---
title: "Visual voicemail setup and troubleshooting"
description: "How to access and use your Hiya Spam Blocker voicemail inbox, enable transcription, and fix common playback issues"
url: https://spamblocker-support.hiya.com/en/articles/31-visual-voicemail-setup-and-troubleshooting
collection: "Features"
updated: 2026-11-10
language: en
---

# Visual voicemail setup and troubleshooting

How to access and use your Hiya Spam Blocker voicemail inbox, enable transcription, and fix common playback issues

Hiya Spam Blocker's visual voicemail lets you see, play, and read transcripts of your voicemails directly in the app — without calling your carrier's voicemail box.

**Visual voicemail is part of Call Screener, which requires a Premium subscription.** If you haven't set up Call Screener yet, see [How to use Call Screener on iPhone](https://apphelp.hiya.com/en/articles/12-how-to-use-call-screener-on-iphone) or [How to use Call Screener on Android](https://apphelp.hiya.com/en/articles/32-how-to-use-call-screener-on-android) first.

## Where to find your voicemails

Open the app and tap the **Calls** tab. Voicemails appear inline in your call log with a voicemail indicator. Tap any entry to open the voicemail player.

## Setting up voicemail transcription

To enable transcription:

1.  Open a voicemail in the player
    
2.  Tap **Enable Transcription**
    
3.  When prompted, allow **Speech Recognition** access in your device settings
    

Once enabled, transcripts appear below the audio player. If a transcript couldn't be generated, the player shows **No transcription available.**

**iPhone:** If you previously denied Speech Recognition access, go to **Settings → Hiya → Speech Recognition** and turn it on.

**Android:** If you previously denied Speech Recognition access, go to **Settings → Apps → Hiya → Permissions** and enable the **Microphone** permission.

## Troubleshooting

**Voicemails not loading or inbox is empty**

-   Check your internet connection — visual voicemail requires a data or Wi-Fi connection
    
-   Force-close and reopen the app
    
-   Clear the app cache (Android): go to **Settings → Apps → Hiya → Storage** and tap **Clear Cache**
    
-   If you recently reinstalled the app, you may need to reactivate Call Screener: open Hiya Spam Blocker, tap **Settings → Call Screening & Visual Voicemail**, and tap **Activate**
    

**Can't play a voicemail**

-   Make sure your phone volume is turned up and not on silent
    
-   Try switching to speaker or headphones
    
-   If audio is garbled, this is usually a carrier-side encoding issue — no action is needed on your end
    

**Transcription stuck or unavailable**

-   Check that Speech Recognition is allowed in your device settings for Hiya Spam Blocker
    
-   An active internet connection is required for transcription
    
-   Not all voicemails can be transcribed — short recordings or poor audio quality may return **No transcription available**
    

## If you deleted the app and calls are still being forwarded

Deleting Hiya Spam Blocker without first deactivating Call Screener can leave call forwarding active on your carrier line. See [Call forwarding and accessing voicemails](https://apphelp.hiya.com/en/articles/30-call-forwarding-and-accessing-voicemails) for instructions on how to remove it.