How to forward your business calls (any phone, any carrier)

Call forwarding sends calls from your business number to another number, like your cell phone, a colleague, an answering service or an AI receptionist. You keep your number, and customers keep dialing the same one they always have. Setting it up usually takes a couple of minutes. Here's how it works and how to do it on the phone you have.

The three types of call forwarding

• Always (unconditional): every call goes straight to the other number. Your phone doesn't ring at all.
• When busy: calls are forwarded only when you're already on another call.
• When there's no answer: your phone rings first, and if you don't pick up after a few rings, the call is forwarded. This is often the most useful for small businesses, because you still get the calls you can take.

Some phones also offer forwarding when your phone is off or out of signal. Many businesses combine these, for example forwarding when busy and when there's no answer.

Cell phones (iPhone and Android)

On most cell phones in the US, you can turn on forwarding with a short code typed into the phone's dialer, then pressing call. The most common codes are:

• *72 followed by the number to forward to: forwards all calls. On many carriers this is the code to use.
• *73: turns forwarding off.

Codes for forwarding only when busy or when there's no answer are different from carrier to carrier, and some carriers use a completely different system. Before you dial anything, check your carrier's help pages or call their support line and ask for "conditional call forwarding" codes. They can also tell you whether forwarding is included in your plan.

On an iPhone, some carriers also let you turn on forwarding in Settings, under Phone, then Call Forwarding. On Android phones, look in the Phone app's settings for Calls or Supplementary services, then Call forwarding. The exact menu names vary by phone and carrier.

Traditional landlines

Many landlines use the same *72 and *73 codes. Pick up the phone, wait for the dial tone, dial *72, then the number to forward to. On some lines someone has to answer the forwarded number for it to take effect, and on others you'll hear a confirmation tone. If nothing seems to happen, your line may not have forwarding turned on. Call your phone company and ask them to add it.

Internet phone services and business phone apps

If your business number lives in an app or an online phone system, forwarding is almost always a setting rather than a star code. Sign in to your account, look for Call forwarding, Call handling or Routing, and enter the number to forward to. These services usually make it easy to forward only after hours or only when nobody answers, so look for options based on time of day.

How to test it

1. Turn on forwarding the way your phone or carrier describes.
2. From a different phone, call your business number.
3. Check that the call reaches the right place. If you set up "no answer" forwarding, let it ring and make sure it moves on after a few rings.
4. Try it once during the day and once in the evening if you've set up time-based rules.
5. Write down how you turned it on and off, so anyone on your team can do it later.

A few things to know

• Forwarded calls may use minutes on your plan. Check with your carrier if you're on a limited plan.
• Caller ID usually shows the original caller's number, but some systems show your business number instead.
• Forwarding stays on until you turn it off, so if you forward during a vacation, set a reminder to switch it back.

When you set up Global AI, you can keep your number and forward calls to your receptionist, all the time, only when busy or only after hours. You can talk to your receptionist in your browser first, so you know how it sounds before any calls are forwarded.