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Answer phone not recognised

Forum|Forum|9 months ago
November 17, 2025
8 replies
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When someone rings me and it goes to answer phone they get the message “The number you have called is not recognised. Check the number and dial again.” The answer phone number on my phone is +44 7782 333123 whicj I understand is the correct three mobile number. Please help

Best answer by Decembersangel72

Hi @Bartle45

You don’t say what phone make/model you have so I can’t help in regards to possible settings that you can look at e.g. call divert, but this is some information that I have found with regards to the difference between calls ringing out and being declined and how that affects how the call is handled when diverted to voicemail:-

The difference in messages indicates a problem with the call forwarding settings for unanswered calls on the recipient's phone or network, rather than an issue with declining calls.

Why "Number Not Recognised" Occurs When Ringing Out

When a call is unanswered (rings out), the network automatically attempts to redirect the call to the voicemail service number after a set period. The "number not recognised" message means that this automatic call forwarding is pointing to an invalid or incorrectly configured voicemail number.

This can happen due to:

Incorrect Voicemail Number Settings: The number stored in the phone's settings for "forward if unanswered" is wrong or has missing digits.
Network/Porting Issues: There might be a technical or routing error within the network, especially if the phone number was recently transferred (ported) from a different carrier. The network may not be correctly routing calls from all providers to the voicemail service number.

Why Voicemail Works When Declined

When you manually decline a call, you are actively sending a signal to the network to immediately redirect the call to the standard voicemail service. This process uses a different, direct network instruction than the automatic forwarding after a timeout.

Because the manual decline works, it confirms:

The recipient's phone is on and connected to the network.
The core voicemail service itself is active and accessible.

Solution:

The issue is likely with the specific call forwarding settings for unanswered calls. The owner of the phone should:

Check Call Forwarding Settings: Go into their phone's call settings and verify the "Forward when unanswered" or "Voicemail divert" number with their carrier's official voicemail number.
Contact their Network Provider: If the setting appears correct or cannot be changed, they should contact their mobile service provider's technical team for assistance. They can check for network issues, perform a profile reset, or update the voicemail divert settings on their end.

As you have ensured that the voicemail number is correct and the new SIM still gives the same problem, I would reconnect with Live Chat and ask them to check that all is correct at their end with regards to your voicemail.

Sorry I can’t be of more help! x

Side Note:-

I’ve just looked at my phone (SG J4+) and the voicemail number is stored as +447782333129 and the service provider as Mail. I don’t know if these are correct, as I haven’t set up voicemail, and I’ve just assumed that these settings are updated to connect to iD when I joined their network and when I dial 123 to setup voicemail it connects. I also found this on an internet search to confirm it ‘ a new network SIM card should automatically update the voicemail access number on your phone to match the new carrier's service ‘.

Good luck x

E

Ericstanley66

On which number you are facing this problem.

Decembersangel72

Gold Contributor

Hi @Bartle45

Can you recheck the format of the voicemail number as it should be :-

+447782 333 123
(I don’t know if the spacing in the number affects the connection to voicemail but it is worth a try!)

Is this problem encountered by everyone that gets connected to your voicemail?

Have you set up the voicemail with that handset?

To set up your iD Mobile voicemail,

dial 123 from your iD phone and follow the automated prompts to set up a PIN and your personal greeting. If you have trouble or need to change your PIN later, you can do so by dialing 123 again, navigating to the settings options, and following the instructions.

Initial setup

Dial 123: From your iD mobile phone, call 123.
Follow the prompts: The automated system will guide you through the setup process.
Set a PIN: You will be asked to create a voicemail PIN. Make it a secure number that isn't easy to guess.
Record a greeting: You can record a personal greeting or choose to use the standard one.

Have you tried turning your voicemail off and then on again? This can be done via your account :-

Log in to your iD app or my account online and go to the "Plan" or "Services" section to toggle Voicemail off/on.

If you still having problems then you can contact iD Mobile via Live Chat.

To contact the live chat:-

https://www.idmobile.co.uk/live-chat

Type ‘talk to a person’ when you open the dialogue box to bypass the chatbot.
Please be patient as the agents handle a few conversations at any one time so there will be a delay in connecting with an available agent and also any replies to your query.

You can also contact iD Mobile via:-

Send a private message via their Socials (Facebook, X or Instagram)
iD Mobile social media accounts:-

Instagram: @idmobileuk
Facebook: idmobileuk
X (formerly Twitter): @iD_Mobile_UK

or email socialqueries@idmobile.co.uk.

Good luck x

Did my comment help answer your question? If so, don't forget to mark the response as the Most Helpful Answer.

JoeKing

Silver Contributor

@Bartle45 and anyone else experiencing this issue I had this same problem when I joined IDMobile year's ago. It's was down to a batch of sim card and the format used.

Try this regardless of phone go into you phone setting and locate you voicemail settings. Once inside look for the voicemail number and change it as follows no space in between. +447782333123 and save.

Close the setting once saved and see if this has helped you situation.

Joe 🙂

Android OS 16 - Nothing Phone 2, (Samsung Galaxy S 25 Ultra Here to help, I do have a life. 😉

B

Bartle45Author

Helpful Contributor

Thank you all for your replies. I contacted id chat and eventually they sent a new SIM card but I still have the same problem. i have tried all the solutions suggested. However I have discovered that if the call is declined it goes to my personal greeting but if the call rings out then I get the problem originally described.

Decembersangel72Answer

Gold Contributor

Hi @Bartle45

You don’t say what phone make/model you have so I can’t help in regards to possible settings that you can look at e.g. call divert, but this is some information that I have found with regards to the difference between calls ringing out and being declined and how that affects how the call is handled when diverted to voicemail:-

The difference in messages indicates a problem with the call forwarding settings for unanswered calls on the recipient's phone or network, rather than an issue with declining calls.

Why "Number Not Recognised" Occurs When Ringing Out

When a call is unanswered (rings out), the network automatically attempts to redirect the call to the voicemail service number after a set period. The "number not recognised" message means that this automatic call forwarding is pointing to an invalid or incorrectly configured voicemail number.

This can happen due to:

Incorrect Voicemail Number Settings: The number stored in the phone's settings for "forward if unanswered" is wrong or has missing digits.
Network/Porting Issues: There might be a technical or routing error within the network, especially if the phone number was recently transferred (ported) from a different carrier. The network may not be correctly routing calls from all providers to the voicemail service number.

Why Voicemail Works When Declined

When you manually decline a call, you are actively sending a signal to the network to immediately redirect the call to the standard voicemail service. This process uses a different, direct network instruction than the automatic forwarding after a timeout.

Because the manual decline works, it confirms:

The recipient's phone is on and connected to the network.
The core voicemail service itself is active and accessible.

Solution:

The issue is likely with the specific call forwarding settings for unanswered calls. The owner of the phone should:

Check Call Forwarding Settings: Go into their phone's call settings and verify the "Forward when unanswered" or "Voicemail divert" number with their carrier's official voicemail number.
Contact their Network Provider: If the setting appears correct or cannot be changed, they should contact their mobile service provider's technical team for assistance. They can check for network issues, perform a profile reset, or update the voicemail divert settings on their end.

As you have ensured that the voicemail number is correct and the new SIM still gives the same problem, I would reconnect with Live Chat and ask them to check that all is correct at their end with regards to your voicemail.

Sorry I can’t be of more help! x

Side Note:-

I’ve just looked at my phone (SG J4+) and the voicemail number is stored as +447782333129 and the service provider as Mail. I don’t know if these are correct, as I haven’t set up voicemail, and I’ve just assumed that these settings are updated to connect to iD when I joined their network and when I dial 123 to setup voicemail it connects. I also found this on an internet search to confirm it ‘ a new network SIM card should automatically update the voicemail access number on your phone to match the new carrier's service ‘.

Good luck x

Did my comment help answer your question? If so, don't forget to mark the response as the Most Helpful Answer.

B

Bartle45Author

Helpful Contributor

Thank you. That is brilliant. All works fine now. Why can’t ID Chat get the correct answer, My second hour long chat with them resulted in them recommending visiting the tech team at Curry’s! Thanks again.