Unanswered office telephone calls are usually routed to a corporate voice messaging system after a predetermined number of rings. Similarly, most cellular service providers allow customers to route unanswered calls after a specified number of rings.

The number of times the desk phone or cell phone rings can be manipulated to help direct a call to the system of choice. To only receive voice messages through the corporate voice messaging system set the voice mail feature on the cell phone to a higher number of unanswered rings than the corporate system. For example, say the corporate voice messaging system automatically picks up an unanswered call on the third ring. The user then sets the cell phone voice mail system to pick up unanswered calls on the fourth or fifth ring.

Timing cannot ensure which voice mail system covers an unanswered call.

Users who cannot adjust the number of rings on the cell phones must contact the cellular service provider for assistance.

See also, Cellular Voice Mail Avoidance Using Confirmed Answer.