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Voicemail audio as a tap-to-listen link in the alert text

Welco adds voicemail audio to the alert text as a short private link. The on-call tech hears the caller without dialing into a mailbox. It works whenever your phone system emails the voicemail with the audio attached. One tap plays it in the phone's browser, and photos and PDFs work the same way.

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  • No app and no login
  • Links last 7 days, up to 30
  • Audio, photos and PDFs

Works by email with

  • 3CX
  • Cisco Unity
  • Grasshopper
  • Asterisk / FreePBX

Tap-to-listen links

Try it: turn it off and on.

1

No link: the text only says a message is waiting

1

With a link: one tap and the caller is playing

On. The phone gets 1 text.

With Tap-to-listen links off, the phone gets 1 texts: Welco: New voicemail in mailbox 315 from (514) 555-0142, 0:58. Reply STOP to opt out. With it on, it gets 1: Welco: New voicemail in mailbox 315 from (514) 555-0142, 0:58. Listen: welco.ai/v/Tz4mP7 Reply STOP to opt out.
Animation: Tap-to-listen links switched off and on. No link: the text only says a message is waiting. With a link: one tap and the caller is playing.

A worked example: an urgent call after hours

A property management firm's phone system emails each new voicemail with the audio attached. A tenant in Montreal calls the after-hours line, and the on-call tech needs to hear the message before calling back.

Alert email from voicemail@pbx.example.ca, subject “New voicemail in mailbox 315”. Welco trims it to one text of 111 characters: “Welco: New voicemail in mailbox 315 from (514) 555-0142, 0:58. Listen: welco.ai/v/Tz4mP7 Reply STOP to opt out.”

Text received: Welco: New voicemail in mailbox 315 from (514) 555-0142, 0:58. Listen: welco.ai/v/Tz4mP7 Reply STOP to opt out.

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Animation: the alert email "New voicemail in mailbox 315" is trimmed into one text: "Welco: New voicemail in mailbox 315 from (514) 555-0142, 0:58. Listen: welco.ai/v/Tz4mP7 Reply STOP to opt out."

The text keeps the mailbox, the caller and the length, and the recording comes along as a link. The voicemail-to-text pages cover setup for each phone system, such as 3CX voicemail to SMS and Grasshopper voicemail texts.

Let the on-call tech hear the message

Point your voicemail emails at your Welco address and invite the on-call tech to join.

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing

One after-hours call, from voicemail to callback

  1. A tenant leaves a message on the after-hours line

    New voicemail in mailbox 315 (msg0012.wav attached)
  2. The on-call phone gets the caller and a link

    Welco: New voicemail in mailbox 315 from (514) 555-0142, 0:58. Listen: welco.ai/v/Tz4mP7 Reply STOP to opt out.
  3. The tech taps the link and listens

    The recording plays in the browser. The link shows one view from this phone.

  4. The tech calls the tenant back

    The caller's number is in the text, so there's nothing to look up.

Times are an example. Text delivery depends on mobile networks.

Frequently asked questions

Does the on-call tech need an app to play the voicemail?

No. The link opens a normal web page in the phone's own browser, and the audio plays there. There's no app to install and no login.

Can a voicemail link stay live longer than 30 days?

No. 30 days is the longest a link can last, and 7 days is the default. If you need to keep a recording, save it from your phone system, which still has the original email.

What happens to a Word file attached to an alarm email?

It's left out of the text. Today only audio, images and PDFs become links. The rest of the email still becomes a text as usual.

Can I tell whether the on-call tech opened the link?

Yes. Each person gets their own link, and Welco shows how many times it was viewed and when it was last opened. It isn't proof the call was handled, but it shows the message was heard.

What if our phone system emails the voicemail without the audio?

Then there's no file to link, so the text carries only what the email says, such as the caller and the mailbox. Look in your phone system's voicemail-to-email settings for an option to attach the recording. The after-hours voicemail setup includes that step.

Could someone find our voicemails through a search engine?

No. The link pages are kept out of search engines, and the files can only be reached through the link itself. Each link ends after its set number of days, or sooner if you revoke it.

Hear every after-hours voicemail from the on-call phone

Point your voicemail emails at Welco and tap to listen.

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing