What is Telekom's SprachBox?
The SprachBox is Telekom's digital landline answering service. It doesn't run on a device at your home; it lives in the network: no box next to your router, nothing to install. According to Telekom, it's included free with all current landline plans and is activated automatically within three days of your line being set up. It stores up to 30 messages of up to 2 minutes each, kept for 40 days.
All short codes and key sequences in this article come from Telekom's official SprachBox help pages (in German), retrieved on August 30, 2026. If Telekom changes its menus, whatever those pages say takes precedence.
Turning the SprachBox on and off
Two paths get you there. The first runs through the Telefoniecenter: log in with your Telekom account, select your phone number, and you'll find the settings under "SprachBox" → "Rufannahme." The second path goes straight through the phone: call the toll-free 0800 33 02424 from your landline and press "4." If you're on the go, instead call your own landline number, press the star key, enter your PIN, and confirm with the star key.
Recording a SprachBox greeting
The default greeting sounds bureaucratic. For a business, a custom greeting is worth it, and it's quick to record: call 0800 33 02424 from your landline and press the key combination "311" in the main menu. Then record your text. Alternatively, the Voicemail App offers ready-made scripts or a custom recording under the "Greeting" menu — but Telekom states the app is no longer usable on iOS devices.
What you record decides whether callers stay on the line or hang up. For ready-made scripts covering business hours, vacation and after-hours, see our business voicemail greeting templates — to copy and adapt.
Checking your SprachBox: four ways to your messages
From your own line: call the toll-free 0800 33 02424 — you land directly in your box. Remotely: dial your own landline number, interrupt the greeting with the star key and enter your PIN. In the E-Mail Center: after logging in, recordings sit in the "SprachBox" folder. Via app: the Voicemail App for Android combines SprachBox and mobile voicemail messages in one view.
Checking messages remotely requires a PIN. Set it in the Telefoniecenter ("SprachBox" → "Nachrichten abfragen" → "PIN festlegen") or by phone via 0800 33 02424 with the key combination "341." According to Telekom, the PIN must be 4 to 10 digits; rising or falling sequences of more than two digits and three identical digits in a row aren't allowed.
Mobile voicemail: Telekom's answering service on your phone
On mobile, the answering service is called Mobilbox. From your own phone, you reach it via short code 3311. From another phone, dial your area code, then the matching voicemail code, then your phone number — according to Telekom, the codes are: 13 for 0151, 0160, 0170, 0171 and 0175 · 55 for 0152, 0162, 0172, 0173 and 0174 · 99 for 0157, 0163, 0177 and 0178 · 33 for 0159, 0176 and 0179. From abroad, dial +49 171 252 3311; additional costs can apply.
Mobile voicemail is turned on via the key combination **62*3311# or short code 3311, and turned off via ##002#. And if your phone switches to voicemail too early or too late: **61*3311**[seconds]# sets the ring duration — in 5-second steps between 5 and 30 seconds, with 15 as the default.
| Action | SprachBox (landline) | Mobile voicemail |
|---|---|---|
| Check messages from your own line | Call 0800 33 02424 (toll-free) | Call short code 3311 |
| Check messages remotely | Call your own landline number, interrupt the greeting with the star key, enter your PIN | Area code + voicemail code + phone number (e.g. 0171 13 …), then PIN |
| Record your own greeting | 0800 33 02424, press "311" in the main menu | Short code 3311, follow the prompts |
| Turn on | 0800 33 02424, press "4" — or in the Telefoniecenter | Dial **62*3311# or short code 3311 |
| Turn off | 0800 33 02424, press "4" — or in the Telefoniecenter | Dial ##002# |
| Set ring duration | — | **61*3311**[seconds]# (5-second steps, 5–30 seconds) |
Where the SprachBox hits its limits
For a personal line, the SprachBox is solid: free, maintenance-free, reliable. For a business, the math looks different. A mailbox records — it doesn't answer. Someone with an urgent question gets no information on hours or processes. It can't schedule an appointment. And many callers won't even speak to a machine; they hang up and dial the next number in their search results. What's left is, at best, a number in your call log — no request, no sense of urgency.
The next step up is an AI answering service: instead of recording, it holds a short conversation, asks for the reason for the call and a callback number, answers common questions, and sends you a sorted summary. Your phone number stays the same, and call forwarding works just like it does to the SprachBox — except someone actually answers on the other end. For a direct comparison of both approaches, see AI Phone Assistant vs. Voicemail.