How to Put Your Answering Machine on Xiaomi: The Complete Guide

Many Xiaomi smartphone owners face a situation where you need to be constantly connected, but the physical ability to answer a call is not. The standard autoresponder function in the Android interface works differently than the usual services from mobile operators that we used in the era of button phones. In order for a subscriber to hear your greeting or message about employment, you need to activate the voice call forwarding service, which is managed by network commands.

In Xiaomi devices and shell MIUI or HyperOS doesn't have a built-in auto-responder button in the call menu, as many newcomers think. USSD-And if you understand the codes, or through the settings in the call menu, which are essentially the interface for those codes, understanding this mechanism will allow you to easily customize the response to any call when the phone is busy, not responding or not available.

In this article, we will discuss in detail how to activate this feature for various mobile operators operating in Russia and CIS countries. You will learn where to find hidden settings in your phone, how to use the engineering menu to check statuses and what to do if standard commands do not work.

The principle of the answering machine on Android and Xiaomi

The feature that users often search for called autoresponder is technically a conditional call forwarding service. When you put an answering machine, you are actually instructing the operator's network to redirect the incoming call to a special server number if a certain condition is met. This condition can be line occupancy, no response after a certain number of beeps, or a phone turned off.

Unlike the automatic message response that some messengers have, voice autoresponder requires interaction with network equipment. Xiaomi smartphone in this case is only a terminal for entering commands. Android operating system provides a standard interface for managing these settings, which manufacturers, including Xiaomi, integrate into the application “Phone”.

⚠️ Attention: Redirecting to the operator's answering machine number is often a fee. The cost of a minute of talking to an answering machine may differ from the cost of a regular minute in your tariff, and in roaming, those entering the answering machine may be charged as outgoing calls.

There are three main types of conditions you can set up:

• 📞 Occupied: Redirects work if you're already talking to someone on the second line.
• ⏳ Unanswered: Call redirects if you don't pick up after 5, 10, 15 or 20 seconds (depending on network settings).
• 📶 Unavailable: activates when the phone is off or out of network coverage.

Activation through the call settings menu

The easiest and safest way to turn on your answering machine on Xiaomi is to use the built-in call settings menu.This method is versatile and suitable for most models, from budget Redmi to flagship Mi and POCO. The interface may vary slightly depending on the version of the MIUI shell, but the logic remains the same.

To start, open the standard Phone app, which usually has a green phone icon. In the upper right corner, find the menu icon (three dots or gear) and click on it. In the drop-down list, select Settings. Next, scroll down to Accounts for Calls or just Call Settings if the SIM card is one.

In the menu that opens, you need to find the item "Call forwarding." The system can suggest you choose to use the menu. SIM-If you pick up a card, you'll see a list of four options. We're interested in the first three: "Always," "When it's busy," "When they don't answer," and "When they're not available." For a full-fledged answering machine, you usually choose "When it's busy" or "When they don't answer».

Click on the desired item, such as "When busy." The phone will send a request to the network to obtain current status. If the service is not active, a field will appear to enter the number. Here you need to enter your operator's autoresponder number (the list of numbers is shown in the table below) or select it from contacts. After entering the number, click "Enable" or "OK".

It's important to understand the difference between modes. Always redirects all incoming calls, and your phone won't even ring. This is useful if you're going into a no-communication zone and you want the callers to hear your message, but your phone is off. Busy and No-answer modes are more flexible and allow you to try to take the call yourself first.

Customization through USSD-codes for different operators

If the settings menu on Xiaomi does not work or gives a connection error, you can always use direct USSD-This method is more reliable, since the commands are sent directly to the operator's server, bypassing the phone's software interfaces.

To activate the answering machine, you need to dial a command in the format *61* number responder#. Here 61 is the code for the forwarding service in the absence of a response. If you want to forward calls when the line is busy, you use the code 67. For an unavailable phone - 62. The answering machine number depends on your operator.

Let’s look at the basic codes for popular operators:

• 🟣 MTS: Voicemail number +79161110000 or 0880. Include team: 61+79161110000#.
• 🟡 Beeline: Number +79037909090 or 0646. Team team: 61+79037909090#.
• 🟢 MegaFon: Number +79261260000 or 050050. Team team: 61+79261260000#.
• 🔴 Tele2: Number. +79511110600. Team team: 61+79511110600#.

⚠️ Note: When entering the number in USSD-The team must use a full international format (e.g., the full international format, +79xxxxxxxxx), Otherwise, the command may not execute or the redirect will go to the wrong number.

Once you have entered the command, press the call button. The network will notify you of the successful registration of the redirect. To disable the function, use the code ##61# (to cancel the redirect if no response is available) or #002# to completely cancel all redirects.

Table of operator numbers and codes

To make it easier to set up, we've created a composite table with the current number of the answering machine servers and the control commands, and saving this information will allow you to quickly restore the settings after the change. SIM-Maps or resets of Xiaomi devices to factory settings.

Please note that Yota, which uses MegaFon infrastructure, may have a different answering machine number depending on the region of registration. SIM-It is recommended to check the current number in the personal account or at the support. Also, it is worth remembering that the code # #61# cancels the redirect only for the condition "No response". If you set up a redirect "When busy" (code 67), then you need to cancel it by the command # #67#.

Use of engineering menus and MMI codes

Xiaomi smartphones have a hidden engineering menu that allows you to access deep network and phone settings. Although it is rarely required to install an answering machine simply, sometimes the standard call settings menu can be blocked by the operator or glitches, in which case MMI (Man-Machine Interface) codes come to the rescue.

To get to the engineering menu, open the Phone app and dial ##4636##. If the menu opens, go to Phone Information. You can see network status and preferred network type here, but direct forwarding management is rare here, but this section is useful for checking if the phone is logged in correctly.

A more useful tool is direct MMI-commands that can be typed directly into the dialing field, like a regular call, that run faster than a menu search, for example, to set a timeout before a redirect (the time the phone will ring before the answering machine goes off), you can use advanced syntax:

*61* auto-responder number*11*time in seconds#

Where the time in seconds can be 5, 10, 15 or 20. For example, the command 61+79161110000*11*10# will set the forwarding to the MTS answering machine after 10 seconds of beeps, which allows you to flexibly adjust how much time you are given to make a decision before the call goes to auto-answer.

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If you often change SIM cards, create a template with notes USSD-This will save you time when searching for your answering machine numbers online.

Solutions and Connection Errors

When setting up an answering machine on Xiaomi, users may encounter various errors. Most often, the problem lies not in the phone, but in the network settings or facial account balance. If you try to enable a redirect, you see a message “Connection error” or “failed to fulfill the request”, check the following points.

First of all, make sure that your account has funds. Some operators block the possibility of installing new forwarding services with a negative balance. It is also worth checking whether any forwarding has already been activated, since some tariff plans do not allow you to have multiple active conditions at the same time without specially connecting the autoresponder service in your personal account.

⚠️ Note: If you use VoLTE (calls through the phone) 4G), Older forwarding protocols may not work properly. Try temporarily switching the network to mode. 3G/2G customized SIM-maps to set parameters and then return.

Another common problem is conflict with number-defining apps or call blockers. Programs like GetContact or Xiaomi's built-in anti-terror can intercept call control. Try disabling the spam-call blocker while you're setting up.

If nothing works, do a full call reset. To do this, find the "Reset" option (usually at the bottom) in the call settings menu, which will return all call parameters to factory values, and then try to configure the answering machine again via the phone. USSD-code.

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The main reason for errors is the wrong format of the room or the blocking of services on the operator's side. Always check the balance and status of the service in your personal account.

Alternative methods and third-party applications

If standard networking methods don't work for you, there are alternative ways to implement auto-response, like the "Appeal in the headset" feature in Xiaomi's settings, which allows the phone to automatically receive a call if you've connected a Bluetooth headset or headphones, which is not exactly an auto-responder in the classic sense, but a useful feature for drivers.

To activate it, go to Settings → Special Features → Autorespond in the headset. You can set the delay before replying. There is also a Do Not Disturb mode in the MIUI shell, which can be configured so that important contacts can be reached, and the rest go straight to voicemail (if connected).

There are third-party apps from Google Play that emulate the work of the answering machine by sending SMS-However, such applications require permanent permissions to access the microphone and calls, which can affect the security and autonomy of Xiaomi. The use of native network services of the operator is always preferable from the point of view of stability and confidentiality.

Remember, the classic answering machine is a network service, and your phone may even be turned off, and the answering machine will still work by recording messages, but the applications only work when the phone is on and the application is running, so you'd better use the carrier codes described above for reliability.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions