We’ve all had to make phone calls we wish we didn’t have to make. As the phone rings, we pray for voicemail to pick up. (Millennials understand the struggle.) And while the FCC is cracking down on robocallers leaving “ringless voicemail,” there are still ways for the average person to avoid the horror that is speaking to another human on the phone.
Slydial
Slydial lets a caller go directly into a mobile number’s voicemail. Even better, the basic service is free, and no signup is required to use it unless you need more functionality.
To use Slydial, dial 267-SLYDIAL (267-759-3425). When prompted, enter the US mobile phone number for the person you are trying to call. Once the service connects you, leave your voicemail, and then just hang up.
You can also use the Slydial app for iOS or Android. Create a free account with the service, then choose a contact through the app or manually enter a phone number. Once the app has connected the call, leave a voicemail and hang up when you’re finished.
Unfortunately, not all phone numbers can be dialed: Slydial doesn’t work with landline phones, third-party voicemail services, VoIP numbers, or prepaid mobile phones. If you subscribe to one of the premium plans, you can eliminate the ads on the service and send messages to multiple contacts at once.
Alternative services exist, but most voice-broadcasting services don’t offer functionality for free, and most focus on messaging dozens or hundreds of contacts at a time.
Call Through Voicemail
Traditional voicemail services once offered this feature, but visual voicemail (with a visual interface that lets you access messages directly) has mostly eliminated that possibility. If your phone does not have visual voicemail, and you have to call an inbox to hear your messages, you may still be able to use this feature.
Check with your carrier on specifics, but an option to “send a message” may be in the voicemail menu. This will allow you to send a voice message from your voicemail to another person’s inbox without having to make a phone call first. Even if you have this feature, it can only be used to send messages to contacts with the same carrier as you. So Verizon customers can send voice messages only to other Verizon customers, for example.
Voice Messaging
Many messaging apps, including Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and WhatsApp, offer the ability to send voice messages to contacts without needing to make a phone call at all. Typically, you would send a voice message by opening a conversation in the app and holding down the microphone button. You then let go to send the message or swipe the screen to delete.
Apple iPhone users can send voice messages from Apple’s Messages app by tapping the microphone button inside the text box (this works only when you’re messaging other iPhones). By default, these messages last for only two minutes before they are deleted, but you can change that. Tap Keep under any sent voice message to preserve it.
For future voice messages, head to Settings > Messages and tap Expire under Audio Messages. You can set the expiration date to Never, but this affects only your record of the conversation, not the recipient’s.
Apple’s Voice Memos app can also be used to record a voice message. You then tap the ellipsis icon and open the Share pane to find the correct destination.
