Google Fi Voicemail Shifts to Phone App, Removing In-App Voicemail Tab and Transcription Access

Google Fi retired in-app voicemail in mid-2025 and now routes every new message directly to your device’s Phone app. If you still open the Fi app looking for a Voicemail tab, transcriptions, or old messages, you won’t find them — the tab was removed on August 13, 2025, and anything stored inside the Fi app that wasn’t exported before that date is gone. Here’s exactly where voicemail lives now in 2026, what was lost in the transition, and how to finish setting it up on Android and iPhone.

Quick-Reference: What Changed in 2025

Date	Change
July 2, 2025	All new Fi voicemails begin routing to the native Phone app on Android and iPhone.
August 13, 2025	The Voicemail tab is removed from the Google Fi app. Stored messages not exported before this date become permanently inaccessible.
Ongoing (2026)	Greeting, PIN, and transcription are handled by the Phone app (Android) or Visual Voicemail / Live Voicemail (iPhone).

Why Google Fi Made the Change

Google confirmed the move in an in-app notice and on its Fi help center in the spring of 2025. In practice, Fi has been shifting away from duplicating features that modern Android and iOS already ship with natively — similar to Google’s earlier decision to fold Hangouts into Messages and Meet. The upside is a more consistent voicemail experience across carriers and one less maintenance burden for Google. The downside is that a handful of features Fi users relied on are now only available if your device happens to support them natively: in-app voicemail transcription, a single visual inbox synced across phones, and playback of old stored voicemails from inside the Fi app.

If you didn’t export your stored Fi voicemails before August 13, 2025, those files are no longer retrievable from Google. Google Takeout no longer lists “Google Fi voicemail” as an available data type because the underlying storage has been decommissioned. Several Fi users on the r/GoogleFi subreddit have confirmed that requests to Fi support after the cutoff returned the same answer: the data is gone.

Where Voicemail Lives Now

On Android (Pixel, Samsung, and most other devices)

Voicemail notifications now appear inside the stock Phone app. Open Phone → Voicemail tab at the bottom. On Pixel phones running Android 14 or newer, Google’s own Visual Voicemail handles playback and auto-transcribes messages for most carriers, Fi included. On Galaxy devices, coverage is more mixed — Samsung’s Phone app supports Visual Voicemail on carrier-branded variants but not always on the unlocked model. If the Voicemail tab is missing, use the dial-in method described below.

On iPhone (iOS 17 or later)

Voicemails show up under Phone → Voicemail. Apple’s Live Voicemail transcribes messages in real time on the lock screen and lets you decide mid-message whether to answer the call. Turn it on under Settings → Phone → Live Voicemail. Live Voicemail replaces the Fi app’s older post-call transcription for most use cases and is the closest equivalent Android or iPhone offers today.

Set Up Voicemail on a Pixel or Other Android Phone

Open the Phone app.
Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner → Settings → Voicemail.
Confirm the Service is set to your carrier (Google Fi for Fi users) and the Setup number is populated. On Fi, this is filled in automatically.
Press and hold 1 on the dial pad to call the voicemail system.
Follow the voice prompts to record a greeting and set a PIN (usually 4–7 digits).
Back in the Voicemail settings screen, toggle Visual Voicemail on and Transcribe voicemails on if your device supports them.

If the Voicemail tab isn’t visible in the Phone app at all, check that Visual Voicemail is enabled in Phone → Settings → Voicemail. Some Samsung Galaxy and OnePlus devices ship a carrier voicemail app (Verizon Visual Voicemail, T-Mobile Voicemail) that takes over from the Phone app’s built-in handler. Uninstall or disable that carrier app if you want Google’s stock experience on Fi.

Set Up Voicemail on iPhone

Open the Phone app.
Tap the Voicemail tab in the bottom-right corner.
Tap Set Up Now.
Enter a 4- to 15-digit password, tap Done, then re-enter it to confirm.
Choose Default greeting, or tap Custom → Record to record your own.

To change a PIN later, go to Settings → Phone → Change Voicemail Password. Enter the new PIN twice and tap Done. The PIN is separate from your iPhone unlock passcode, and Visual Voicemail still uses it for security even if Face ID unlocks the device.

If You Forgot Your Fi Voicemail PIN

Dial #793# from your Fi number. Google Fi sends a temporary 8-digit PIN to the device by SMS within a few minutes. Use that PIN to log in to voicemail, then immediately change it to something memorable: Phone → Settings → Voicemail → Change PIN on Android, or Settings → Phone → Change Voicemail Password on iPhone.

If the reset SMS doesn’t arrive, confirm you have cellular signal (Wi-Fi only won’t work), that your Fi eSIM is the active line for calls, and that SMS short codes are allowed on your plan. You can also reset the PIN from fi.google.com → Account → Phone → Voicemail settings, though the web reset can take up to an hour to propagate to the device.

If “Change Voicemail Password” Is Missing on iPhone

This setting disappears from Settings → Phone for a handful of specific reasons:

Voicemail has never been set up on this iPhone. Tap Phone → Voicemail → Set Up Now first. The password option only appears after initial setup is complete.
The carrier doesn’t support Visual Voicemail on this line. Older MVNOs and some prepaid plans still rely entirely on dial-in voicemail; iOS hides the password field in that case. Call voicemail directly (press and hold 1) and change the PIN through the audio menu.
Wi-Fi Calling is active. Temporarily turn off Wi-Fi Calling (Settings → Phone → Wi-Fi Calling) on the same Apple ID. Change the PIN, then re-enable it.
iOS is out of date. Check Settings → General → Software Update and install the current release. Apple moved the password field across versions in iOS 17 and later.
The line was recently ported. A freshly-ported Fi-to-another-carrier (or vice versa) number often needs 24 hours for carrier provisioning to complete before Visual Voicemail reappears.

What Was Lost in the Transition

In-app transcription: The Fi app used to display typed-out voicemails alongside audio playback. That feature is gone for Android users unless their device ships with Google’s own Visual Voicemail — Pixel phones do; many Galaxy models do not by default.
A single inbox across devices: Fi voicemails previously synced across phones and the Fi web app. Now they live on the device that received the call.
Archived voicemails stored before August 2025: Any message that wasn’t exported via Google Takeout before the cutoff is no longer retrievable.
Web playback at fi.google.com: The Voicemail section of the Fi web dashboard has been removed. The page now only surfaces plan and billing controls.

What to Do Right Now in 2026

Open your Phone app and confirm voicemail setup is complete. A test call from another line is the fastest way to verify you can actually receive and hear a message.
If you rely on transcription, make sure it’s turned on. Pixel: Phone → Settings → Voicemail transcription. iPhone: Settings → Phone → Live Voicemail.
Record a current greeting. Many Fi users still have a default or 2023-era greeting that predates the migration.
If you ever move off Fi, nothing extra needs to be done — voicemail is tied to the Phone app now, not the Fi app. Your greeting, PIN, and message history transfer with the number at the OS level.

Gear That Helps If Your Voicemail Workflow Broke

For users who leaned on Fi’s in-app transcription for accessibility or note-taking, a handful of third-party tools fill the gap. Spot-check Amazon listings before buying — product availability and ASINs change frequently.

Google Pixel 9 (Unlocked) — if transcription is critical and your current phone doesn’t offer it natively, Pixels have the best Visual Voicemail support on Google Fi.
YouMail Visual Voicemail subscription — cross-platform visual voicemail and transcription that works on any U.S. carrier, including Fi, with a free tier that covers most personal use.
Google Voice setup credits — routing a secondary Google Voice number to your Fi line gives you Google Voice’s separate transcription for voicemails left on that number.

Bottom Line

Google Fi’s voicemail is just phone-app voicemail now. It’s simpler, but the “everything in one app” setup Fi users got used to is gone, and anything not exported before August 13, 2025 isn’t coming back. Set up voicemail in your Phone app, turn on transcription where your device supports it natively, and back up future messages with a screen recording or a third-party visual voicemail app if you need a searchable archive.