Visual Voicemail tab has disappeared on my Pixel 7

[a_wiseman]

Apologies if this appears twice - can't find the original, so don't know whether it's posted or not...

So, my Pixel 7 was playing happily with Visual Voicemail, but since Sunday it hasn't... By which I mean the tab has disappeared in the bottom of the Android Phone app. And the option to switch VV on and off has also disappeared from the Phone app Settings.

I have Android 15 Beta 3.1. But as far as I know, no Phone app updates and no OS updates happened on Sunday. 

Have tried rebooting the phone and also resetting mobile settings to no avail.

I've been in touch with Google. After been transferred three times on the chat they told me how to switch it on (via the non-existent menu item in settings) and then pointed the finger at O2...

[DamienKelly]

My issue has been with O2 for a month. I tried your solution and it worked. Thanks so much. 

[madasaf1sh]

@DamienKelly 

Glad it helped

[FlyStarJay]

Thank you as well. I had this issue this weekend and tried it today. It worked. Thank you for taking your time to answer. 

And to those saying speak with O2, I doubt O2 would have had this idea. This is a forum where people come to get help, so please let's help. 

[ChrisJS]

Thanks to madasaf1sh and all for this thread, it let me get my Pixel 6a (Android 14) fixed. Same symptoms with disappearing VVM tab and settings. Clearing cache and storage brought back the tab but not settings and a message that the SIM was not accessible. Deleting the phone app (i.e. revert to original ROM version) did it - within seconds I got the O2 "Thanks for activating VVM" message. There have been quite a few updates to the phone app so I might try to find one a bit more recent and see if I can sideload that.

[ChrisJS]

I found and tried this version of the apk from May 24 (APK mirror has many) - 129.0.628891516-16242748_minAPI29(arm64-v8a)(nodpi) - and had success with the app still working, even after a restart.

[Yorkshire4ever]

Big THANK YOU for the above instructions about uninstalling the phone app in order to get visual voicemail back again. It's the only thing that worked for me , I had spoke to O2 4 times over the last two days and was getting really frustrated. If anyone else is having this issue follow the above advice and it works instantly once you have uninstalled the phone app . Thanks again 😊

[lolerz346]

Uninstalling worked for me also.

Google Pixel 8 Pro, Android 14 (5th July build)

For what it's worth, I don't think what version of android you're running matters, I think Google has broken something in the latest phone app update.

Many thanks for the tip

[a_wiseman]

If anyone else fancies trying their luck with a sideloaded APK, I have found 135.0.645900888 (arm64-v8a)(nodpi) from apkmirror.com also works on my Pixel 7...

(I installed twice for testing... installed 135, everything looked OK, then updated to the latest Phone dialler from the Play store, 137.0.653273043 22/07/2024, which is still broken. Then had to uninstall this - because you can't install an older version on top of a newer one - and then re-installed 135 again, which is still working and shows new voicemails plus the Settings.)

v135 also has 'Hold for Me' and 'Direct My Call' available.

Obviously, only do this if you're comfortable with the risks of using downloaded APKs!

[a_wiseman]

OK, SCRATCH THAT! 😮

A few hours after thinking version 135 was working, I got notified of a voicemail by my phone, even though no new voicemails had arrived. The existing voicemails were listed and playable, but when I went to check the settings, the visual voicemail options had gone. Back in the app, the Voicemail tab was then gone too. Deleting the cache and storage and rebooting brought back the tab, but with the error message. It was exactly what happened when Visual Voicemail first went wrong and I started this thread.

I tried to install version 129, but it wouldn't let me. (I think you can't install an older version in place of a newer version.) So I 'uninstalled' 135 and then installed 129 and hey presto - got the automated text from O2 and it was back working again.

Apologies for claiming version 135 was OK - it isn't 😞

[Tazuk]

For anyone with this issue, please submit feedback to Google via the app and through play store reviews to raise its visibility.