Bypass Cellphone Voicemail Instructions with One Star Pound

Next time your call goes to voicemail, there's no reason to contend with the insufferable 15-second instructional that precedes the beep. Here's how to skip ahead and leave your message in peace without wasting precious minutes.

Photo by Florida Hippy.

To avoid the dreaded how-to automated guide, simply remember "one star pound." More specifically, our own Gina Trapani points to blogger Jeremy Toemon's "three-key combo":

* Step One: Push 1. If your friend is on Sprint (or possibly Verizon, but not always), this skips the greeting and you are done, skip to End. IF you hear a message that says "One is not a valid option" skip to Step Three below, otherwise continue to Step Two.
* Step Two: Push *. If your friend is on Verizon, you'll hear the beep, and can leave your message. Skip ahead to the end now.
* Step Three: Push #. This works for both Cingular and T-Mobile subscribers, and you're all set to go.

Alternatively, if you'd like to voice your frustration with the mandatory cellphone instructional, the New York Times' David Pogue lists contact information for several carriers:

• Verizon
• Sprint
• T-Mobile

If your provider was not listed and you know the skip-ahead code for your carrier, share it in the comments. And if you have other ways to bypass mandatory cellphone rules (e.g., quickly deleting messages), leave those in the comments as well.