Overview
YouMail is not hijacking your voicemail—YouMail is a full voicemail service. When you activate YouMail, your carrier is instructed to forward missed or unanswered calls to your YouMail inbox instead of your carrier's voicemail. This article explains why this happens and how to return to your carrier voicemail if you choose to stop using YouMail.
Key benefits/use cases
Clear expectations: Understand why calls route to YouMail after activation
Voicemail control: Learn how carrier call forwarding works with YouMail
Easy reversal: Switch back to your carrier voicemail correctly
Avoid confusion: Prevent voicemail issues after uninstalling the app
How YouMail handles your voicemail
YouMail is more than a spam-blocking app—it replaces your carrier voicemail with a more customizable voicemail system.
When YouMail is active:
Your carrier forwards missed or unanswered calls to YouMail
YouMail answers calls using Conditional Call Forwarding
You gain access to advanced voicemail features such as:
Per-contact greetings
Name announcements
Group greetings
Voicemail transcriptions emailed monthly
This setup allows YouMail to protect your inbox while giving you more control over how callers are handled.
Why your carrier's voicemail no longer answers calls
When you activate YouMail, your phone dials the carrier's call-forwarding activation codes. These codes tell your carrier to send unanswered calls to YouMail instead of the carrier's voicemail system.
This forwarding remains active until it is explicitly turned off.
Important: Uninstalling the YouMail app does not remove call forwarding from your carrier.
How to return to your carrier voicemail
To stop using YouMail and restore your carrier voicemail, you must deactivate call forwarding.
How to return voicemail to your carrier
To return your voicemail to your carrier, follow these steps:
Reinstall the YouMail app (if it was deleted).
Open the app and sign in.
Select Return to Carrier.
Follow the on-screen prompts to dial your carrier’s call forwarding deactivation codes.
Wait for confirmation that deactivation is complete.
Once deactivated, missed calls will go back to your carrier's voicemail.
Important: Deactivation is required because activation involves dialing carrier codes. Removing the app alone does not reverse those changes.
Note: If you no longer have access to the app, you may need to contact your carrier directly to remove call forwarding manually.
Tip: After returning to your carrier voicemail, place a test call to your number and let it ring unanswered to confirm the change.
Pro tip: If you want to keep spam protection but use carrier voicemail, contact YouMail Support to review available configuration options.
To learn more about deactivating, check out our "How To Deactivate YouMail" Help Center article.