Documentation › Phone system

Voicemail and greetings

Never lose a caller: give each extension a mailbox, record greetings in your own voice, and pick up messages from the desk phone, the app or Filantis itself.

Last updated 19 September 2026

At a glance

  • Switch voicemail on for each extension and give it a 4-digit PIN.
  • Unanswered and busy calls go to the mailbox by themselves, unless a forwarding rule sends them elsewhere.
  • Dial *97 to hear your messages; the desk phone's message light and the app show when there are new ones.
  • Record your own greetings — one for busy, one for unavailable, and a temporary one for holidays.
  • Departments can share a mailbox, and call menus can send callers straight to one.

On this page:

  1. Switch on a mailbox
  2. When callers reach voicemail
  3. Listen to messages
  4. The *97 menu
  5. Record your greetings
  6. Send callers straight to a mailbox
  7. Greetings for call menus
  8. Questions

1Switch on a mailbox

  1. Open Phone & Extensions → Extensions and click the pencil on the extension's row.
  2. Tick Enable voicemail.
  3. Type a 4-digit Voicemail PIN and save. The mailbox is ready at once.

Always set a PIN. Until you do, the PIN is the extension number itself — the first thing anyone would try.

2When callers reach voicemail

Flow chart: a busy or unanswered call goes to voicemail unless a forwarding rule sends it elsewhere A call for 1004 Rings every device together for the Ring for time (30 s) Answered no message needed Busy already on a call Not answered or every phone is off Forward Busy rule? set: goes there instead Forward No Answer rule? set: goes there instead NOT SET NOT SET Voicemail plays your busy greeting Voicemail plays your unavailable greeting Mailbox switched off? The call ends there — so switch it on for anyone who takes outside calls.
The caller hears the right greeting — “is on another call” or “is not available”.

Forwarding rules are set on the same extension form, under Call Transfer — see Voicemail, forwarding and DND.

3Listen to messages

Dial *97

From your own desk phone, app or browser dial pad. Enter your PIN and listen.

The message light

Desk phones light their message lamp while there are new messages.

The mobile app

A count of new messages, and a play button for each.

On Extensions

Each row shows its unread count. Click it to see and play that mailbox's messages.

Away from your own phone? Dial *98 from any extension: Filantis asks which mailbox, then its PIN.

5Record your greetings

Everyone records their own greetings from their own phone. It takes a minute, and callers hear a real voice instead of a robot.

Mailbox options — press 0 from the main menu.
  1. Dial *97 and enter your PIN.
  2. Press 0 for mailbox options.
  3. Press 1 for the unavailable greeting — or 2 busy, 3 your name, 4 temporary.
  4. Speak after the tone and press # when you finish.
  5. Press 1 to keep it, 2 to hear it, or 3 to record it again.

Going on leave? Record a temporary greeting — “I'm away until the 14th; please call reception on 1001.” It plays instead of the others until you remove it from the same menu.

A mailbox with no greeting of its own uses a standard one that reads out the extension number.

6Send callers straight to a mailbox

Wherever Filantis asks for a destination, two choices lead to voicemail:

  • User Voicemail — one person's mailbox. Useful for a phone number that exists only to take messages, or a call-menu key such as “press 3 to leave a message for accounts”.
  • Department Voicemail — a team's shared mailbox, for after hours and busy times. Switch it on with Enable Department Voicemail on the department, and listen from the voicemail button on its row. See A shared mailbox.

The receptionist's Operator screen can also transfer a live call straight into someone's mailbox, so the caller never rings an empty desk.

7Greetings for call menus

The welcome your business plays — “Thank you for calling Hotel Aravali” — is not a voicemail greeting. It is a voice prompt, kept on Settings → Voice Prompts and chosen in a call menu.

Upload

Your recording

WAV or MP3, mono, 8 or 16 kHz, up to 10 MB and 5 minutes. A studio voice or a phone recording both work.

Type it

Text-to-speech

Type the words, pick a voice, and Filantis makes the recording — with a voice service connected under Service Connect.

8Questions

Someone forgot their PIN.

An administrator types a new one on the extension's form — the old one stops working at once. Messages and greetings are kept.

Why did a caller not get voicemail?

Either the mailbox is switched off, or a forwarding rule sent the call somewhere else first. Check Call Transfer on the extension, including the tab for the person's current status.

Can I change how long the phone rings before voicemail?

Yes — Ring for on the extension's Call Transfer. It is 30 seconds unless you change it.

How long can a message be?

Five minutes, and recording stops after 10 seconds of silence. Change both for the whole workspace on Settings → Voicemail Settings: Longest message (30–600 seconds) and End after silence (5–60 seconds).

Do voicemails use my storage?

Yes. Messages count toward your plan's recording and voicemail storage — 1 GB on Mini and Small, 10 GB on Medium, 100 GB on Large. Delete what you no longer need with 7.

Every caller heard

Filantis catches every call your team cannot take — in your voice, on every phone — and the message is waiting on the desk, in the app and in the browser.

  • Your greetingsBusy, unavailable and holiday — recorded by phone.
  • Shared mailboxesOne inbox for the whole team.
  • EverywhereDesk light, app badge, one-click playback.

What to do next

Keep a copy of the conversations themselves with Call recording, and decide what callers hear out of hours in Office hours and holidays.

Still stuck?

Write to hello@filantis.com with your workspace name and what you were trying to do.