How To Set Up Call Forwarding

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Written by:

Lucy Mills

Published on Oct 30, 2024

Modified on Nov 18, 2024

One of the most common questions we get at AnswerPlus is: “How do I forward my lines?” This guide is here to walk you through it all – from setting up call forwarding on traditional landlines to mobile devices, and even virtual phone systems. 

Let’s dive into the essentials of call forwarding in 2024!

What is Call Forwarding?

Call forwarding is a feature on phones that allows you to automatically redirect an incoming call to another phone number that you specify. Whether you’re stepping out, changing locations, or managing multiple numbers, call forwarding ensures important calls don’t go unanswered. It’s a particularly helpful feature for business owners, remote workers, or anyone who needs flexibility in their communications.

If you’re working with a 24/7 call answering service, call forwarding becomes essential. To allow your service provider to answer calls on your behalf, you must forward your lines to them. By doing so, your provider can seamlessly manage calls anytime, ensuring customers always reach a live person, even after hours.

How to Call Forward on a Landline Phone

  1. Pick up the phone and listen for the dial tone. 
  2. Dial *72 (or 1172 on rotary phones).
  3. Dial the phone number you want your calls forwarded to.
  4. Wait for 3 seconds, or until after the first ring, then hang up.
  5. Pick up your phone and dial *72 again. Listen for three short beeps, then a steady dial tone. 
  6. Redial the phone number you want your calls forwarded to.
  7. Listen for 2 beeps, confirming that call forwarding is activated.
  8. Hang up your phone.

How to Turn Off Call Forwarding on a Landline Phone

  1. Pick up the handset and listen for the dial tone.
  2. Dial *73.
  3. Listen for 2 beeps and hang up.

How to Call Forward on an iPhone

  1. Open your phone and go to ‘Settings’
  2. Scroll to the bottom of ‘Settings’ and then tap ‘Apps’
  3. Scroll down your list of apps and tap ‘phone’. You can also use the search bar at the top to find the ‘phone’ app.
  4. Tap on ‘call forwarding’.
  5. Tap the switch to toggle it on (it should turn green).
  6. Select ‘Forward To’ and use the keypad to type in the number you want to forward calls to.

How to Turn Off Call Forwarding on an iPhone

  1. To turn it off, return to the same phone settings. In ‘Call forwarding’ toggle the switch ‘off’ (it should turn back to gray).

How to Call Forward on an Android Phone

  1. Launch the default ‘Phone’ app on your Android device.
  2. Tap the three-dot menu (usually at the top right) and select ‘Settings’
  3. Next, select ‘Supplementary Services’.
  4. Select ‘Call forwarding’.
  5. Turn on the options for call forwarding and add the numbers you’d like to forward calls to:
    • Always forward: Forwards all calls to another number
    • Forward when busy: Forwards calls if you’re on another call
    • Forward when unanswered: Forwards if you do not answer the call
    • Forward when unreached: Forwards if you’re out of your service area

How to Turn Off Call Forwarding on an Android Phone

  1. To turn it off, return to the same phone settings as before. Delete the phone number you’d like to remove from call forwarding (Always forward, Forward when busy, etc.).

How to Call Forward from Virtual Phone Systems

With so many different virtual phone systems available, call forwarding setups can vary. Most platforms make it easy to forward calls by allowing you to configure settings in their online dashboards or apps. Generally, you’ll find call forwarding options under “Settings” or “Call Handling,” where you can specify the numbers you’d like to redirect calls to. Here’s a quick guide to setting up call forwarding on some popular virtual phone systems.

How to Forward Calls With CallHippo

  1. Log into your account. In the main dashboard, click on ‘users and performance’ in the left menu.
  2. Click on ‘users’ in the drop-down menu.
  3. On the ‘users’ page, click on the ‘settings’ button (gear icon) in the actions column for the user whose calls you want to forward.
  4. Click on ‘Forward-to-device’ from the left menu.
  5. Toggle the ‘Forward-to-device’ switch on (it should turn green).
  6. Enter the number you want to forward calls to and click the ‘save’ button.

How to Turn Off Call Forwarding with CallHippo

  1. Return to the same account settings as before.
  2. Toggle the ‘Forward-to-device’ switch to the left to disable/turn off call forwarding.

How to Forward Calls with Grasshopper

  1. Log into your Grasshopper account and go to Settings > Call Forwarding Settings > Extensions. You’ll see a list of numbers and extensions associated with your account.
  2. Select the number or extension to set up call forwarding by clicking the corresponding ‘edit’ button.
  3. Enter the call forwarding number, which could be another phone number (mobile or landline) or voicemail.
  4. Determine how you want Grasshopper to handle the call (e.g., announcing a call before you pick it up.)
  5. Select the time frame for which the call-forwarding rule applies (e.g., 24/7, the weekend, or custom schedule.)
  6. ‘Save’ your settings and make a test call to verify it goes to the desired destination.

How to Turn Off Call Forwarding With Grasshopper

  1. Return to the same account settings as before.
  2. To deactivate a number, click ‘delete’.

How to Forward Calls With RingCentral

  1. Click your profile picture at the top left.
  2. Click ‘Call rules’.
  3. Click ‘Forward all calls‘.
  4. Click the Forward all calls toggle to turn it on.
  5. To select where to forward your calls, click ‘Forward all calls’, then click the dropdown next to Incoming calls.
    • Send to voicemail: Forwards calls to a voicemail inbox. Click the message to set up a custom greeting.
    • Forward the call: Forwards calls to any extension or phone number.
    • Play announcement: Plays an announcement, then ends the call. You can use the default announcement or click the message to record a custom greeting.
  6. Click ‘Add schedule’, then use the date and time selectors to set your call forwarding schedule.
  7. Click ‘Save’.
  8.  A banner at the top of the RingCentral app will remind you that your calls are being forwarded. In the banner:
    • Click ‘Edit‘ to change your call forwarding settings.
    • Click ‘Turn off‘ to stop forwarding your calls.

How to Turn Off Call Forwarding With RingCentral

  1. Return to the same account settings as before by clicking your profile picture in the top left.
  2. Click ‘Incoming call rules’.
  3. Click the ‘Forward all calls’ toggle to turn it off.

How to Forward Calls With AirCall

  1. Open the Desktop or Web app.
  2. Click on your User Icon on the bottom right-hand corner to open ‘Settings’.
  3. Select ‘Preferences’ and click on ‘Calling’.
  4. Scroll down to ‘Forward’ to external number
  5. Click ‘Add phone number’ and enter the mobile or landline number of your choice.
  6. Click ‘Save’.
  7. Under ‘Number displayed when ringing’, choose between the Aircall number or Caller number.

How to Turn Off Call Forwarding With AirCall

  1. Return to the same account settings as before.
  2. Scroll down to ‘Forward to external number’.
  3. To disable the Forward to external number, press the green toggle switch.
  4. To remove the Forward-to-device, press the X.

How to Forward Calls with GoToConnect

  1. Dial *72 from your desk phone, desktop app, or mobile app.
    Note: This will override any call forwarding settings configured from the phone’s menu. Calls are still forwarded if the phone goes offline afterward.
  2. When you hear a dial tone, enter the phone number you want calls forwarded to.
  3. Hang up.

Note: If your system admin has enabled ‘Block Caller ID’ on the phone number used by your line, your caller ID will remain blocked when forwarding to an external phone number.

How to Turn Off Call Forwarding With GoToConnect

  1. To turn off call forwarding, dial *73 from your phone and hang up. This does not disable any call forwarding settings configured from the phone’s menu.

How to Forward Calls With 3CX

  1. Open the 3CX Web Client, and click on the ‘…’ in the bottom of the left hand menu and then ‘Call Forwarding’ under the ‘General’ settings menu.
  2. Click on any one of the status options to configure your call forwarding rules for that status.
    • Unanswered calls:
      • Define when a call is considered unanswered in seconds, i.e. if the phone rings for more than 20 seconds it should be considered unanswered and follow your forwarding rules.

        *Note: for AnswerPlus clients, the phone needs to be set to ring for at least 24 seconds to hear an auto-answer or a live agent answering.
    • Busy or Not Registered
      • When your extension is busy or not registered, you can set the same call forwarding rules as above.
    • Also ring my mobile
      • Check this box so that your mobile also rings.
    • Accept multiple calls
    • Accept PUSH notifications
      • Will notify you when an incoming call occurs or you miss a call.
  3. Define where the call should be forwarded to:
    • Voicemail
    • Extension number – choose a colleague to forward calls to.
    • My mobile – if you check the ‘Rebound’ box the call will be announced and you can accept or reject it.
    • External number – choose another number to forward calls to.
    • System extension – forwards calls to a queue or ring group.
    • Send busy – a busy tone will play and the call will be terminated.
  4. If you are sending the calls for a particular status, e.g., Do Not Disturb, to your answering service, in the ‘forward internal/external calls to’ drop down menus, select ‘external number’. In the box below input the DID call forwarding number that was provided by the answering service. Click ‘Ok’ to save your call forwarding settings. 

A note on Exceptions:
You can configure call forwarding exceptions in the 3CX web client so that certain calls are handled differently. For example, calls from your boss or important clients can be forwarded elsewhere. You can configure up to 15 exception rules. To create an exception rule: 

  1. Open the 3CX Web Client, and click on the ‘…’ in the bottom of the left hand menu and then ‘Call Forwarding’ under the ‘General’ settings menu. 
  2. Under the call forwarding settings, select ‘Exceptions’. 
  3. Once you’ve defined your ‘exception’, click ‘Ok’ to save your settings. 

A note on Switch Status:
The ‘Switch Status’ option automatically changes your status to ‘Available’ based on the group or extension office hours. Outside office hours, your status is switched to ‘Do Not Disturb’ and during break times it’s set to ‘Away’.

By default your extension uses the office hours configured for the department. You can however override these and set different office hours in the menu by going to ‘call forwarding’ > ‘Switch Status’. Optionally, you can disable outbound calls outside of office hours.

Turning Off Call Forwarding with 3CX

  1. Return to the same account settings. 
  2. To deactivate a number, click delete.
  3. Click ‘Ok’ to save your settings. 
  4. Repeat steps one and two for all status options configured that you wish to turn off call forwarding for.