"You heard 'em kids"
- Me

Basics
The first step is to dial the voice mail system. If you have the number of a BT voice message system, go ahead and dial it. If not, well your just gonna have to find a source of them. A bit of trashing / social engineering might do the trick.

Assuming you are ninja enough to have a number, you'll get a sultry "Welcome to BT Voice messaging. Please press hash to continue." from the system. Understandably pressing the # key gets you access to the voice mail system. Pressing the * key here gets a "Enter the address for your message" prompt. Simply entering a voice mail number will let you leave a message in someones mailbox.

Assuming you keyed in a # you will then be prompted for a voice mailbox number. This is usually 4 digits long. If the mailbox number is being used you will get prompted for a security code. You get three attempts at either before you are booted off the system. If the mailbox has not been used before you have to enter the default code. At the time of writing this code is 3638. However, don't be surprised if soon after this document gets released this gets changed ! If you are a new user you will be prompted to change your security code which can be between 4 and 10 digits long. You won't be surprised to hear very few are longer than 4 digits. However, telephone numbers and birthdays are also popular choice. After selecting a new security code, you'll be asked to state your name. The only greeting on most of these system is "This is Fred Bloggs".

To leave the system key in 99.

Dealing with those pesky message
To send a message log on as normal, entering mailbox number and security code. Press 6 at the "Ready" prompt. You will be then asked for a mailbox number to send your message to. After this use the # key to begin recording, end recording and to send the message. Easy eh ?

However, receiving messages involves more than one button. If you have mail waiting for you, you will be notified after entering your security code. To listen to this press 5. The system is set to erase messages once they have been listened to. So to save a message in your mailbox so you can enjoy it everytime you log on press 7. Pressing 22 takes you back to the beginning of the message. Pressing 5 during message playback will skip to the next message in your box. Pressing 3 will erase a saved message.

To reply to a message press 17. Use # to start message recording and # when you have finished. To forward a message (with your own comments !) key in 13 then the mailbox address. When recording your own comments use the # key to start and stop recording.

Final Comments