iPhone Voicemail Full? Check 9 Quick Fixes Here

While voicemail is a pretty useful feature, sometimes it may run into glitches that cause it not to work properly. One of these glitches is when you get an alert from your iPhone that the voice mailbox is full yet in reality, it’s not.

It’s a very common error that many iPhone users have encountered and it can be confusing because your voice mailbox may have just a few messages or it could be totally empty yet you still get this alert - even when you delete all the messages.

In this post, we’ll explain why you’re getting this “iPhone voicemail full” error and show you several ways you can fix it so that you don’t miss some important messages. Keep reading to find out.

Common Issues Caused by Full Voicemail Box

A full voicemail inbox doesn’t just stop you from receiving new messages — it can lead to several annoying issues. Here are the most common problems you might face:

Callers Can’t Leave Messages

When your voicemail is full, anyone trying to contact you will hear a message saying your mailbox is full. They won’t be able to leave a new voicemail, which could cause you to miss important calls from family, clients, or service providers.

Repeated “Voicemail Full” Alerts

Even after deleting messages, your iPhone might keep showing the same “voicemail full” notification. This can be caused by carrier-side storage not syncing properly with your phone.

Missed Notifications or Delayed Alerts

A full inbox can disrupt voicemail syncing, so you may not get alerts for new voicemails right away — or at all. This delay can make you miss urgent information.

Delete Voicemail When iPhone Says Voicemail is Full

Delete Voicemail on iPhone

If you’re yet to delete the voicemails that are saved on your iPhone, then first do so by opening the Phone app on your iPhone.

• Tap Voicemail and then tap the Edit option on the screen (top right-hand corner).
• Next, select the voicemails you want to delete and then tap the Delete button on the screen (lower right-hand corner).

Clear All the Deleted Voicemails

The voicemails you’ve deleted are not necessarily erased completely from your iPhone. When you delete them, your phone temporarily saves them in a Deleted Messages folder, just in case you erased an important message by mistake.

The downside of this is that a lot of deleted messages end up piling up and filling your voicemail inbox. So, you have to permanently delete them yourself. To do that:

• Open the Phone app. Tap the Voicemail icon on the screen (lower right-hand corner).
• Head down to the Deleted Messages option and tap it.
• Next, tap Clear All (top right-hand corner). Now tap Clear All once more to entirely erase all your deleted messages.

Clear All the Blocked Voicemails

Not many users know that blocked numbers are also able to leave you voice messages. These voicemails from blocked numbers end up taking up some space in your mailbox. When you check your list of voicemails, you won’t see them but they’ll still be in your mailbox and take up some space without you knowing it.

So, you need to delete these blocked messages. To do that, open the Phone app. Tap the Voicemail option. Now, tap on Blocked Messages and delete the ones you don’t need.

Fix iPhone Says Voicemail is Full When It’s Not

Delete Vociemails in Airplane Mode

If there are duplicate messages on your iPhone, you’re certainly going to run out of space very fast. It’s the same case if someone calls you several times by mistake and leaves long messages which clog up your voicemail mailbox.

To turn around this issue, enable Airplane Mode on your iPhone and then erase the problematic messages. Once you're done, turn off the Airplane Mode. Ensure you enable the Airplane Mode first before deleting the duplicate voicemails, otherwise, the same annoying messages can return again after some seconds.

Change Voicemail Password and Check Messages

Another way you can solve this iPhone voicemail full error is to change your voicemail password. So, try to change the voicemail password and then check your mailbox by calling your voicemail service.

• Open Settings. Tap the Phone option and then Change Voicemail Password.
• Now put in your new PIN twice. Head to the Home screen after changing the password and then call your voicemail service.
• When you’re prompted to provide your voicemail PIN, just disconnect the call. Don’t enter the code. Then check if the error is gone.

Several users reported that they couldn’t access their voicemail until they entered their new password. However, once you enter the password, your voicemail service will notify you that your voicemail is full. So, just hang up and then wait for around thirty seconds before dialing back. Now put in your new password once more and see if the Voicemail is still full. Any of the two options can work for you, hence try both of them.

Check for Carrier Update

When iPhone says voicemail is full when it's not, then the cause could possibly be a bug in the carrier settings or the Phone app itself. Therefore, updating your carrier settings can be pretty helpful, even though it’s not a commonly used method.

Simply go to Settings. Open the General option and tap About. Check for a carrier update. If there’s one available, a prompt message asking if you want to update carrier settings will show up, so tap Update to confirm.

Reset Network Settings

If you’re still facing this voicemail full iPhone problem, try resetting the network settings then. Note that this action will clear all your network settings (Wi-Fi and VPN settings) as well as your network login information like Wi-Fi passwords. It will reset them to their original factory settings. Therefore, take note of the login info prior to resetting the network settings. After that, follow these steps:

• Go to Settings. Open the General option and Tap Reset. Next, tap Reset Network Settings.
• Put your device passcode when asked and tap Reset Network Settings once more to confirm.

Update iOS Version

Sometimes some unknown software glitches could be the reason why your iPhone says voicemail is full when it's not. This can be remedied by updating the iOS of your iPhone to the latest version because the latest iOS updates offer new features, security updates, and bug fixes for errors like this. So, try updating your iPhone and check if your voicemail inbox is emptied.

Contact Your Wireless Carrier

If you’ve updated the iOS to the latest version but your voicemail inbox says it’s still full, it would be prudent now to contact your carrier’s support service to seek help. They can help reset your voice mailbox.

The following are customer support numbers for 4 of the largest network providers:

• Verizon: 1-800-922-0204
• T-Mobile: 1-800-937-8997
• AT&T: 1-800-331-0500
• Sprint: (888) 211-4727

Simply give them a call and explain to them that you’re getting a full voicemail iPhone error message. They’ll surely help resolve the problem!

Bonus: How to Recover Deleted Voicemail on iPhone

Although deleting voicemail on your iPhone can help resolve the voicemail full error message you’ve been getting, what if you accidentally delete some important voicemail messages in the process and you need them again? Of course, you can restore your iPhone from a recent backup to retrieve them but this often erases and overwrites the current data on your iPhone. If you want to avoid this, then using a third-party tool such as FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery is a perfect choice.

This tool will easily solve your problem. It’s able to effectively retrieve data directly from iPhone with or without backup. It can recover over 35 different file types including voicemail, call logs, text messages, contacts, photos, music, videos, and more. The program is very user-friendly and supports even the latest iOS 18/17.

Key features of FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery

• Recover deleted voicemails and other data directly from iPhone or from iCloud/iTunes backup.
• Recover deleted data on iPhone/iPad without factory resetting the device and causing any new data loss.
• Support over 35 different file types (voicemails, SMS, contacts, call logs, photos, videos, notes, Safari history, etc.)
• Support the latest iOS (iOS 26) and iOS devices (iPhone 17).

Tips to Keep Your Voicemail from Getting Full

Once you’ve fixed the “voicemail full” error, it’s a good idea to take steps to prevent it from happening again. Regular maintenance and a few smart settings can help keep your voicemail storage clear and working properly.

• Delete old messages regularly. Don’t let saved voicemails build up over time.
• Empty the Deleted Messages folder. Deleted voicemails still take up space until you clear them permanently.
• Check for blocked messages. Blocked callers can leave hidden voicemails that use up storage.
• Keep your iPhone and carrier settings updated. Updates often fix syncing bugs that cause storage errors.
• Save important voicemails elsewhere. Back up special messages to Notes, Files, or cloud storage instead of keeping them in your inbox.

Conclusion

Any of the methods we’ve highlighted above can solve your iPhone voicemail full problem. You only need to try them one by one until you see the error fixed. If you mistakenly deleted some important voicemails too, you can easily recover them using the FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery on your PC/Mac, even without backup. It’s an amazing tool that’s capable of quickly retrieving over 35 different file types with just a few clicks. Just download it and follow the steps specified above.