Since I had to search this recently, I’m posting it to helpfully trigger my memory. Maybe…
To be as evil as possible, the carriers do not promote or tell you about the existence of this keystroke. Furthermore, the key to press is different with each company:
* for Verizon
1 for Sprint
# for AT&T
# for T-Mobile
Every time you dial a number, you’d have to know which carrier that person uses. Which is, of course, impossible.
And you can’t just press *-1-# in a row, hoping to cover all bases—because if you press the wrong keystroke for the wrong carrier, you wind up boxed into that system’s voicemail menus.
…
STEP ONE. Press 1. If it’s Sprint, you get the beep, and you’re done. If you hear an error recording, go on:
STEP TWO. Press *. If it’s Verizon, you get the beep. If not:
STEP THREE: Push #. You get the beep for T-Mobile or Cingular.
You have to pause after each one, and you have to keep listening. But it’s one small way to fight back. Remember: One Star Pound.
via David Pogue when he used to write for the NYT.
I wonder if Sprint and T-Mobile merged their voicemail systems yet? These instructions were written in 2009, if I remember I’ll update for modern carriers in 2024.
