VoIP.infoThe independent guide to business communications.
VoIP.info Troubleshooting

Asterisk AMI voicemail forward, move or remove fails or targets the wrong message

Find the first divergence across action availability, permissions, mailbox identity, folder, message ID, AMI response, storage result and user-visible state before retrying a mutation.

Reviewed 2026-10-25Current Asterisk branch-23-generated VoicemailBoxSummary, VoicemailForward, VoicemailMove and VoicemailRemove references and official AMI v2 and manager-permission documentation were reviewed October 25, 2026; all four current action pages are generated under app_voicemail_odbc and date the actions from Asterisk 20.5.0 and 18.20.0, while installed branch, maintenance release, loaded module, voicemail backend, folder vocabulary, message ID lifecycle, manager permissions, response framing and storage behavior remain deployment specific; no PBX, module, mailbox, voicemail store, ODBC database, manager configuration, credential, session, request, response, message, audio payload, folder, user notification, MWI state, endpoint, playback or live call was inspected or testedAdvancedDocumentation based · not lab tested

Freeze one disputed operation without retrying it

Record intended and observed node, installed release, loaded module, backend, manager session, action, unique ActionID, every argument, raw response frames, UTC and local times and the reported wrong result. Redact credentials and personal voicemail data.

Classify the first divergence as unavailable action, denied action, wrong context, mailbox, folder or message ID, wrong destination, incomplete response, parser loss, backend change, duplicate retry or downstream notification, MWI or playback mismatch.

Confirm action availability and permission before mailbox state

Inspect the running AMI action inventory, installed branch and maintenance release, loaded voicemail module and manager privileges. The reviewed generated pages place all four actions under app_voicemail_odbc and date them from Asterisk 20.5.0 and 18.20.0.

An unknown or denied action is not evidence that the message is absent. Do not widen a production manager account simply to make a failed workflow pass.

Re-read the exact source and destination snapshots

Use VoicemailBoxSummary with the exact source context and mailbox. Preserve folder and ID from the same observation window. For forwarding, also read the exact destination context and mailbox; for moving, compare source and destination folders in the same mailbox.

Do not infer message identity from caller, timestamp, subject, list order or filename. If the ID changed between snapshots, stop and reconcile the backend state rather than guessing a replacement.

Separate copy, relocation and deletion outcomes

For VoicemailForward, expect the source and a destination copy according to the documented operation. For VoicemailMove, expect the source folder to lose the item and the destination folder in the same mailbox to gain it. For VoicemailRemove, expect an authorized source deletion.

Do not issue VoicemailRemove as a diagnostic probe or turn repeated retries into a bulk operation. A missing destination copy, stale source row and failed user playback are different defects.

Trace accepted AMI response to durable and visible state

Correlate the manager response with post-action summaries, backend records available to the authorized operator, message audio, notifications, MWI counts and endpoint behavior. Preserve the earliest point at which the intended state disappears or diverges.

An accepted AMI response proves neither durable storage nor user receipt. A correct lamp count proves neither message identity nor playable audio.

Retest one authorized correction with controls

After fixing one bounded cause, take fresh pre-change summaries, perform only the approved action once and collect the source and destination evidence required by its semantics. Compare an unaffected mailbox or message as a control and document rollback or retention handling.

Do not use a live deletion to prove the diagnostic. No PBX, mailbox, database, message, audio payload, manager session, mutation, notification, MWI indication, endpoint or playback was inspected or tested.

Sources & applicability

Primary references for the technical details above. Operational examples and planning checklists are VoIP.info editorial guidance.

Examples require adaptation to your topology. No live PBX or hardware testing is claimed.

Continue your research

Guide · Current Asterisk branch-23-generated VoicemailBoxSummary, VoicemailForward, VoicemailMove and VoicemailRemove references and official AMI v2 and manager-permission documentation were reviewed October 25, 2026; all four current action pages are generated under app_voicemail_odbc and date the actions from Asterisk 20.5.0 and 18.20.0, while installed branch, maintenance release, loaded module, voicemail backend, folder vocabulary, message ID lifecycle, manager permissions, response framing and storage behavior remain deployment specific; no PBX, module, mailbox, voicemail store, ODBC database, manager configuration, credential, session, request, response, message, audio payload, folder, user notification, MWI state, endpoint, playback or live call was inspected or tested

Asterisk AMI voicemail message operations: ID, folder and custody evidence

Use VoicemailBoxSummary, VoicemailForward, VoicemailMove and VoicemailRemove without confusing inventory, copy, relocation, deletion, MWI or end-user playback.

Read guide →
Guide · Asterisk 23 VoiceMail and VoiceMailMain application contracts plus current FreePBX 17.0.5.35 voicemail metadata, Core voicemail destinations and Sangoma FreePBX documentation reviewed October 10, 2026; no PBX, dialplan, mailbox, context, greeting, PIN, stored message, storage backend, email path, MWI exchange, capacity limit, recovery point or live call was inspected or tested

Asterisk voicemail: mailboxes, routing and retrieval

Keep mailbox identity, deposit routing, greeting selection, retrieval authorization, storage, application status and message notification separate.

Read guide →
Guide · Current Asterisk interface documentation reviewed September 30, 2026; implementation must be checked against the installed branch and integration library

Asterisk AMI, ARI and AGI: choose the control boundary

Separate management events, synchronous dialplan work and application-owned call control before exposing an integration.

Read guide →
Guide · Asterisk branch-23-generated and branch-22-generated ListCommands references plus official AMI syntax, v2 specification, manager-command, change/versioning, permission, module-loader and network-security documentation reviewed October 16, 2026; installed branch and maintenance release, build, package and module set, manager user, read and write authorizations, session mask, action registration, request framing, parameters, target objects, response, related events and service outcome remain deployment specific; no PBX, module, package, manager user, manager session, request, response, event, configuration file, channel, packet, media stream or live call was inspected or tested

Asterisk AMI command inventory and permission evidence

Use ListCommands and the administrator CLI to distinguish the actions visible to one manager user from the actions registered by the running Asterisk instance.

Read guide →
Guide · Asterisk branch-23-generated Login, Challenge, Logoff and Events references, branch-22-generated Login reference, and official AMI syntax, v2, permission and network-security documentation reviewed October 16, 2026; installed branch and maintenance release, listener and transport, manager.conf ownership, username, secret rotation, ACL, read and write classes, login event mask, connection lifetime, client timeout, reconnect policy and downstream operations remain deployment specific; no PBX, manager configuration, credential, ACL, socket, manager session, request, response, event, channel, packet, media stream or live call was inspected or tested

Asterisk AMI session authentication, Login, Logoff and Challenge

Keep manager identity, authentication exchange, transport protection, event mask, permissions and session lifetime as separate AMI evidence.

Read guide →
Guide · Asterisk branch-22-generated MailboxCount, MailboxStatus, VoicemailBoxSummary, VoicemailRefresh, MWIGet, MWIUpdate and MailboxStateChange action references plus official VM_INFO, AMI v2 and manager-permission documentation reviewed October 17, 2026; installed branch and maintenance release, action availability, module selection, voicemail backend, mailbox and context identity, folder, external MWI ownership, manager transport, account, ACL, read and write classes, response field behavior, storage freshness, clock, configuration owner, endpoint subscription, phone indicator and downstream collector behavior remain deployment specific; no PBX, mailbox, voicemail store, IMAP account, manager configuration, account, credential, socket, session, request, response, MWI subscription, endpoint, phone, message, playback or live call was inspected or tested

Asterisk AMI MailboxCount and MailboxStatus queries

Query one voicemail mailbox with explicit identity, raw response preservation and a clear boundary between message counts, waiting state and downstream MWI behavior.

Read guide →
Guide · Current Asterisk branch-23-generated and branch-22 VoicemailUsersList and VoicemailUserStatus references, branch-22 VoicemailBoxSummary and MailboxCount references, and official AMI v2 and manager-permission documentation reviewed October 17, 2026; VoicemailUsersList is documented by app_voicemail from Asterisk 1.6 while VoicemailUserStatus is documented by app_voicemail_imap from Asterisk 16, and the generated action pages do not define a shared response schema or make either response proof of message inventory, storage freshness, playback or MWI delivery; installed branch, maintenance release, module, backend, mailbox and context identity, manager permissions, response framing, parser and cache behavior remain deployment specific; no PBX, module, mailbox, voicemail user, store, IMAP account, manager configuration, credential, session, request, response, message, MWI subscription, endpoint, phone, playback or live call was inspected or tested

Asterisk AMI VoicemailUsersList and VoicemailUserStatus evidence

Keep an app_voicemail user-list request, an IMAP-specific single-user status request, mailbox counts and downstream message evidence separate.

Read guide →
Guide · Current Asterisk branch-23-generated and branch-22 VoicemailRefresh, MWIGet and MWIUpdate references, the branch-22-generated version-sensitive MailboxStateChange reference, and official AMI v2 and manager-permission documentation reviewed October 17, 2026; the current VoicemailRefresh page is generated under app_voicemail_imap while the branch-22 page is generated under app_voicemail_odbc, MWIGet and MWIUpdate belong to res_mwi_external_ami, and MailboxStateChange is documented for remote mailbox synchronization from specified maintenance releases rather than local mailbox mutation; installed branch and maintenance release, loaded module, mailbox ownership, context, EntityID, manager permissions, response framing, subscription, NOTIFY delivery and endpoint rendering remain deployment specific; no PBX, module, mailbox, voicemail store, IMAP or ODBC backend, manager configuration, credential, session, request, response, subscription, NOTIFY, endpoint, phone, message, playback or live call was inspected or tested

Asterisk AMI VoicemailRefresh and MWI control evidence

Keep a voicemail-backend refresh request, external-MWI count ownership, remote mailbox-state synchronization and endpoint indication as separate controls.

Read guide →
Guide · Operational guidance; Asterisk 22 / FreePBX 17 where applicable

Least privilege for PBX users and integrations

Separate the right to register, place calls, administer the PBX and read sensitive data.

Read guide →
Guide

PBX credentials and extension secrets

Keep administrator, handset, trunk and backup identities separate and retire them deliberately.

Read guide →
Troubleshooting · Asterisk branch-23-generated and branch-22-generated ListCommands references plus official AMI syntax, v2 specification, manager-command, change/versioning, permission, module-loader and network-security documentation reviewed October 16, 2026; installed branch and maintenance release, build, package and module set, manager user, read and write authorizations, session mask, action registration, request framing, parameters, target objects, response, related events and service outcome remain deployment specific; no PBX, module, package, manager user, manager session, request, response, event, configuration file, channel, packet, media stream or live call was inspected or tested

Asterisk AMI action is missing, unknown or permission denied

Trace one unavailable AMI action through session identity, user-scoped inventory, administrator registry, release and module support, authorization, framing and target behavior.

Read guide →
Troubleshooting · Current Asterisk branch-23-generated and branch-22 VoicemailRefresh, MWIGet and MWIUpdate references, the branch-22-generated version-sensitive MailboxStateChange reference, and official AMI v2 and manager-permission documentation reviewed October 17, 2026; the current VoicemailRefresh page is generated under app_voicemail_imap while the branch-22 page is generated under app_voicemail_odbc, MWIGet and MWIUpdate belong to res_mwi_external_ami, and MailboxStateChange is documented for remote mailbox synchronization from specified maintenance releases rather than local mailbox mutation; installed branch and maintenance release, loaded module, mailbox ownership, context, EntityID, manager permissions, response framing, subscription, NOTIFY delivery and endpoint rendering remain deployment specific; no PBX, module, mailbox, voicemail store, IMAP or ODBC backend, manager configuration, credential, session, request, response, subscription, NOTIFY, endpoint, phone, message, playback or live call was inspected or tested

Asterisk AMI VoicemailRefresh or MWI control is unavailable, rejected, broad or wrong

Trace one refresh or MWI control through release, module ownership, mailbox identity, EntityID, permissions, raw response and downstream delivery without changing unrelated state.

Read guide →
Troubleshooting · Asterisk 22 LTS · FreePBX 17 / Debian 12 checks

Voicemail does not record, notify or play back

Separate mailbox routing, stored messages, notification and retrieval.

Read guide →
Hub

VoIP troubleshooting

Use symptoms and evidence to isolate registration, routing, media and device faults.

Explore topic →