Where do voice messages go to hang out for awhile before arriving?

[gspren]

 Yesterday morning I called my lawyer to get the final numbers for the house we are settling on next week and she said she would call back. Last evening at 10:40 PM I got a voice message with the numbers but my phone showed the message was sent at 1:25 PM, where was my message for over 9 hrs? I've had delayed messages before but not often.

[Southside]

NSA had to listen to it first.

[peakbagger]

I live on the fringes of cell coverage and it is not unusual for messages to get delayed days. Texts are generally far more reliable as the bandwidth they use are many times less than message.

[hedgerow]

I live on the fringes of cell coverage and it is not unusual for messages to get delayed days. Texts are generally far more reliable as the bandwidth they use are many times less than message.

I have the same issues in my area. I have gotten a voice mail as much as a week later. I tell folks the same thing to text me the information. Texts normally come threw. 

[Jeff]

Yup, send me a voicemail when I'm the u.p. and I may not get it until I cross the bridge coming home. Days sometimes.

[YellowHammer]

I've been battling this for years because coverage is spotty my area.  

The phone messages go to the carrier server and are supposed to be pushed to your phone when you get back in cell range. Or the phone can also be set to automatically fetch messages.  It depends on your phone settings. Generally, the messages will be accounted for and sent as soon as the phone gets signal but sometimes it takes an update query from the user or a refresh command.  It will be in your phone options.

In the US, phone companies can't charge domestic roaming fees anymore so you can set your phone to allow full data roaming and that way if you are in range of any cell tower, not just your carrier's, you can still get service at no charge.  

[Tom King]

People tell me my voicemail is full.  It is.

[Tom King]

Just checked it.  Maybe first time ever.  Last message was 5/14/15.

[btulloh]

One feature I use and find useful is to set WIFI CALLING to ON.  (iPhone -> Settings -> Cellular).  This routes the normal cell traffic through your wifi connection if cell coverage is N/A or low.  Haven't found any downside and it switches seamlessly.  I am guessing this is an option on Android as well, but don't know about that for sure.

I occasionally experience the delayed voice mail thing also.  It's particularly odd when it happens when I'm at home, in the house, able to hear and answer the phone if it rings, and yet for no reason a call goes to voicemail without ringing or showing up as an incoming call.  Usually the voicemail dings right away, but there have been a couple cases where the the vm was not delivered for 12 hours or more.  Strange.  I guess it's delayed at the NSA like Southside speculated.  :D  (My calls and texts would be the most boring, useless thing they ever processed, btw.    )

[gspren]

I was just talking to a friend and he said that the caller was facing the wrong direction and the message had to go all the way around the earth before I got it, he wouldn't lie to me would he. :D

[Ed_K]

 When I'm here at the house and get a msg that I have some voice mails I can go out on the east deck and dial up the vm and they tell me I have to wrong password  >:( . So I go thru the house and out on the SW deck and dial it up and I get the MSG   .

[B.C.C. Lapp]

I have a love hate relationship with my five year old flip phone.  
When I'm broke down in the middle of no where I love it. IF I happen to have service and around here there is lots of areas there is little or none. 
Other than that. I hate it.

[Sedgehammer]

oh that's easy. they are in the 'neither'. the sender doesn't have it, as they 'sent' it. you don't have it yet either, so it's in the 'neither'. it's a mysterious place. some confuse the 'neither' for the nether, but it's the neither, as either doesn't have it.