Change number of seconds before going to voicemail?

[TracyA]

Occasionally my calls go straight to voicemail without ringing.

It's random, and it has happened on my iPhone6, 5, 3GS, and 2 Blackberry's. So it's not a phone or SIM issue. I have been with Rogers with all of them. (Yes that is a long time indeed.)

After quite a bit of research, I find the problem exists everywhere on various carriers, here and overseas. It appears to be that the number of seconds before going to voicemail, with Rogers, is only 20.  It needs to be 30. Occasionally the call is delayed going through and doesn't get a chance to actually ring before the 20 seconds is up. .. 

Many (most?) other carriers allow us to change this setting. As far as I have read, as of a couple of years ago, Rogers had hard coded this setting in the switch and it cannot be changed. 

Is this still the case? or has Rogers heard our cries. ?

This is not acceptable... It happened to me twice today and once yesterday.

I'm unemployed and job hunting so I'm pretty much hanging onto my phone every moment. I can't miss any calls!

Advice?

***Edited Labels***

[RogersHassam]

Hello @TracyA,

I use an iPhone 6 and I have had a similar experience with calls going straight to my voicemail on all my phones in the past and including this one. However it happens once or twice every month and that too only in my basement with limited or no signal) which I always assumed was normal. I do not know much about how many seconds are set before a call goes to voicemail as you mention below but does this happen when you have full signal strength and not only in certain areas of the house etc? I could have CommunityHelps reach out to you if you'd like and have them look deeper into this. 

Community, please feel free to chime in with any suggestions or help 🙂 

Thank you,

RogersHassam 

[ShakTiburon · Accepted solution]

@RogersHassam here is my view and chiming in...

Hey @TracyA
Yikes, you definitely can't miss those calls! Ahh!

As far as I am aware, GSM carriers originally hard coded this on the backend (Switches or profile)... only carriers that did support custom ring amount was CDMA, and that was only because CDMA was used by government (less accessible to tap lines or have man in the middle attack on secure lines)...

however, keyword is was, as in past tense. 30 is not consideration of rings but rather from connect to voicemail time.
20 sec (between 22-24 sec usually) is the amount of rings you actually get on the phone.

I am out dated in this information and as far as I knew it was becoming a standard, so carriers weren't leaving it for customization.

However, you CAN do something else...
a Workaround...

Call forward your number. It will avoid Voicemail... and forward the call to another number...

But to make sure you get enough time to answer.

Do Call Forward No Answer.
So it only forwards to another number AFTER it rings on your cell phone enough times.
I have done this before (way back)...
Cell - Call Forward No Answer to Home.
Home - Call Forward No Answer to Cell.
Forever Loop Until I pick up (or they give up)
No Voicemail!
This is a work around and in no way a "best" solution...

I hope someone in the community has an updated answer. Otherwise this would be an option for you.
If you do this route, Don't DO Call Forward - All. That's what most people are used to and that's not what we are talking about.

Different Type of Call Forward:
CF - No Answer (Forwrds after not answered)
CF - Busy (Forwards if you are on another line)
CF - All (Forwards regardless right away, no rings)
These are the three main I know. 🙂

Hope this helps!

[TracyA]

Hmm.. strange workaround actually..from what I can tell then it will then be ringing at my house phone 4 or 5 times then coming back to my cell...? So anyone at home in my house may pick up, or if not then the person calling would have to wait that long. .. I believe it's just happening when the call takes too long to go through. My reception is perfect..

Ironically just now, my daughter was calling me and it never rang on her end either. It just was dead and the call never even happened. Twice. .. didn't even go to vmail. She was outside clear reception and then she called immediately to the home phone and it went through no problem.

Then I phoned myself from the home phone and it worked... so it is just an intermittent thing..  frustrating!

Well. I guess if it is hard coded in there and I can't change it, I guess I will have to live with it.  I still think if it were 30 seconds it would happen less often.... It's just frustrating when I'm sitting here beside my phone waiting for a call, and the voicemail indicator bings. 

Any other suggestions or solutions? let me know...thanks.

[ShakTiburon]

Your phone isn't blocking "unknown" calls is it? Check your settings, if you have the Old (No longer offered but you may still have it) feature called Call Manager. Make sure nothing is ON like blocking numbers.
Or Did you ever set up Rogers One Number? (Thats New replacement of Call Mananger)

You may actually have a technical issue with your phone, if you are getting intermittnt problems.

And make sure you have Call Forwarding: No Answer Set Up.
Make sure it is NOT Call Forwarding: All.

Besides the work around, (which I think is very useful), I don't know of any more...

Anyone here at the Community know any other option(s)?

[RogersArthur]

Hi @TracyA,

Thank you for your post! We definitely understand the inconveniences of missing calls that are randomly going straight to voice mail without ringing from the phone.

So far you have switched devices and SIM cards. Have you tried calling in, to have one of our wireless technical support agents troubleshoot your issue? As for the request for more than 20 seconds before going to voice mail, are you actually hearing it ring for 20 seconds and not able to get to the phone on time? Or have you found out from several callers, nothing happens (no ringing) for about 20 seconds from their end before going to voice mail?

Let us know,

RogersArthur

[amxreid]

I am having the same problem. Rings only twice then goes to voicmail. I carry my phone in a holster and two rings is not long enough to get to the phone. Why would they hardwire in 20 seconds as the rule?

[J199]

This really needs to be addressed.   Rogers has been ignoring the problem for too long.  Even Bell Mobility allows you to increase it to 30 seconds:  http://support.bell.ca/Mobility/Rate_plans_features/How_to_set_the_number_of_rings_before_Message_Ce...

I would love to get rid of my (Bell) home line but my cell is not a substitute without a longer ring.  If it's charging in the kitchen and I'm upstairs, I need a full minute to get to it.  Sure it's in my purse when I'm out, but I'm not going to be tied to it when I'm home.

Every time I contact Rogers for whatever reason, I request this.  This morning I spent a long time on the phone while an agent tried googling it - none of the hacks worked because they can't until Rogers changes their settings.  Also, most agents I've dealt with are not aware of the 20-second-cast-in-stone reality; this is a lack of training on Rogers' part.

[RogersGabrielle]

@J199,

Unfortunately, this is not a setting that can be changed at this time. We do appreciate your feedback and are constantly looking to improve our customer experience so you can always check back with us at a later date to see if any changes have been implemented.

@RogersGabrielle

[ShakTiburon]

@J199 Hey there.

Most people aren't aware of the hard-set function of ringer being this because it was introduced with GSM.
At that time Bell was CDMA. CDMA allowed ringer settings to be changed, because it was/is analogue. Which is why analogue homephone ring can be changed. Once digital service kicks in (and it will since Analogue has been decommissioned since 2012 and soon many service, broadcaster and line - based on conversion cost and efficiency) - most won't have the option to change ringer down the road once digital. Be it Rogers, Bell or other carriers.

The feedback you have provided is great and this point you brought up definitely sheds light into concerns others may have but like I mentioned above previously, the workaround may be the only hope at this time. Have you attempted to try the work around? Just curious?

[J199]

Since my home phone has an answering machine, that won't work.  And I'd like to ditch it anyway.

[ShakTiburon]

Right... but need to find you a work around.

I mean, silly enough I can always recommend you a Bluetooth device - that way you don't miss a call and leave your phone plugged in charging.

Bluetooth Headset or Bluetooth speaker.
Dunno how much integration you want but it can essentially route audios if you know how to work with Bluetooth properly you could find this a easier solution to your trouble.
Just an idea...

[victorvdc]

Increase OutGoing Ring Count

Is ther a way to increas the out going ring count.  Currently it is 7 rings or 40 seconds.   Some people I know cant get to the phone in that small time and have their answering machine set longer  give them time to get to the phone so it never answeres.

Is this a setting in the Android phone, a SIM card settion or a system setting.r

[RogersShakir]

Hi @victorvdc

Thanks of reaching out to the Community Forums!

This can't be done on the caller's end, no. As whether it goes to voicemail or not is controlled by the receiver as part of their system.

As mentioned on previous posts in this thread, receiving call rings are fixed for Wireless.

Home Phone (landline) however still have an option as they are a different system using *94.

But this won't be done by you, it will be done by the folks you are referring to that you call. As they control their ring settings. Just an FYI, *94 for Home Phone is for Rogers Home Phone, as all * numbers are dependant on carriers.

Hope this sheds some light for you.

Cheers,

RogerShakir

[Pauly]

Hello, as i've mentioned on here before, on ROGERS Wireless only, the delay before the voice mail picks up is Hard Coded into the HLR switch which for 20 SECONDS/4 Rings and is a majour component of the 2G/3G/4G networks and there is No Known way for end users to change this setting. Im guessing if there is enough demand for it to be changed they *Might* be able to do somethiing about it? But you need to voice your opinion with them first.

[OLDYELLR]

Just a bit of history. Back in the day before network based answering services and widespread use of cell phones, there were answering machines with a cassette tape recorder. You could set the number of rings before it answered with a recording ("went to voicemail").  Four rings was the customary choice because then the caller could decide at 3 rings that the person was out or not answering, so they didn't have to pay to leave a message if they were calling long distance.  If you were on the receiving end, you could also decide between 3 and 4 rings if you wanted to answer if you had call display.  Four rings is actually a very long time.

[HMV76]

Dear Rogers,

Please please, work on this feature.  Its ridiculas that a user can't set some paramter for how long it will take for an incomming caller to be sent to voicemail!!!

[Bizguyeh]

Ditch your landline and get a bluetooth compatible home phone with multiple stations as it connects to your cell phone via bluetooth. Battery drains faster on the cell, but you dont need to carry a phone around.

[Pauly]

Rogers now offers a way to change the # of rings before going to Rogers's voicemail answering service.  You would have to speak to Rogers to do this as it can not be done from the consumer end.  however if your using Rogers home phone and have your OWN answering machine (instead of the Rogers voicemail service), you would need to change the settings in your OWN answering machine, and Rogers can not assist you with that.

[Bultaco]

No. It's NOT an Android phone or SIM setting.
It's a ROGERS setting.....it's ARBITRARY....and it's no where NEAR 40 seconds!
It's like 15-18 seconds.

WRONG! There is NO WAY to change the number of rings on your Rogers cell phone before it goes to voicemail. PERIOD!!

[57]

There appear to be two discussions in this thread. One discussion is regarding Cell Phones on Rogers and the time before going to voicemail seems to be "unchangeable" at around 20 seconds.

IIRC if your calls go directly to voicemail, then it's usually because the phone doesn't have a good connection.

The other discussion is regarding Rogers Home Phone and there you can change the number of rings from 1-9. I've done this myself. Here's the link:

You can customize the number of rings a caller hears before unanswered calls are directed to your voicemail.

1. Dial *94 from your home phone.
2. After the tone, enter the desired number of rings (from 1-9) before unanswered calls are directed to your voicemail.
3. After your entry, you’ll hear two beeps; which means you’ve successfully changed the number of rings before calls are directed to your voicemail.

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https://www.rogers.com/customer/support/article/set-up-additional-features