Technology

Setting your Alternate Voice Mail Greeting

Last modified 2/15/2022

You can record an alternate voice mail greeting and set it up to play while you are out of the office.

Before You Begin

The campus voice mail system allows you to set a standard greeting and an alternate greeting.

By default, your alternate greeting is “Sorry, (Your Name) is unavailable.” You can record an alternate greeting in your own voice. If you decide to record an alternate greeting in your own voice, consider including the following:

Explain that you are out of the office and when you will return.
Provide the name and phone number of someone else that can be contacted in your absence.

Your alternate greeting can be set to play when you are out of the office. You can specify a date on which your voice mail will automatically revert back to your standard greeting if you wish. You can also configure your alternate greeting to remain in effect until you switch it back to your standard greeting.

Turn On, Turn Off, and Edit Your Alternate Greeting

To turn on and edit your alternate greeting, do the following:

Do one of the following:
1a. From your campus phone, press the Messages button, or dial 8-3000.
1b. From another campus phone, dial 8-3000.
1c. From a mobile phone or an off-campus (landline) phone, dial 309-438-3000.
If you are accessing your voice mail from a phone other than your campus phone, do the following:
2a. After connecting to the campus phone system, press the Star (Asterisk *) key.
2b. You will be prompted to enter your ID, which is your five-digit phone number, followed by the Pound # key.
If you are accessing your voice mail from a phone other than your campus phone, do the following:
3a. Enter your Voice Mail PIN followed by the Pound # key.
3b. For more information on your voice mail PIN, see: Voice Mail Pin.
Your new messages begin playing immediately (if your alternate greeting is already active, you will hear a message about it instead).
4a. Listen to your new messages, or wait until message playback begins and then press the Star (Asterisk *) key to go to the main menu.
4b. If you press the Star (Asterisk *) key too soon, you will be sent to an operator instead of being taken to the main menu and will need to hang up and try again.
Press 4 for setup options.
Press 1 to change your greetings.
6a. The system tells you which greeting is currently active and plays it back for your review.
6b. These instructions assume your standard greeting is currently active.
Press 2 to turn on your alternate greeting.
Do one of the following:
8a. To set an end date and time for the alternate greeting, press 1 and follow the audible instructions. your voice mail greeting will automatically revert back to the standard greeting once the end date and time you have specified is reached.
8b. To leave your alternate greeting on indefinitely, press the Pound # key. Your voice mail greeting will not revert back to your standard greeting until you manually switch it back.
Your alternate greeting will play for your review.
9a. Press 1 to re-record your alternate greeting.
9b. When you are done, press the Pound # key.
Your alternate greeting is now active. Hang up when you are done.

Turn Off Your Alternate Greeting

To turn off your alternate greeting, do the following:

Do one of the following:
- From your campus phone, press the Messages button or dial 8-3000.
- From another campus phone, dial 8-3000.
- From a mobile phone or an off-campus phone, dial 309-438-3000.
If you are accessing your voice mail from a phone other than your campus phone, do the following:
- After connecting to the campus phone system, press the Star (Asterisk *) key .
- You will be prompted to enter your ID, which is your five-digit phone number, followed by the Pound # key .
Enter your PIN followed by the Pound # key .
You will be told that your alternate greeting is currently active.
Press 2 to turn off your alternate greeting and revert back to your standard greeting.
Your standard greeting is now active. Hang up when you are done.

Getting Help

For technical assistance, Submit a Help Ticket, or contact the Technology Support Center at (309) 438-4357 or by email at SupportCenter@IllinoisState.edu