@Curves: Hey, what a coinkidink, I have a message here from you as we speak. Let me juuust check it. Give me a sec. I'll be right back.

*presses voicemail icon*

Wha-

*lone tear rolls down cheek*

92BuickLeSabre

People will just use it to break up with their significant other...the message will say something like.."Oh man, I had SO hoped you would pick up, because I think I can only say this once......"

Curves

@ps61318: Ok, maybe I forgot how to interperate the English language but where do you get not free from "After signing up for the FREE account, users can choose between the basic FREE service with a 30 second ad tacked on"???

Mr.SithNinja

OK, everybody, here's half the trick for free: Look in your cell phone's phonebook. Is there a listing for "Voicemail?"

If so, look at the number your phone is calling. If it's not your cell number, that's the "back door" voicemail number for your cell provider. (Note that some providers use different numbers in different parts of the country.)

If you call the back door number from a cell phone serviced by that provider, the provider's caller id assumes that phone is checking its own messages, and acts accordingly. Call it from another provider's phone and you should get a voicemail system asking what mailbox you're trying to reach. That's how you leave a voicemail without actually calling somebody.

SlyDial is probably just looking up your target number in a database to figure out which back door to use, and connecting you to that. That's the half of the trick you can do for yourself, if you can get hold of the voicemail number.

The other half is probably just a a lame attempt to take advantage of network lag -- diaing and hanging up so quickly that you're off the phone before the target can answer. That doesn't always work, as people keep testifying.

Michael Bauser

@Verdigris: said "You can do this with ANY voicemail system in the world... but you have to know the backdoor numbers for the VM systems themselves. I'd share these with you all but then I'd probably be fired..

You can't fire a Google Search: [www.bridog.net]

ndonahue

Of course it's the other direction... i.e. calls coming into you... but I hope you all know about:

youmail.com and it's brilliant "ditchmail."

Tirkish Delights

Were i live u can do that for free by dialing 5 before there number, u can then also have an option to change their message if you know their password which is usually the default 0000.

hu_hu_cool

@Chromeo is typing this on his iPhone 3G: the chick is HOOOOOOT? What is she, an owl or something?

(Yes, I know, but still it looked funny that way. And she seems to have nice hotters.)

@Mr.SithNinja: Geez, Seth, a bit harsh, don't you think? What was wrong with oneil's comment? It's not free even if you take the free option. He wants it totally free - no monthly fee, etc. Seems he read the article. Hmmm. Don't see the call for hatin'.

ps61318

That chick is HOOOT...

Wait, what? Voicemail who?

And yea...visual voicemail and all that...

Chromeo is typing this on his iPhone 3G

all circuits are busy...but I want this!

dfetzer

@Carmen-I'M NOT ASIAN!:

Ah, my fault. In that case...
That's why we invented texting and email. :) One-sided conversations without the pain in the arse of talking to anyone.

Ideapimp

@oneil: "After signing up for the free account, users can choose between the basic free service with a 30 second ad tacked on, or skip the ad with a $.15 charger per individual message (there is also a $4.95 monthly and a $29.95 yearly plan)."

Step 1. Read article.

Step 2. Comment on article.

Step 3. Enjoy the feeling of not looking like a retarded jackass.

Hope that helps.

Mr.SithNinja

@Geckotek: Thanks!

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog

For Sprint, just go into your voicemail account and schedule a voicemail for delivery. You can schedule it from 1 minute to 1 year away. But, that's just on phones on the Sprint network.

You can schedule a call to your boss and delay sending it to voicemail until early in the morning, so you don't even have to wake up early to call in sick.

I have never done that before.

DustyButt

I think that if you go into your own voicemail there is an option to send a message to someone else from there, and that just goes straight to their voicemail. At least that was what I remember from my old Verizon voicemail. I don't remember if it works between different networks though.

I would check it to see if I can do it now, but there is no way to do it with an iPhone AFAIK.

weatherman

This is friggin brilliant!!! Lets hope that it stays quiet enough that people dont suspect that I am doing it to them.
hehehe. If it shows up as a missed call as well, that would be perfect.

atuck

You can do this with ANY voicemail system in the world... but you have to know the backdoor numbers for the VM systems themselves. I'd share these with you all but then I'd probably be fired...

Neat concept though, and it makes me wonder is this was a company founded by old wireless tech support employees...

...wish I'd thought of that

Verdigris

@oneil: You can do it for free. Listen to an ad and your all free.

silomunke

knowing my friends, the second they hear my voicemail they'll keep calling me untill I pick up so this is a terrible idea. Cuz instead of one annoying conversation, I'll have to endure countless calls that I'll ignore tip I either a.) kill myself, or b.) finally answer the phone. By choosing the latter of the two, I end up talking to this annoying person anyways. Then, halfway through, I realize I shouldve chosen option a.

chizelord

@Carmen-I'M NOT ASIAN!: Don't be too hard on him... this posting doesn't make that terribly clear.

bobdobbs

@shamoononon....wasn't directed @ you...just @ ppl who do eventually pay for it.

[lifehacker.com]

There are other ways listed across the internet. This is a feature of most voice mail systems. In fact, I think some even have shortcuts you add to the users number to go straight to vm.

Geckotek

@Ideapimp: It's not for other people to not call. IT IS WHEN YOU HAVE TO DO THE CALLING. jeez

Carmen-I'M NOT ASIAN!

This was featured this on my local news station. Fox 5 News New York!

bdk185

@Geckotek: Wait what is free? Voicemail? Some carriers make you pay for voicemail. Plus it's not wether or not someones a sucker. If you HAVE to call someone back and you don't want to talk to them this lets you just go right to their voicemail and leave a message. But this is pretty much a stupid idea seeing as how you'll have to eventually talk to the person...time goes on and things happen which will add on to more of the stories they are just DYING to tell you.

Carmen-I'M NOT ASIAN!

So, why is turning your ringer off just not an option?

Ideapimp

@Geckotek: I didn't say I'd pay for it, but how do you do it for free?

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog

Ummmmm.....why the heck would you pay for something that is already free.

Just goes to show that the old saying is true.....there's a sucker born every minute.

Geckotek

@oneil: Seconded!

It probably has something to do with having access to all of the major carrier's voice mail system.

You can probably already do this through your own vm; but only to other users on the same carrier, also: the interface for doing this natively through a carrier's own vm is probably terrible...

bpapa9013

this is AWESOME...now i dont ever have to talk to anyone. Slydial, texting, email...disconnecting me from the social real world one person at a time

dookieboy333

Oh, I would totally use this. I have gone as far as telling people there is something wrong with my phone cause I never got the 5 messages asking me to call them back... last week.

shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog

Now someone figure out how they do this so we can all do it for free.

oneil

So is it a sign if you use this on your significant other? hmm...

DarthZigger

@Curves: Oh no, she had her new boyfriend call me about it. Then SHE sent me a text message about it.

dfc849

when i was on tmobile, calling other people on tmobile, i could add *1 to the end of any number, press dial, and it would go right to vm.

mrrobotanger

Before number portability, this used to be really easy... for Sprint, for example, you would dial xxx-xxx-MAIL for the area code and prefix you were calling. I'm not sure how this works in the brave new world of number portability.

It looks like there's a list of collected voicemail numbers here if you want to give this a try.

When I started I was going to rant about how this was a dumb thing to pay for because it was trivial to do, but now I see that today it must require a subscription to the number portability routing tables and is actually a bit more complicated!

Jered

@mrrobotanger: Still can!

Carmen-I'M NOT ASIAN!

That sounds like a GREAT service.
I hate phones too.
I use less than 60 minutes on my cell a month - I usually let *incoming* calls go to voicemail.
I wish they had a plan for me - '60 anytime minutes'.

Now please ask the woman in the picture to move her arm.

brundlefly76

@Mr.SithNinja: You forgot how to spell it too, if you must be snide. But that's a nit.

I see the 30 second ad (part of the "Free" service) as a hidden cost. That's a rationalization, if you're keeping score. To avoid that too, you have to pay. So I see where the original poster is coming from, and don't see the need to beat him up.

That's all.

ps61318

If you have access to two lines, do this. From first line, dial friend. Then immediately dial from second line. Hang up on first line before friend answers. Call from second line will go straight to friend's voicemail due to friend's line being busy from call from first. Then don't answer repeated calls back from friend on first line who's wondering why you called and hung up. Make yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Have a glass of 2% milk with it because that's the way it was meant to be.

mykrowsy

To the girl in this photo: Send me your number, we'll hook up.

blacktop

My cellphone won't let this happen. Why? The carrier I'm on doesn't offer voicemail so I got a phone with a built-in answering machine. No way to get straight to it.

jamar0303

Fyi, this service is totally free on all mobile phone operators in France. It didn't come to my mind it could be charged.

Are you, dear fellow americans, too used of not having anything for free? I sadly think so ..

zifc

I thought everyone in the "Biz" was running around saying the voice mail is dead. guess not

Jraktal

This is why I text everyone so much...

Lupison

It seems that when I use this, it still rings the phone you're calling, but when the person picks up, they don't hear anything, then it goes to voicemail. So it's still ringing the phone at the time I place the call. That's dumb.

paqman

Does the voicemail list your number as the source or the slydial number?

I think another way to do this would be to program an app to call a number, and then the moment it connects, hang up and call again. The user's phone may not have reset enough to ring again and you will get voicemail. The drawback is that the phone might ring once due to the first call depending on timing.

Alluvian

It lists my number.

paqman

@Geckotek: Which, of course, brings us to the gross vulnerabilities of the cell phone system. Holding 1 (or dialing your carrier's * prefix) just connects you to a very real phone number out there.

If it recognizes your CallerID, it takes you to your voice mail box.
If it doesn't recognize your CallerID, it asks what number you want to leave a voicemail message for. This would be the free version of the service being offered.
And if you spoof your CallerID to make the system think you're someone that you're not, you get into someone else's voicemail box.

It's worth noting that the third option is illegal in the United States of America. Most providers don't force a password onto your mailbox, and it pretty much works all around.

linoth

This is a social problem, it can't be solved with going just to voicemail. Be able to tell someone when to stop calling you, it's a social skill you have to learn and be able to do.
Just come out and tell that friend to stop it, tell the ex girlfriend that you don't want to chat with her since she doesn't want to have sex with you anymore. Tell your friend from work at the job you no longer have that you were just social with them since you saw them everyday, but no longer do that since you're at another job.
Paying a service to hide from someone isn't any way to live. Just have it out with them and be done with it. Life is too short to carry on this way. Tell your brother he loaned out that porn you loaned him in the 80's which you can't find anymore and you're pissed and don't want to talk to him anymore because of that.
Just get it all over with instead of paying a monthly fee to hide from people.

Hello_Newman

Verizon lets you do this for free. Just dial your own voicemail and select the option to send a message.

Scoggins

On Sprint service, just dial 1 + 1 + (area code) + phone number. I have been doing this for years. Each of my friends has a "pager number" under their cell number so I can go directly to their VM whenever I want. I have only tested Verizon with this about a year ago & it didn't work, but with Sprint, it is flawless.

LizzieElipticate

Verizon lets you do this for free. Just dial your own voicmail and select the option to send a message.

Scoggins

Yes, there are several ways to "beat the system," but they are either A)To cumbersome to even bother or B)Only work if you have the same carrier and are in the same general area. With this new application it saves time and allows the freedom to call anyone. Slydial is so easy and efficient to use.

TomTheTechnician

Just wanted to say that you can do this for free with AT&T voicemail. You can record your voicemail, and send it to whatever number you want. It just shows up on the individuals phone as new voicemail. Its in your voicemail options menu. -Marc

AngellBalbus

Needs more side-boob view.

Captain Bringdown

for sprint to sprint - direct voicemails. Do the following:

dial 11 (the area code) the phone number. goes straight to voicemail.

11-210-555-2222

UTnick