Voicemail Box Setup — PINs, Greetings, and Behavior Options
A voicemail box is its own object — linked to an extension as its primary box, but configurable independently, which is what makes shared and departmental boxes possible. Setup is a PIN, a greeting, and a handful of behavior options that shape what callers and owners experience.
Create and link
- Settings → Voicemail Boxes → Add New — number it to match its extension (box 100 for extension 100) unless it's departmental.
- Set the mailbox PIN. Require users to change the initial PIN; for trusted desk phones, pinless access lets the Messages key skip the PIN prompt while remote checking still requires it.
- On the extension, confirm this box is set as primary voicemail — that link is what routes unanswered calls into it and lights the message-waiting lamp.
The options that matter
Option | Effect | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
Operator escape (press 0) | Sends a caller from your greeting to a designated destination | Front desk for clinical/urgent contexts |
Caller review | Lets callers replay/re-record before sending | On |
Envelope / Say caller ID / duration | Announces message metadata before playback | Off — press 5 retrieves details on demand |
Temporary-greeting warning | Reminds the owner a vacation greeting is active | On |
Sort order | Newest-first vs oldest-first playback | Newest-first for busy boxes |
Greetings
Three greeting slots: unavailable (no answer), busy, and temporary — the temporary greeting overrides the others until deleted, which is the right tool for vacations and office closures. Record from the phone (Messages → options) or upload audio in the portal.
Related articles
Last reviewed August 6, 2026. Still stuck? Contact Signal Support from your portal — include what you expected, what happened instead, and one example phone number or extension.