# Webex Calling voicemail

Canonical: https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/webex-calling-voicemail-artefacts

Last verified: 2026-09-15

Webex Calling routes unanswered calls to voicemail based on a ring count configured per user[^9]. Voice portals, user mailboxes, and shared voicemail groups provide message storage and retrieval options across the platform[^17][^13].

## Mailbox configuration and limits

An unanswered call diverts to voicemail through the setting called send calls to voicemail when unanswered, which is set to a number of rings chosen from a list[^9]. Neither a default ring count nor a ring count range is published for this setting[^9].

The user voicemail configuration publishes 5 settings that have explicit bounds but no published defaults[^5]:
- Message deletion: 1 to 180 days[^5]
- Passcode change window: 1 to 7 days[^5]
- Passcode expiry: 15 to 180 days[^5]
- Passcode history: 10 to 24[^5]
- Passcode length: 6 to 30[^5]

An internal mailbox holds a single message of at most 10 minutes, with a total limit of 100 minutes or 1,000 pages of fax[^6]. The total message count includes fax messages because fax and voicemail share this storage pool[^6]. Messages older than 180 days are archived automatically, and retrieving an archived voicemail requires a service request to Cisco[^8]. No held document states what happens when a mailbox reaches its storage limit[^12].

Storage can be set to keep messages in the internal mailbox, send them to an email address, or both[^7]. Selecting an external mailbox routes every message to an email address, which eliminates access from the phone, the Webex App, and User Hub, and stops transcription[^3]. Sources disagree on transcription prerequisites, as the user voicemail article gives 3 different and mutually incomplete statements of what voicemail transcription requires before settling it in one place[^15].

## Access and voice portals

A voice portal provides the dialable number a user calls to access voicemail, and it enforces its own passcode rules[^17]. An organisation default voicemail passcode also grants access to other user services, including the single number reach portal and hoteling, while disabling hot desk sign-in through the voice portal[^2].

A shared voicemail box is provisioned as a voicemail group in Control Hub to take messages for multiple users[^13]. A voicemail group has a single greeting covering both the no-answer and busy scenarios, and users access it through a shared passcode rather than a list of permitted users[^14].

## Reporting and records

The voicemail usage report contains 31 fields that describe the current state of a mailbox rather than historical events[^16]. Cisco states that this report is intended for operational monitoring and troubleshooting, not for billing purposes[^16].

A call handled by voicemail is marked as answered in the detailed call history, where the user type field is set to voicemail retrieval[^1]. Outside this, the 3 voicemail feature articles do not mention call detail records, reporting, or call history[^10]. Neither voicemail article says what a voicemail leaves in a record, as report, call detail, and log each occur 0 times in both, and every occurrence of record is about recording a greeting[^4]. Furthermore, no held document states what occurs when a consult leg reaches voicemail, with the reports documentation never pairing the words "consult" and "voicemail" in the same sentence, and neither voicemail article mentioning "consult" at all[^11].

## Applicability

Applies to: Cisco Webex Calling. Sources checked 2026-09-15.

## What remains uncertain

The default number of rings before an unanswered call diverts to voicemail is not covered by the sources below. How long a voicemail copy sent to email is kept is not covered by the sources below.

## Sources

[^1]: A call handled by voicemail is recorded as answered in the detailed call history with the user type field set to voicemail retrieval. Source: [Reports for Your Cloud Collaboration Portfolio](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nmug598/Reports-for-Your-Cloud-Collaboration-Portfolio), Cloud collaboration reports, detailed call history, Answered and User type fields. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^2]: The organisation default voicemail passcode also grants access to other user services including the single number reach portal and hoteling and disables hot desk sign-in through the voice portal. Source: [Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/hc69wk/Configure-and-manage-voicemail-settings-for-a-Webex-Calling-user), Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user, voicemail passcode. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^3]: Choosing an external mailbox sends every message to an email address and removes access from the phone the Webex App and User Hub and stops transcription. Source: [Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/hc69wk/Configure-and-manage-voicemail-settings-for-a-Webex-Calling-user), Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user, external mailbox. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^4]: Neither voicemail article says what a voicemail leaves in a record: report call detail and log each occur 0 times in both and every occurrence of record is about recording a greeting. Source: [Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/hc69wk/Configure-and-manage-voicemail-settings-for-a-Webex-Calling-user), Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user and Manage a shared voicemail and inbound fax box, counted against the rendered articles. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^5]: The user voicemail article publishes 5 settings with a bound and no default: message deletion after 1 to 180 days, a passcode change window of 1 to 7 days, passcode expiry of 15 to 180 days, a passcode history of 10 to 24 and a passcode length of 6 to 30. Source: [Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/hc69wk/Configure-and-manage-voicemail-settings-for-a-Webex-Calling-user), Configure and manage voicemail settings, passcode and storage settings. Checked 2026-09-05.
[^6]: A mailbox holds a single message of at most 10 minutes and 100 minutes in total or 1000 pages of fax and the total message count includes fax messages. Source: [Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/hc69wk/Configure-and-manage-voicemail-settings-for-a-Webex-Calling-user), Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user, internal mailbox limits. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^7]: A voicemail message may be kept in the internal mailbox, sent to an email address, or both. Source: [Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/hc69wk/Configure-and-manage-voicemail-settings-for-a-Webex-Calling-user), Configure and manage voicemail settings, message storage. Checked 2026-09-05.
[^8]: Voicemails older than 180 days are archived automatically and retrieving an archived voicemail requires a service request to Cisco. Source: [Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/hc69wk/Configure-and-manage-voicemail-settings-for-a-Webex-Calling-user), Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user, message retention. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^9]: What sends an unanswered Webex Calling call to voicemail is a setting called send calls to voicemail when unanswered, controlled by a number of rings chosen from a list, and neither a default nor a range is published for it. Source: [Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/hc69wk/Configure-and-manage-voicemail-settings-for-a-Webex-Calling-user), Configure and manage voicemail settings, message forwarding settings. Checked 2026-09-05.
[^10]: None of the 3 voicemail articles mentions a call detail record, reporting or call history. Source: [Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/hc69wk/Configure-and-manage-voicemail-settings-for-a-Webex-Calling-user), The user voicemail, shared voicemail and voice portal articles, counted against the rendered article. Checked 2026-09-05.
[^11]: No held document states what happens when a consult leg reaches voicemail: the reports document never uses consult and voicemail in one sentence and neither voicemail article uses consult at all. Source: [Reports for Your Cloud Collaboration Portfolio](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nmug598/Reports-for-Your-Cloud-Collaboration-Portfolio), The reports document and the 2 voicemail articles, counted against the rendered articles. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^12]: No held document states what happens when a mailbox reaches its storage limit. Source: [Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/hc69wk/Configure-and-manage-voicemail-settings-for-a-Webex-Calling-user), The 2 voicemail articles and the reports document, counted against the rendered articles. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^13]: A shared voicemail box is created as a voicemail group in Control Hub and can receive messages for more than one person. Source: [Manage a shared voicemail and inbound fax box for Webex Calling](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/mcjd4u/Manage-a-Shared-Voicemail-and-Inbound-Fax-Box-for-Webex-Calling), Manage a shared voicemail and inbound fax box. Checked 2026-09-05.
[^14]: A voicemail group has a single greeting covering both the no-answer and the busy case and is reached by a shared passcode rather than by a list of permitted users. Source: [Manage a shared voicemail and inbound fax box for Webex Calling](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/mcjd4u/Manage-a-Shared-Voicemail-and-Inbound-Fax-Box-for-Webex-Calling), Manage a shared voicemail and inbound fax box for Webex Calling, voicemail group. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^15]: The user voicemail article gives 3 different and mutually incomplete statements of what voicemail transcription requires before settling it in one place (disputed). Source: [Configure and manage voicemail settings for a Webex Calling user](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/hc69wk/Configure-and-manage-voicemail-settings-for-a-Webex-Calling-user), Configure and manage voicemail settings, transcription. Checked 2026-09-05.
[^16]: The voicemail usage report publishes 31 fields describing the state of a mailbox rather than events and Cisco states it is intended for operational monitoring and troubleshooting and not for billing. Source: [Reports for Your Cloud Collaboration Portfolio](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nmug598/Reports-for-Your-Cloud-Collaboration-Portfolio), Cloud collaboration reports, Voicemail Usage Stats report. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^17]: A voice portal is the number a user calls to reach their voicemail, and it carries its own passcode rules. Source: [Configure voice portals for Webex Calling in Control Hub](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nojp8ej/Configure-voice-portals-for-Webex-Calling-in-Control-Hub), Configure voice portals for Webex Calling in Control Hub. Checked 2026-09-05.