Making your phone ring longer

It has happened to us all.

Sitting next to the phone, waiting for an important call.

You wait, and wait. Your buttocks are threatening to turn into fossilised fuel but still nothing.

Then, you make the calamitous mistake of getting up and walking to the other end of the house for a much needed glass of water. Then, of course, the phone rings. You rush to answer it but it only rings a few times before voicemail kicks in. And it has been this way since the day you bought it.

It turns out there is a way to make the phone ring longer than the default.

Depending on who your provider is, depends on the series of numbers and stars (*) and hashes (#) you enter into the phone.

Telstra: **61*101** (number of seconds: 15, 20, 25 or 30) #. Then press the call/send button.
Optus: **61*321** (number of seconds: 15, 20, 25 or 30) #. Then press the call/send button.
Vodafone: **61*121*11* (number of seconds: 15,20,25 or 30)#. Then press the call/send button.

So by way of an example, let us say you want to make your Telstra phone ring for 30 seconds before voicemail kicks in.

1. Open your phone app as though you were about to make a call.
2. Type **61*101**30#
3. Tap on the call button.