts?
K23
August 24, 2021 at 11:04 pm
Try this:Go to contacts and search for “Voicemail” then edit the number so it has your current number instead of the one it always shows on the notification!Hope this helps!!
KP
November 20, 2021 at 8:12 am
Thank You!!!
Frost Nightwalker
November 5, 2021 at 1:54 pm
Won’t this get rid of your contacts?
Rachel Walker
March 23, 2022 at 10:37 am
Thank you so very much. I was about to lose it! (Pulling my hair out) There is no telling what I’ve done to mess up my phone before getting to this point. I sure miss the days of simplicity with cell phones, along with raised buttons to make texting faster and easier for us geesers. Thank you once again!
Sincerely,
R.W. from Mississippi
rickyno
April 10, 2022 at 5:50 am
On a Samsung S8+ with Android 9 and One UI 1.0, make sure you have no actual new voicemail, then the proper fix is not to clear the cache of the “Phone” app but the cache of the “Notification” app. Reboot is not even required afterwards.
You’re welcome.
Adam
July 14, 2022 at 2:22 pm
Samsung S10+ with Virgin. What removed the notification for me after trying everything, was logging into my Virgin account online (you can probably call them too by dialing 789) and disabling Voicemail from there. Once disabled, I clicked the notification which dialed voicemail for me and then it disapeared as soon as I got through to the robot lady. Then I enabled voicemail again on the website. Pain in the ass!
Giusy
September 27, 2022 at 2:14 pm
It worked! I went mental for weeks to try and remove that notification. Thank you ;)
Bob Dobbs
July 25, 2022 at 1:13 pm
Permanent fix for all Android versions: activate ‘System UI Tuner’ which you can search the version of Android and what to do to activate it (hidden menu). Go into Settings->System UI Tuner->Power Notification Controls and toggle it on. Note the various settings from 0 to 5. Go into Apps, show all system apps, find Phone Services and now there’s an option for you to set notifications from 0 to 5 and deny it being on the top system tray/system bar.
Jonas Smithson
October 8, 2022 at 10:42 pm
On my el crappo LG phone (which doesn’t even show a “Phone” app at all), some of the tips here, plus a little experimentation, helped me purge that damned icon. Thank you.
This is a reminder of why I mostly use my iPhone. Android has some advantages, but its overwhelming problem is that with all the gazillion different versions of Android out there, it’s very hard to get useful advice online because there are really no standards. The iPhone versions change, but the variation is minor by comparison, so it’s much easier to get valid tips online.
Sam
December 27, 2022 at 2:11 pm
Pixel 4A – Perfect! Thank you!! It removed the icon from my phones taskbar. I already had vm turned off by the carrier but one day the icon showed up, I probably fat fingered dialing vm.
J Stoner
January 6, 2023 at 8:19 am
This is AMAZING! Worked PERFECTLY!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH. Sorry for yelling haha
Igor
February 9, 2023 at 10:07 am
The only thing that worked for me was to install NCleaner (Notification Blocker & Cleaner), go to “Ongoing Notification Hider” and select the annoying notification to hide.
Bex
November 14, 2023 at 3:52 pm
It was under “phone services” in my android!