Set up and use the Spark Voicemail app

Spark Voicemail is simple and intuitive to use. There's also a tutorial available within the app. To access this:

For Android mobiles:

1. Select the hamburger icon at the top left of the main screen.
2. Press Tutorial

For Apple mobiles:

1. Select the three dots at the top right of the main screen.
2. Press Tutorial

Reassure callers they have reached the correct number by recording a personalised greeting – its quick and easy to do!

In addition, you can record multiple greetings and activate them when you're on holiday, for special occasions, during different seasons, or to keep things fresh. Change these options in My Greeting as many times as you like.

To personalise your voicemail greeting follow the steps below.

1. Open the app
2. Select the hamburger icon at the top left of the screen if using an Android phone, or the 'three dots' menu on the right if using Apple iOS phone
3. Select My Greeting
   
   Note: There are three greeting types available for you to use.
4. Select one greeting you would like to change, then follow the steps:
   
   
   1. System Greeting – This is a pre-recorded greeting which can include or exclude your number, or your mailbox name.
      • To select, press System Greeting
      • To edit the options, press the 'Pen' icon
        1. Press Excludes Mailbox Name then the appropriate option to include or exclude the Mailbox name
        2. Press save when finished or the back icon to go back to the My Greeting view
           
           
   2. Personal Greeting – This is a personal greeting you can record. Your callers will hear this when they leave a message.
      • To select, press Personal Greeting
      • To edit , press the 'Pen' icon
        1. Enable any permissions requested by the app, for example, Enable Mic
        2. Press record to record your greeting
        3. Press save when you are finished or the back icon to go back to the My Greeting view 
           
           
   3. Temporary Greeting – This is a greeting you can record and make active. This will override your other greetings. You can use this when on holiday, or if you want a temporary greeting to play for a period of time. Once selected, your callers will hear this instead of your normal greeting, until another option like Personal Greeting is selected.
      • To select, press Temporary Greeting
      • To edit, press the 'Pen' icon
        1. Enable any permissions requested by the app, for example, Enable Mic
        2. Press record to record your greeting
        3. Press save when you are finished or the back icon to go back to the My Greeting view
           
           
   4. Busy or Declined Greeting – This is a greeting you can record and make active. This will play to the caller if you are already on a call or you decline their call. You can use this if you want to record a different message to the Standard system or Personal Greeting.  Once enabled, your callers will hear this when you decline the call.
      • To turn on or off, press the toggle switch
      • To edit, press the 'Pen' icon
        1. Enable any permissions requested by the app, for example, Enable Mic
        2. Press record to record your greeting
        3. Press save when you are finished or the back icon to go back to the My Greeting view 
           
           

Note: The Busy or Declined greeting works only in conjunction with either the System or Personal Greeting when Active. If you have the Temporary Greeting active this will always override all other greeting options.

Handy tip: In your greeting, you can let the callers know that the "Voice message will be delivered immediately to the phone". They're more likely to leave a message and will save both parties from calling again or sending a text.

How do I get this?
This app is available on the App Store for iOS and Google Play Store for Android. It's free of charge for customers on Pay Monthly mobile plans. For customers on Prepaid mobile plans you pay a subscription fee of $1 per 28 days. Prepaid customers must add the subscription via the Spark app or message us, before downloading the app.

What does ‘Unlock on launch’ mean?
This option will ask you for your device security information each time you open the app. This is off by default, but if turned on provides an increased level of security so that anyone who may pick up your phone can't open your voicemails.

I have voicemail and downloaded the Voicemail App but I got a message saying I cant use it - why is that?
Mobile users can only use the app once they are on the new service. From 24 August, till near the end of October, Spark is moving customers to the new voicemail service. We'll let you know when your voicemail has moved and at that time Voicemail App will be available for you to download.

Does the app support Dark or Night mode?
Yes, the app has built-in support for both Apple’s dark mode and Android’s night/dark mode.

What is ‘Dark mode always-on’?
This feature enables the app to remain in dark mode, regardless if your iOS or Android device is set to light or dark/night mode. This is useful if you like the darker scheme but don’t want it on for all your apps, of if your device does not support dark/night mode.

How do I turn on/off missed calls notifications?
In the Spark Voicemail app, go to Menu bar > Voicemail preferences, select Enable missed call to turn this feature on or off.

If I have a contact saved on my mobile will their name appear with the message?
Yes, you can also group messages by sender, which makes it easy to see all your messages with that person. Set that up in your App preferences.

What does 'Group voicemails by caller' do?
When ‘Group voicemails by caller’ is active, all voicemails from the same caller will be grouped together. To access their voicemails, select the caller’s name and open the voicemail you wish to review. When off, voicemails are shown individually in chronological order - organised by latest date received (newest shows first).

How does a blocked number display in the app above the message?
The message will still appear with the word ‘Unknown’ in place of where the name or mobile would be displayed.

What does ‘Hide transcription preview’ mean?
When ‘Hide transcription preview’ is on, you'll see a preview of the first part of the transcription text in the voicemail screen.  When off, you'll see just the caller name or phone number and the type of number they called from – Mobile, Home, Work etc.

What does show button labels do?
When ‘Show button labels’ is active, button labels will appear in the voicemail dialog.

How do I use the email notifications option and what does ‘Filter Contacts’ do?
When ‘Email Notifications’ is active, you can define up to two email addresses that will also get a copy of new voicemail messages.  This can be useful if, for example, you're on holiday and have your assistant monitoring any messages left, or you're travelling and would like your assistant at the main office to respond to voicemails.
The ‘Filter Contacts’ feature acts as an exception list; any contacts you add here will not have their voicemails forwarded by email. This is useful, for example, with voicemails from close family or friends that you may not want to be sent to your assistant.

The transcription is not always correct, why is that?
Transcription uses audio from the voicemails, processed through a vast cloud-based Audio-to-Text processing engine. In some circumstances some words may be transcribed incorrectly due to how the caller pronounces a word, the level of background noise or if the name or word is unknown. Our testing feedback showed that customers find transcriptions useful even when they contain the odd error. This will improve over time as more customers use the service.

How long can my messages be?
Your message length can be up to 5 minutes, though they are typically around 20 seconds. Shorter messages are more likely to be listened to as well.

How long are the messages kept?
Messages are kept for 365 days at present, though this may change.

Is there a limit on the number of messages that can be stored?
In general, there is no limit, but practically each message does take up some space on your device, so it will use and is limited by your phone’s storage. We have tested storing an excess of 1,000 messages with no issues.

I have a voicemail that I want to keep permanently, how can I do that?
If you have a message that you want to keep for the long-term, we suggest that you use the app’s ‘Share’ option for that specific voicemail and save or send it by any means available and convenient to you.

I have deleted a voicemail that I really needed; how can I get it back?
When you first delete a voicemail, it's stored in the app’s ‘Recently deleted’ folder, accessible from the Menu bar - you can recover the voicemail from this menu. If you have deleted it twice, both from 'My Voicemails' and 'Recently Deleted', your voicemail cannot be recovered.

I forgot some of the features, can I see how they work again?
You can view the tutorial again from the app’s main menu. This will take you through its various views and provide an overview of the functionality available.

What does ‘transcription pending’ mean?
‘Transcription pending’ means that the voicemail’s audio has arrived on your device - so you can press play and listen - but its transcription wording is still in the process of being generated. It will arrive shortly.

What’s the format of the audio file?
It’s in a .wav (Wave) format.

How can I get a link sent to me to notify I have a message?
When the app is activated, by default the sending of the text message link is turned off. This can be changed by dialling 083210, listen to the prompts to change the option.

I'm worried about security, are my messages encrypted?
Messages are securely stored and encrypted during delivery to your device. On your device they are stored in app device folders. In addition, in the app preferences option you can enable ‘Unlock on launch’. This enable your devices security options, for example, enter a PIN each time the app is opened.

Will we get spammed by telemarketers with messages on the app?
The Voicemail App has been tested rigorously and encompasses very high levels of security. Messages must be delivered via Sparks secure network and cannot be sent directly to your app. Spark actively monitors network traffic so unless a telemarketer calls and leaves a message, spam calls are unlikely to be an issue.

I don’t want to use the app anymore, how do I go back to receiving voicemails?
If you no longer want to use the Spark Voicemail App, you can simply uninstall the Spark Voicemail app or just stop using it. The voicemails you had in the app will remain on the Spark Voicemail server and you can access these by calling 122, or 083210.

New callers leaving a message will continue to go to your voicemail box. You'll also need to update your message notification options by calling 083210 and following the prompts.

From the Main menu, select
1. Change Personal options (3),

2. Then select Notifications menu (3).

3. Select the option to turn on ‘Text Notifications’ to get an SMS message when a new message is left.

What does the app cost?
If you're on a Pay Monthly mobile plan get the app included free as part of your plan. If you're on a Prepaid mobile plan, you'll need to buy the $1 Voicemail Unlimited extra, prior to activating the app.

Does it cost to access messages?
No, whilst in New Zealand there's no other cost to use the app or access the voicemails that are sent to your device. If you're using the app overseas it will consume a small amount of data from your roaming pack if you've bought one, or will be charged at casual roaming rates.

I didn’t receive the SMS code?
Return to the Activate screen by selecting ‘Back’ on the ‘Enter Activation Code’ screen, or close the app, and reopen it. Enter your Spark mobile phone number to request another SMS activation code. For security reasons, you can only request five SMS activation codes in an hour.

I put in the wrong mobile number upon activation, how can I start again?
The activate screen will wait until the SMS activation code is entered, unless you leave.  Re-enter the correct Spark mobile phone number and activate again. You may uninstall then reinstall the app on your device and run through the install process again.

My contact's name or picture are not showing, just the calling number, how do I fix that?
To see your contact's names and photos in the app, you need to allow the app access/permission to access your contacts on your mobile. This enables the app to associate your contact information with the number calling.
To grant contact access to the Spark Voicemail app, find the Spark Voicemail app in your device’s system settings (the Settings app) and allow it to access contacts in permissions. Refer to steps below:

For Android mobiles: Open the Settings app > apps > Spark Voicemail > permissions > turn on contacts, microphone, telephone. To enable all the app’s features.

For iOS mobiles: Open the Settings app > Spark Voicemail > turn on contacts, microphone, speech and recognition. To enable all the app’s features.

The app is frozen (or some other fault) – who can I contact for help?
Get in touch with our specialist team via message. Message us

What does ‘Unlock on launch’ mean?
When ‘Unlock on launch’ is active, your device will ask you to unlock the app every time you open it. This feature is off by default, but if active, provides an increased level of security so that anyone who may pick up your phone cannot simply open your voicemails.

I've changed my device, can I reinstall the app? What happens to my voicemails?
If you change devices, follow the steps below:

1. Install and activate the Spark Voicemail app on your new device.
   
2. The app will download your current custom greeting and any voicemail messages you had from the server onto your new device.
   
3. Uninstall the Spark Voicemail app from your old device.
   

Where is my voicemail stored?
Voicemails are stored in New Zealand in a Spark New Zealand data centre that's fully encrypted and secure.  

My mobile is with another provider. Can I get this app?
The app is only available for Spark customers so please talk to one of our advisors so we can arrange the best plan suitable for your needs, and change to the Spark network.

What if my mobile number has changed?
Once your number has changed, uninstall the Spark Voicemail app, then re-install and activate it again with your new mobile number. Your existing greetings and voicemail messages will be synched from the server onto the app.  

There are other free voicemail transcription services around – what’s so good about this?
You are right, there are free apps that offer a similar service. In most cases though, they limit the number of free messages you can access or have transcriptions for before buying. Or, they have ads running that you have to dismiss or read before accessing your voicemail, and then suggest a premium app version that allows for more content or no ads.

Spark has created an enterprise-level app that is fully secure, providing full access with no ads or other content, and offers access to Spark’s channel and assure support. The app also works natively in our network to manage how your callers are diverted to this service.

Why am I being asked to update the app?
We regularly make enhancements to the app so it's important you keep the app updated to the latest version.