What is Message Centre?

Message Centre is voicemail for your mobile phone. It takes messages when you can’t answer the phone and can store 25 messages of up to five minutes each. Unheard messages will be stored for a maximum of seven days. You can save messages for up to 14 days after you listen to them.

Note: Airtime, long distance and roaming charges may apply when you access your voice mailbox using your mobile phone.


Setting an extended absence greeting

If you’ll be away for a period of time, use this feature to record a new greeting without erasing your usual one. Callers will hear your absence greeting after the first ring and won’t be able to leave a message, so your mailbox won’t fill up. When you turn off the feature, your usual greeting will return.

Recording an extended absence greeting

  • Access your voice mailbox
  • Press 4 for Personal options
  • Press 3 for Personal greeting options
  • Press 2 and follow the instructions for creating an extended absence greeting.

Turning off an extended absence greeting

  1. Access your voice mailbox
  2. Follow the instructions to turn off your extended absence greeting.


Setting up your mailbox

The first time you use Message Centre, you’ll be asked to set up your mailbox. You’ll need the temporary password we assigned to you when you purchased your phone or Message Centre service. You may have received it in an email if you purchased your phone on bell.ca.

If you’ve misplaced your temporary password, give us a call at 1 800 667-0123 or *611 free from your mobile phone and we’ll give you a new one.


How to set up your Message Centre mailbox

You can set up your mailbox from any mobile or regular touchtone phone. If you use your mobile phone, the steps for accessing Message Centre are different depending on which Bell Mobility network your phone or smartphone uses.


  1. Access your voice mailbox by pressing and holding the 1 key. Outside of Canada, dial 1 647 383-BELL (2355). Long distance charges will apply.
  2. When prompted, enter the 4-digit temporary password we assigned to you.
  3. Follow the prompts to change the temporary password to a new one. It should be four to 10 digits long, and cannot begin with zero.
  4. Follow the prompts to record your name.
  5. Follow the prompts to record a personal greeting or to select the standard greeting.
  6. Your Message Centre service is now activated.

Good to know

When you change your service to Message Centre, you need to reset your password and your personal greeting. Any unheard or saved messages will not be transferred to your new mailbox.


Listening to your messages

To retrieve your voicemail messages:

  1. Access your voice mailbox
  2. Press 1 to Listen to messages
While listening to messages, you can: Press
Get help 0
Rewind message by 10 seconds 1
Rewind message to the beginning 1-1
Pause/continue listening to message 2
Advance message by 10 seconds 3
Skip to end of message 3-3
Reduce speed 4
Increase speed 6
Get message details (time, date and origin) 5
Skip to next message #
Exit Message Centre *-*


After listening to messages, you can: Press
Get help 0
Replay message 4
Get message details (time, date and origin) 5
Erase message 7
Save message 9
Exit Message Centre *-*


Changing your password

  1. Access your voice mailbox
  2. Press 4 for Personal options
  3. Press 2 for Administrative options
  4. Press 1 to Establish or change your password
  5. Press 1 to Change your password
  6. Enter a new password. It should be four to 10 digits long, and cannot begin with zero.

Good to know

  • Avoid passwords that are too simple, such as 1234 or the last four digits of your mobile phone number.
  • Regularly change your password to prevent unauthorized access to your voicemail. Do not disclose your password to anyone.
  • If you lose or forget your password, you can contact us to reset it (charges apply).


Skipping your password

You now have the option of skipping your voicemail password entirely when calling from your mobile phone. Once you turn this feature on you’ll be able to go straight to your mailbox after dialing your phone number from your mobile phone. You’ll still need to enter your password if you access your voice mailbox from another phone.

Turning this feature on will give you the fastest access to your voice mailbox. Here's how:

  1. Access your voice mailbox
  2. Press 4 for Personal options
  3. Press 2 for Administrative options
  4. Press 1 to Establish or change general options
  5. Press 1 for Password options
  6. Press 1 to turn Skip password on
  7. Press 2 to turn Skip password off


Changing your personal greeting

  1. Access your voice mailbox
  2. Press 4 for Personal options Press for Press for
  3. Press 3 for Personal greeting options
  4. Press 1 and follow the instructions for changing your greeting.


Setting call-back number options

Message Centre allows callers to enter their phone number (call-back number) instead of leaving a voice message, if they choose. If you'd like to disable the ability for callers to leave a call-back number, here's how:

  • Access your voice mailbox
  • Press 4 to for Personal options
  • Press 2 for Administrative options
  • Press 1 to Establish or change general options
  • Press 7 to Change cut-through-paging options
  • Press 2 to turn off cut-through-paging

If you have an EVDO/1XRTT device, you can disable the prompt for callers to leave a call-back number on your voicemail box without disabling the option for them to do so.

To disable the prompt for callers to leave a call-back number :

  • Access your voice mailbox
  • Press 4 for Personal options
  • Press 2 for Administrative options
  • Press 1 to Establish or change general options
  • Press 7 to Change cut-through-paging options
  • Press 1 to Change caller prompting for cut-through-paging
  • Press 2 to turn off caller prompting for cut-through-paging