Filed under: iPhone 101
iPhone 101: Switch between audio outputs for your voicemail
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Many iPhone users use a Bluetooth headset on their phones. However, they may not know that you can use the same headset to listen to their Visual Voicemail. To listen to your voicemail through your headset, just navigate to Phone > Voicemail. Once there, click the "Audio" button in the top right -- you will be presented with some options. If you have your headset paired with your iPhone, you will see a headset option along with the iPhone and Speaker Phone options.
Clicking any one of these will immediately transfer the audio to the output specified.
Thanks for the tip, Brandon!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
motech said 9:13AM on 9-18-2008
too bad it doesnt work with my audi . . .
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Jash Sayani said 9:09AM on 9-18-2008
Great tip. Thanks a lot !
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pmup said 9:46AM on 9-18-2008
I could not get my Bluetooth to work with voicemail until 2.1 came out. Works now.
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wildcat said 9:46AM on 9-18-2008
what about inputs. i have always wanted to use a text-to-type on my computer as my voicemail. is this possible
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Carlton Bale said 10:17AM on 9-18-2008
Actually, this is a new feature with firmware v2.1. It automatically transfers audio to the bluetooth headset if it is connected. Otherwise, use the instructions above to transfer audio away from bluetooth and to a different output.
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Karsten said 10:16AM on 9-18-2008
I've had this work with a Jawbone headset but it doesn't seem to work for my Garmin GPS speaker phone. The iPhone recognizes the nuvi and allows me to choose it as the audio from the voicemail screen, but no sound comes through the GPS. I wonder if the GPS is set up to only allow audio through bluetooth during a call.
On an interesting related note, when I am on a call that is connected through bluetooth to the GPS, I can switch to the iPod function and play music during the call. The iPod audio is routed through bluetooth, but the other party can't hear the music at all - it is such odd functionality and I am not sure of the purpose, but it is kind of interesting, considering that the iPhone does not typically support iPod audio via bluetooth.
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moe hong said 11:58AM on 9-18-2008
I've got the most current update on a 3g phone, but when i go to voicemail, i see an on/off button called "speaker" on the top right - not "audio." It doesn't remember its preferences - if I close voicemail and come back after turning it on, it's turned off. The top left button is "greeting."
How come I'm seeing something different than what you get?
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Ted said 6:14PM on 9-18-2008
That's because you don't have a bluetooth headset connected to your phone...
moe hong said 6:55PM on 9-18-2008
Thanks. Too bad I can't set the speakerphone to default, not sure why I should have to use a headset to do that. Bizarre.
Slobi said 12:06PM on 9-18-2008
Wow, I am amazed to see pretty much no one knew of this one. it has been there FOR EVER! Just goes to show, never assume people know things...
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Ron said 12:31PM on 9-18-2008
Cool tip! Thanks for that...
anyone know how to save/transfer iPhone voicemails?
that'd be great!!
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Bob said 1:00PM on 9-18-2008
The easiest way to get voicemails off your iPhone is to plug a 3.5mm audio cable from the headphone port on your iPhone to the audio line in port on your computer and use a program to record the voicemail you want to keep. I use Quicktime on my MacBook Pro with my iPhone 3G to record voicemails, but it might not be as easy with a first generation iPhone since most 3.5mm audio cables won't fit the recessed headphone jack.
Johnathan said 12:33PM on 9-18-2008
I thought this was common sense...?
When I got my Bluetooth headset I went to the voicemail and automatically it played it on my headset, then I clicked the Audio button and changed it to regular speaker or internal....
I thought this was basic?
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Hunter said 12:37PM on 9-18-2008
Seriously? When did clicking the button right in front of you while doing something become a tip? Especially the same button you used the rest of the time to switch audio modes anyhow...
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Brandon Wells said 1:38PM on 9-18-2008
The reason Corey posted this is that 2.1 made this feature available for most headsets that did not work previouslly! My Cadillac never would connect to bluetooth for voicemail prior to 2.1!
Thanks for the post Corey!
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Chris said 2:31PM on 9-18-2008
Still a no-go in my Land Rover. Sigh...
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c-dude said 4:29PM on 9-18-2008
I wish there was an option to route the sound out of the dock connector... then I could play my VMs through my car stereo speakers, just like my music.
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JinjaNinja said 4:55PM on 9-18-2008
Same here, but in the UK, dialling 901 just connects you to the conventional voicemail and so you can listen to them that way. Safer than getting nicked for driving with the phone pressed to your ear!
Dave Mac said 4:19AM on 10-12-2008
There is! Go buy a dock and find a place to mount it in your car. The dock has 3.5mm audio out which you should be able to route into your sound system. I've mounted a dock under the center "tray" in my Jeep and carefully cut out a hole the same size, so that I hop in my car, insert my phone, and WHOILA! Not only does it look good, but I can easily change songs, pick it up to answer calls, etc. Or, there are other products such as http://www.sendstation.com/us/products/pocketdock/lineout-usb.html that route the audio out of the dock connector.
Jason said 6:00PM on 9-18-2008
Part of people's show is the fact that this is a "smart" feature, that works one of two ways.
I don't have a bluetooth headset, and thusly, I don't have it paired to my phone. As described in the post, my button is labeled "Speaker". When tapped, it turns a lighter blue, and playing back a voicemail outputs through the speakerphone speaker (what a surprise), tapping it again sends it through the normal call ("handset" so to speak) speaker.
I suspect that if I ever pair a bluetooth headset to my phone, the "Speaker" button will change to "Audio". Alternatively, it many only happen if the headset is not only paired, but "on" and connected to the phone.
I suspect the latter, given the issues other commenters have raised here, but I can't presently confirm it.
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