How to set up voicemail transcription on iphone? Voicemail transcription setup on an iPhone may take several minutes, depending on the duration and caliber of the recorded audio. After it's finished, the user can read the message text rather than hear the audio by clicking the "Transcription" button. Instead of listening to audio recordings, iPhone users can read voicemail messages as text thanks to voicemail transcription. It allows communications to be examined whenever convenient for the user, saving time.