How to Set Up Skype Voicemail

By Loren Abdulezer, Susan Abdulezer, and Howard Dammond from Skype For Dummies

Skype supports an easy-to-set up voicemail system. One convenient benefit of setting up Skype Voicemail is that your audio messages — both your greeting and the incoming messages people leave you — are not stored on your computer but instead are stored remotely on Skype's central servers. As a result, you don't have to worry about missing calls when you turn off your computer.

Before you can use Skype Voicemail, you have to start your setup and record the Voicemail greeting that your callers will hear:

Start Skype and choose Tools→Options→Calls→Voicemail from the main menu.

The Voicemail window pops up. You can purchase Skype Voicemail separately, or you can get Voicemail for free with a Skype subscription.
Put a checkmark in front of Send unanswered calls to voicemail.

In this window you also see the three buttons you can use to record and play back your Voicemail greeting.
Just click the Record button (the green button with the triangle) and speak the Voicemail greeting you want callers to hear.

Your greeting or welcome message may be up to 60 seconds in length.
Click the Stop button (the red button with the dot) when you're finished recording.
Click the Replay button (the red button with the backward arrow) to listen to the message you just recorded.

If you don't like what you hear, you can press the Record button again and re-record your greeting.
When you're satisfied that you recorded the perfect message, click Save.
Enter a number in the I Do Not Answer within…Seconds box.

This gives you control of how soon to switch incoming calls to Voicemail.
Select the I Reject an Incoming Call box.

This allows you to send calls to Voicemail when you do not want to talk.
Select the I Am Already in a Call check box.

This sends calls to Voicemail when you are already in another conversation.

You can easily sign up for or renew your Voicemail service by going to your Skype account log-in page and clicking Voicemail button. If the Skype program is running and you are logged in, you can simply choose Skype from the menu at the top of the page and click Account.