Voice Mail Troubleshooting Tips

Following are the most common voice mail problems. If you are experiencing a problem not described below, please contact the following:

• Students can call PaeTec at (800) 960-6555 or send e-mail to hsto@harvard.edu.

You have forgotten how to dial in to your voice mail box
Review the Reaching your voice mailbox section of the User Guide.

You don't know how to use a particular voice mail feature.
Go to the voice mail User Guide and look up the relevant step-by-step instructions. Or review the Voice Mail Flow Chart.

You get a busy signal when you call into your mailbox.
This indicates that all ports serving the Harvard voice mail system are busy. Wait a few minutes and try again. Keep in mind that the Harvard system supports over 17,000 voice mail boxes and handles more than 1.5 million calls a month. During peak periods, we occasionally encounter an "all ports busy" condition. We routinely monitor port usage and add additional ports as needed.

Voice mail does not pick up when someone calls you.
This indicates that all ports serving the Harvard voice mail system are busy. The caller should hang up and try again in a few minutes.

When you access voice mail from your campus phone, you hear the "Harvard voice mail" greeting
This indicates that the voice mail system has temporarily lost communication with the integration link and does not recognize that you are calling from your own phone. To enter your mailbox:

Dial 5-8168
Press * or # to indicate you are a subscriber
Enter your 5-digit mailbox number
Enter your password

Please be assured that if this situation arises, UIS staff will respond within minutes to reset the link. However, if the situation persists, please report the problem:

• Students should call PaeTec at (800) 960-6555 or send e-mail to hsto@harvard.edu.

Your message waiting light does not go out
If you changed your password recently, this may indicate that you inadvertently set up a Guest or Home mailbox and have been checking that mailbox for messages instead of checking your main mailbox. In the meantime, messages sitting in your main mailbox are keeping the light on. Try checking for messages by using your old password.

Another possibility is that your message light is "stuck." Try sending yourself a voice mail message using the "send" option (number 2 on the voice mail main menu). Then exit your mailbox, wait a few seconds, and enter your mailbox again. Retrieve the test message and delete it.

If the light still doesn't go out, report the problem:

• Students should call PaeTec at (800) 960-6555 or send e-mail to hsto@harvard.edu.

Your "message waiting" light does not come on when you have messages waiting
Call Customer Services at (617) 496-8200, and we will help you troubleshoot the problem.