If callers reach your voicemail but do not hear audio, cannot leave a message, or voicemail recordings are missing or silent, use this guide to identify and fix common issues.
User level: Admin
Symptoms
You may experience one or more of the following:
Caller symptoms
Caller hears only a beep and no voicemail greeting
Caller hears silence instead of the voicemail message
Caller cannot leave a voicemail
Caller leaves a voicemail, but the recording is empty or silent
Call never reaches voicemail and ends unexpectedly
Admin / Agent symptoms
Voicemail recording shows 0 seconds or no audio
Voicemail recordings do not appear in Call History
Voicemail notifications are not delivered via email
Voicemail is assigned to the wrong agent or group
Voicemail audio does not play in CloudTalk Phone
Voicemail greeting does not play
How Voicemail Works
Inbound voicemail can be created in two ways:
1. Call Flow Voicemail
The caller reaches a Voicemail action inside your call flow.
You can configure:
playback greeting
assigned agent or group mailbox
email attachment preferences
2. Agent Voicemail
If the call is routed directly to an unavailable agent (offline, busy, no device connected), their personal voicemail greeting plays and voicemail is stored in their mailbox.
For details on setting up voicemail correctly in a Call Flow, including placement and configuration, see Configure Voicemail Settings
Root Causes
⚠️ Call Flow configuration issues
Missing Playback step before the Voicemail action
Voicemail action placed in the wrong branch of the call flow
Wrong agent or group selected as the voicemail recipient
"Send voicemail to agent’s email" disabled
Company-level voicemail settings override call flow
The call never reaches the Voicemail action (misrouting)
⚠️ Agent voicemail issues
Agent voicemail greeting not uploaded or corrupted
Agent voicemail disabled
Incorrect agent email
Agent status rules prevent voicemail (for example, logged out in Phone app)
⚠️ Voicemail audio problems
Caller hears only a single beep (no greeting played)
Greeting file unsupported or damaged
Caller hangs up too quickly
Recording exceeds the 10-minute limit
Connection instability during recording
Audio device conflict in the CloudTalk Phone app
⚠️ Email delivery problems
Email notifications disabled in the Voicemail action
Email disabled at the account level
Agent email incorrectly entered
Email delivered to Spam/Junk
Email provider blocking attachments
⚠️ Dashboard visibility issues
Voicemail still processing
Voicemail saved under a merged contact
Ring group owner sees the voicemail but agent does not
Agent lacks permission to view recordings
Searching by name instead of phone number hides the entry
⚠️ CloudTalk Phone playback issues
Outdated CloudTalk Desktop version
Using an outdated operating system
Wrong audio output device selected
Connection issues affecting playback
Browser permission problems (if using web app)
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
1. Check the Call Flow Voicemail configuration
Go to Numbers > Select the number > Basic settings.
Under Sequence of steps for incoming call, click Configure call flow.
In the Call Flow Designer, confirm that a Voicemail action is present.
Make sure the voicemail block sits on a path callers can actually reach
(typically the Unanswered branch).
Open the Voicemail action (
gearicon) and verify that the correct agent or group mailbox is selected.If multiple Voicemail blocks exist, make sure the call reaches the intended one
2. Make sure the caller hears a playback greeting
If the caller hears silence or only a short beep, it usually means there is no Playback action before the Voicemail block.
This is expected behaviour: without playback, CloudTalk plays only the "beep," which many callers interpret as an error.
To fix this:
In the call flow, add a Playback action before the voicemail.
Upload or record a short message (for example:
“You have reached our voicemail. Please leave your message after the tone”)
Save and publish the call flow.
For more details on managing audio files, supported formats, and uploading recordings, see Configure Sounds and Greetings
3. Verify voicemail email settings
In the Call Flow Designer, locate the Voicemail block and click the gear icon inside the Voicemail block to open its configuration panel.
Review the following options:
Send voicemail to agent’s email
Attach voicemail recording to the email
These can be set to:
Yes
No
Use company settings
If "Use company settings" is selected:
Go to Account > Settings > General > Basic settings.
Check global voicemail options for notifications and attachments.
If global email delivery is disabled, voicemail emails will not be sent even if your call flow tries to send them.
4. Confirm the agent or group email is correct
Voicemail emails will not be delivered if:
the email address contains a typo
the user is deactivated
the group email address is outdated
the agent’s profile does not have an email at all
To check:
Go to Account > Agents or Account > Groups.
Open the assigned user or group.
Verify the email is correct and active.
5. Ask the caller or the agent to check Spam/Junk folders
If a voicemail exists in Call History, but the email notification never arrived:
It may be filtered into Spam, Junk, Promotions, or Other Inbox tabs.
This is especially common with Outlook and Gmail.
6. Check whether the call actually reached voicemail
Open Dashboard > Call History and examine the call details.
If voicemail is missing:
The call may have been answered elsewhere in the flow.
The ringing timeout might be too long.
The call might be stuck ringing agents who appear "Available" but are not using CloudTalk Phone.
The caller may have hung up before your Playback greeting finished.
If the call does not show "Voicemail" in its timeline, the issue is routing, not voicemail itself.
7. Review the voicemail recording in Call History
If a voicemail appears, but audio is missing or silent:
The caller may have hung up too early.
There may have been network issues during the recording.
The voicemail exceeded the 10-minute limit.
The caller may have waited through silence because the Playback step was missing.
You can listen to the voicemail directly in Call History to confirm.
8. Check agent voicemail configuration (if using agent-level voicemail)
If your flow routes directly to an agent and relies on agent voicemail, check:
Agent voicemail is enabled.
The agent has an active greeting.
The greeting file is valid (not corrupted).
The agent’s CloudTalk Phone app is connected and not stuck in an invalid status (for example, logged out or offline).
Agent voicemail behaves differently from call flow voicemail, so both need to be checked if you use mixed routing.
9. Verify audio output and app version when voicemail playback fails
If the voicemail exists but cannot be played in the CloudTalk Phone app:
Check the audio output device in Settings > Microphone & Speakers
Make sure the CloudTalk Phone Desktop app is up to date
Avoid outdated operating systems (they may cause playback issues)
If using the browser version, confirm microphone and audio permissions
This affects only playback, not voicemail creation.
10. Test with a simple call flow
If the issue persists:
Create a new test flow.
Add only:
Playback
Voicemail
End call
Route a test phone number to this flow.
Test from an external number.
If the simple flow works, the issue is in the original routing logic.
If the simple flow fails, this points to voicemail settings, file issues, or email delivery.
When to Contact Support
Contact Support if:
Voicemail recordings never appear in Call History
The voicemail action is correctly configured but does not trigger
Audio files do not play even in a test call flow
Notifications fail despite correct settings
The voicemail block behaves differently from what the Call Flow Designer shows
The voicemail recording is corrupted or always silent
Provide:
A screenshot of your Call Flow
Call IDs of affected calls
Expected vs actual behaviour
The email address that should receive voicemail notifications
Confirmation that Spam/Junk was checked
Screenshots from Call History (timeline + voicemail record)