Is there a way to delete all voicemails at once on Android?

The goal of deleting multiple voicemails at once on Android is to quickly clear out old, unwanted messages and free up storage space. Voicemail can take up storage on an Android device and continue accumulating over time. This is especially true if the default voicemail app does not automatically delete older messages. Manually deleting each voicemail individually can be tedious. Being able to delete all voicemails at the same time provides a fast and simple way to clear out the inbox.
Additionally, deleting voicemails in bulk allows users to keep their inbox organized by removing old and irrelevant messages. It also reduces the time spent managing voicemail storage. Overall, the purpose is to optimize voicemail management on Android devices.
Default Voicemail App
Android does not come with a built-in voicemail app, so the default voicemail experience will depend on your mobile carrier and phone manufacturer. Most Android devices use the basic voicemail functionality provided by the mobile carrier.
To access this default voicemail box, you simply dial into your voicemail as you normally would. When viewing your list of messages, the options for deleting voicemails are fairly limited. You can delete messages one by one, but there is no option to delete or clear all voicemails at once.
Some Android devices from Samsung may come with a Samsung voicemail app, while Google Pixel phones have the Pixel Phone app. But again, these apps provide minimal options for managing voicemail beyond listening to messages.
So unfortunately, the default voicemail experience on Android is quite limited. To get more robust visual voicemail with options like batch deletion, most users turn to third party apps. As one Reddit user noted: “I don’t think that I have a default android voicemail app. Searching the google app store doesn’t produce an app either.” (Source)
Third Party Voicemail Apps
While the default voicemail app on Android works fine, many users prefer using third party apps that offer more features and customization options. Some popular third party voicemail apps for Android include:
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YouMail – This highly-rated app provides free visual voicemail, customizable greetings, call blocking, and transcript text messaging. You can even share voicemails via SMS or email, set up urgent call alerts, and more.
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Google Voice – Google’s voicemail app works on Android and iOS and lets you access voicemail, text messaging, and calling all through one number. It includes voicemail transcriptions and custom greetings.
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Voxist – This free app enables easy visual voicemail management for personal and business use. You can screen calls, block numbers, access voicemail transcriptions, and more.
The key benefit of using a third party visual voicemail app is gaining more features and control over your voicemail. Popular options like YouMail and Google Voice provide added functionality the default Android voicemail app lacks.
Delete All in Default App
Most Android devices come with a built-in default voicemail app for managing voicemails. The default voicemail app on Samsung devices is My Voicemail, while on many other Android devices it is simply called Voicemail.
The default voicemail app provides an option to delete multiple voicemails at once. To delete all voicemails:
- Open the default voicemail app on your Android device.
- Tap and hold on the first voicemail in the list. This will activate selection mode.
- Tap each voicemail you want to delete to select it. You can also tap “Select All” to select all voicemails.
- Tap the trash icon at the top. Confirm by tapping “Delete” to permanently delete all selected voicemails.
This will immediately and permanently erase all selected voicemails. The default voicemail app does not have a dedicated “Delete All” button, but the multiple selection process allows deleting all voicemails in just a few taps.
Delete All in YouMail
YouMail is a popular third party voicemail app for Android. To delete all voicemails at once in YouMail, follow these steps:
- Open the YouMail app and login to your account.
- Tap on the “Voicemail” tab at the bottom.
- Tap on the 3 dots icon in the top right corner.
- Select “Delete all” to delete all voicemails.
You will get a confirmation pop-up before all voicemails are permanently deleted. This will remove all voicemails from the account and cannot be undone.
You can also delete all voicemails from the YouMail website. After logging in, go to the Voicemail tab. Select all voicemails using the checkbox, and choose “Delete” from the Actions menu [1]. This will also permanently erase all voicemails.
Closing the YouMail account is another way to delete all voicemails. This can be done from Account Settings. Select “Close Account” and confirm to deactivate the account and delete all data [2].
Delete All in Google Voice
Google Voice gives users the ability to delete multiple voicemails at once to clear old or unwanted messages quickly. Here are the steps to delete all Google Voice voicemails on Android or iPhone:
On Android:
– Open the Google Voice app
– Tap on the Messages tab at the bottom
– Tap on a conversation thread to open it
– Touch and hold one of the voicemails you want to delete
– This will highlight that message and give you the option to delete multiple messages
– Tap on the checkboxes next to each voicemail you want to delete or tap “All” to select all messages
– Tap the trash can icon to delete the selected messages
On iPhone:
– Open the Google Voice app
– Tap on the Messages tab at the bottom
– Tap on a conversation thread to open it
– Tap ‘Edit’ in the top right corner
– Tap the circle icon next to each voicemail you want to delete or tap ‘Select All’ at the top
– Tap ‘Move to Trash’ to delete all selected voicemails
This provides a quick way to mass delete Google Voice voicemails rather than individually deleting each one.
Batch Delete with Automation
If you want to automate deleting multiple voicemails at once, using an automation app like Tasker can help. Tasker allows you to set up scripts and workflows to perform repetitive tasks automatically. You could create a Tasker task to check for new voicemails periodically, then trigger a delete action to clear them out in bulk.
The basic steps would involve:
- Setting up a profile in Tasker to monitor for new voicemails
- Creating a task linked to that profile that launches your voicemail app and deletes all messages
- Adding a time trigger so the task runs on a schedule, like every few hours or once a day
With this automated routine, you can essentially set and forget clearing out your voicemail rather than needing to manually delete each time. Other automation apps like MacroDroid or Automate may also allow creating similar workflows.
Clear Voicemail Notification
After deleting all voicemails, you may notice that the notification showing the number of available voicemails does not clear on your Android phone. This persistent notification is a common issue on Android devices, including Samsung Galaxy phones.
Deleting your voicemail messages does not automatically dismiss the voicemail notification. You’ll need to manually clear the notification for it to disappear. On Samsung Galaxy devices, you can remove the notification by opening the Phone app > Menu > Settings > Clear voicemail notifications.
For other Android phones, you can try stopping the Phone app and clearing app data/cache to remove the notification. Alternatively, you can disable notifications for the voicemail app in system settings. Just be aware that this may prevent new notifications when getting voicemails.
The voicemail notification can sometimes get “stuck” even if there are no new voicemails available. Checking this setting periodically and clearing the notification can ensure it doesn’t persist unnecessarily on your Android device.
Data/Storage Concerns
Deleting a large number of voicemail messages at once can potentially use a significant amount of mobile data, especially if not connected to WiFi.
According to this Google Fi support thread, listening to and deleting voicemails can use up to 1MB of data per minute of voicemail. Therefore, batch deleting a large number of lengthy voicemails could potentially consume a lot of mobile data.
One way to avoid excessive data usage when bulk deleting voicemails is to first download all messages over WiFi. Then the actual deletion process won’t continue eating into your monthly data allowance.
Storage space can also be a concern when keeping a lot of old voicemails. Clearing them out in bulk is an easy way to free up device storage and prevent low memory issues. Just be conscious of potential data usage when mass deleting.
Summary
There are a few options for deleting all voicemails at once on Android phones:
Using the default voicemail app, you can delete voicemails individually or all at once by tapping the trash icon. Third-party apps like YouMail and Google Voice also allow batch deleting all voicemails.
Automating the process through IFTTT or Tasker can regularly clear out all voicemails. You can also disable voicemail notifications so they don’t pile up.
While deleting voicemails frees up space, the actual audio files may still be stored by your provider for a period of time. Check your storage management settings if space is an issue.
In summary, Android offers flexible voicemail management, with manual options to delete all at once, as well as automation through third party apps and services.