giffgaff Voicemail Guide

Voicemail is a free network service that answers your phone when you can't — whether you're busy, out of signal, have your phone off, or simply don't make it in time.

On giffgaff, voicemail is active from the moment you activate your SIM. The voicemail number is 443 (which spells 'GIF' on your keypad). Anyone who rings you and can't get through will be invited to leave a message.

From your giffgaff phone: Simply dial 443 and press call. Cost: 1 minute deducted from your plan per call, or 8p per call from Airtime Credit.

From any other phone: Dial your own giffgaff number, wait for voicemail to start playing, press the star key (*), enter your voicemail PIN followed by hash (#), then press star (*) again for the main menu.

Your voicemail PIN is separate from your SIM PIN. It can be between 4 and 10 digits.

Choose a memorable PIN but avoid obvious combinations like 1234 or 0000.

When you call 443 and press star, you'll hear four options:

Press 1: Get help — hear instructions and tips.

Press 2: Listen to messages — play, replay (1), save (2), delete (3), or hear details (8).

Press 3: Change greetings — listen to current (1), record new (2), set temporary greeting (3), record your name (4).

Press 4: Change settings — notification preferences, date/time announcement, security and PIN changes.

Dial 443, press star for the main menu, then press 3 for greetings. Press 2 to record a new greeting.

Recording controls: Press 0 to start/stop recording, press 1 to play back, press 2 to save, press 3 to re-record, or press star (*) to cancel.

A personalised greeting helps callers confirm they've reached the right person.

Your voicemail is on by default. You can control it with free network codes dialled from your giffgaff phone:

• Switch voicemail ON: Dial 1616 (or *004#)
• Switch voicemail OFF: Dial 1626 (or #004#)
• Check status: Dial *#004#

When off, callers will hear a 'not available' message instead of being asked to leave one.

If the *004# code returns an error, try: *61*443# (divert when no reply), *62*443# (divert when unavailable), *67*443# (divert when busy), or *21*443# (divert all calls).

To change your PIN: Dial 443, press star, press 4 for settings, enter your existing PIN followed by hash, then enter your new PIN twice.

Forgotten your PIN? Text the word RESET (in capitals, case-sensitive) to 802443. You'll receive a temporary PIN by text.

If you enter the PIN incorrectly three times from another phone, voicemail is locked for 30 minutes. Text RESET to 802443 to regain access.

Your voicemail works overseas. You can dial 443 from your giffgaff phone, or call your own number from another phone and use your PIN to log in.

In the EU and selected destinations: charges are the same as the UK (1 minute from plan or 8p from credit).

Outside the EU: you pay at the roaming rate of the country you're in, per minute.

Receiving messages is always free — you only pay when you retrieve them.