Enable voicemail from the agent's editor when that employee needs a mailbox. Then check how incoming calls reach the agent. The Voicemail inbox only displays messages already recorded; opening it does not turn voicemail on.
Before you begin
Use an account with permission to edit the agent's telephony settings. Confirm that you selected the correct employee and associated SIP identity. The agent must have completed setup: a pending agent can have profile and permission edits available while voicemail changes remain unavailable.
Choose an email inbox that the intended person or authorized team can access. Voicemail can contain private caller information, so do not send it to a shared address without reviewing who receives it. Have your intended incoming number or Voice Agent path available for a separate routing check.
1. Open the agent's voicemail controls
- Open Contact Center → Agents.
- Find the intended person and open their Actions menu.
- Choose Edit and locate Voicemail.
- If the editor says Setup pending, finish the invitation/setup workflow first. Refresh the agent state before returning here.
- If voicemail is marked unavailable, reload and read the error. Do not assume an unavailable state means voicemail is disabled.
2. Enable the mailbox and choose an email address
- Select Enable voicemail.
- When Voicemail email is shown, enter the mailbox that should receive messages. Check the full address for typing errors.
- Review the other fields in the editor so you do not accidentally save an unrelated profile or permission change.
- Select Save changes once and wait for the operation result.
- Reopen the agent and verify the enabled state and saved address.
Use a valid email address when you want email delivery. Do not assume enabling the checkbox automatically chooses the person's login inbox. Changing the voicemail destination does not change the agent's Portal login email.
If the result includes a voicemail or synchronization warning, read it before treating the mailbox as ready. A successful profile edit does not, by itself, prove that all telephony changes completed. Reload the actual mailbox state and contact Support if it remains unavailable.
3. Check the incoming route separately
Open the incoming phone number and confirm its current destination. A number forwarded to an external phone or SIP server does not automatically use this agent's mailbox. Similarly, adding the agent to a queue does not make every unanswered queue call fall into the agent's voicemail.
Review the particular destination or Voice Agent flow that should lead to this person, including its unanswered behavior. Do not infer a universal ring duration or an overflow route from the mailbox checkbox. See phone-number routing and queue configuration for those separate settings.
4. Verify a message and its delivery
When the configuration is ready, arrange an authorized incoming call to the intended number. Let the intended path reach voicemail and leave a short nonsensitive message. A missed call with no recorded message is not a voicemail delivery test.
- Open Voicemail, choose the relevant mailbox where a selector is offered, and refresh.
- Match the caller and time, then check that the message plays.
- Check the configured email inbox and spam folder separately.
- If you need Support, retain the call time and timezone, mailbox label and public call reference. Do not post the voicemail audio publicly.
If something does not work
The controls are disabled: check pending setup, your permissions and any unavailable-state message. The email is rejected: correct its format and save again. No message appears: trace the incoming destination and confirm the caller actually left a recording. The message appears but email is missing: check the saved recipient and mail filtering before changing call routing.
Do not repeatedly disable and enable a mailbox to investigate one missing message. First establish which part failed: reaching voicemail, recording the message, showing it in the inbox or sending email.
Change or disable voicemail later
Return to the same agent editor to change the destination address or clear Enable voicemail, then save and reopen to confirm. Disabling voicemail clears the configured voicemail email in this workflow; re-enter the intended address if you enable it again. Disabling is not a request to erase historical messages.
Review the unanswered incoming path after disabling. Make sure callers still have an appropriate destination; the checkbox does not create a replacement route for you.
Related guides
Create SIP lines and agents · Find and listen to voicemail
Reviewed 10 October 2026 against the current IllyVoIP Portal and service implementation. Available controls depend on account access and service state.