Calls & leads · How-to

How to forward business calls when you can’t pick up

Use conditional forwarding, not “forward all calls”: your phone rings first, and only the calls you miss, decline or can’t get because you’re out of signal go to an answering service, a partner or a second phone. On Verizon that’s *71 plus the 10-digit number; on T-Mobile it’s **61*1 plus the number and #; AT&T does it from your phone’s call settings. Your customers keep dialing the number on your truck the whole time.

By Eric Smith, founder of Outfitter AI and a former general contractor · Prices checked October 4, 2026

The four kinds of call forwarding

Carriers describe the same four options with slightly different names. AT&T’s help page defines them like this [1]:

For a working owner, the usual setup is unanswered plus unreachable, and busy if you take a lot of calls back to back. Turning on all three is often called conditional forwarding. One catch: with conditional forwarding on, your carrier voicemail stops catching those calls, because they go to the other number instead. That’s the point, but it means the destination has to be reliable.

Carrier steps and codes: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile

Dial these from the business phone itself, like a normal call. Replace NUMBER with the 10-digit number you’re forwarding to. We list only what each carrier’s own help page (or Google’s, where noted) says; prepaid brands and resellers can differ.

Verizon notes [3]: the destination must be a U.S. 10-digit number on an active voice line, forwarding to international numbers isn’t allowed, and forwarded calls count against your minutes if your plan isn’t unlimited. Most plans have no monthly fee for it, though some older plans do.

T-Mobile notes [2]: type a 1 in front of the 10-digit number, as the codes show. T-Mobile also lists a code to change how long your phone rings before an unanswered call forwards: **61*1NUMBER**SECONDS#, with 5, 10, 15 and up to 30 seconds allowed (so **61*1NUMBER**20# rings for 20 seconds). Longer gives you time to dig the phone out of your pocket; shorter means fewer callers give up. T-Mobile notes some short codes aren’t supported on select plans.

AT&T doesn’t publish a star code for conditional forwarding on the help pages we found, so we don’t print one. Its Android device guide sets forwarding from the phone instead: in the Phone app, tap the sidebar (menu) icon, then Settings → Calling accounts, pick the SIM, tap Call forwarding, choose When unanswered (or When busy, or When unreachable), enter the number and tap Turn on [1]. On an iPhone, or if those menus don’t match your phone, call AT&T and ask for conditional forwarding on no answer. To turn forwarding off, AT&T’s troubleshooting page says to dial #21# and press Call [4]. Google’s Voice help also has an AT&T section with conditional codes for sending missed calls to Voice voicemail; use that page directly if you go that route [5].

Google also warns that reseller and subsidiary carriers may not support conditional forwarding at all [5]. If a code gets an error tone, call your carrier and ask for “conditional call forwarding on no answer.”

iPhone and Android phone settings

iPhone. Apple’s setting is at Settings → Apps → Phone → Call Forwarding. When the switch is green, forwarding is on and the screen shows the number calls are going to; switch it off to stop. Apple notes the feature depends on your carrier [6]. That screen has only the switch and one forwarding number, with no “when unanswered” choice, so treat it as forward-everything: your iPhone won’t ring. If the option is missing, Apple says call forwarding isn’t available on your iPhone and to call your carrier [6]. For forwarding only the calls you miss, use your carrier’s code from the table above. Apple also notes that turning forwarding off doesn’t notify the number that was receiving the calls, so tell your answering service or partner yourself.

A habit worth building: after any forwarding change, open that iPhone screen. If the switch is on and you didn’t mean it to be, that’s why your phone has been so quiet.

Android. Menu names vary by phone maker. The AT&T device guide path above (Phone app → Settings → Calling accounts → SIM → Call forwarding) is typical, and it shows each of the four types as its own line with its own number [1]. That means you can, for example, send unanswered calls to your answering service and unreachable calls to your shop line.

Google Voice: a second number that rings everything

Plenty of small shops put a Google Voice number on the truck so the business line rings their cell without giving out the personal number. Google Voice works the other way around from carrier forwarding: calls to your Voice number ring the phones you link to it.

1. In the Voice app, open Menu → Settings.
2. Under Account, tap Devices and numbers → New linked number.
3. Enter the number and confirm it with the code Google sends by text (or by a call, for a landline).

Google allows up to six linked numbers, won’t link a number that’s already linked to another Voice number, and says forwarding Voice calls to an automated system isn’t supported [7]. That last line matters: if you want an answering service or AI to catch missed calls, point your cell carrier’s conditional forwarding at it, or use the service’s own number, rather than linking it in Voice.

Google also documents a way to send your cell’s unanswered calls to Google Voice voicemail, which gives you transcribed messages, using the same conditional codes [5].

Where to forward: answering service, partner or second phone

The forwarding is the easy part. Whoever picks up becomes your company for that caller. (Our calls and leads guide covers the whole system around it.) Options, and what each needs from you:

• Answering service or AI receptionist. They give you a number to forward to. Send them your questions, emergencies and service area before you switch it on. Compare options in our answering service guide.
• Your office or a spouse at the shop. Works when someone is reliably there. Give them a one-page script, like our contractor phone script.
• A partner shop. Two small plumbers or electricians sometimes cover each other’s vacations. Agree in writing who keeps the customer before the first call.
• A second phone or the on-call tech. Handy at night: forward unanswered calls to the on-call cell so a sleeping owner doesn’t miss a flooded basement. Our guide to after-hours calls covers the rotation.
• Voicemail on another service. Only if you check it. Pair it with a missed-call text-back so the caller hears from you within minutes.

Partner coverage note (example): “While I’m out June 10 to 17, my unanswered calls go to [Partner Company]. They take the message, handle true emergencies at their own rates, and send me every other lead by text. Any customer they serve stays mine for follow-up work.”

Porting vs forwarding: keeping the number on your truck

Forwarding leaves your number where it is and sends some calls elsewhere. Porting moves the number itself to a new phone company. Use forwarding when you want help answering; use porting when you’re changing providers, for example moving an old shop landline onto a cell plan or a business phone app.

The FCC’s rules are on your side if you port [8]:

• You can keep your number when you switch providers and stay in the same area, including landline to wireless.
• Your old company can’t refuse to port the number, even if you owe it money.
• Don’t cancel the old service first. Start service with the new company and let it handle the port.
• Simple ports are supposed to take one business day; wireless-to-wireless can be working within hours, while landline to wireless can take a few days.
• Companies may charge a porting fee; the FCC suggests asking whether it can be waived.

The number painted on your truck, printed on your yard signs and listed on Google is worth more than any phone plan. Whatever you change, keep that number in your name and on an account you control, not on a vendor’s account you can’t take with you.

Test it, then know how to turn it off

1. Listen for the confirmation. After dialing a code, wait for the tone or message before hanging up. Verizon notes that when you turn forwarding off with *73, the confirmation can sound like a busy signal [3].
2. Call your business number from another phone and don’t answer. Count the rings until it moves, and confirm it lands where you expect.
3. Decline a call on purpose. Some phones treat a declined call like an unanswered one; some send it to voicemail. Find out which yours does.
4. Turn on airplane mode and call again to test the unreachable path.
5. Check what the destination received: the caller’s number, a message, a text to you. If nothing reached you, the forwarding works and the follow-up doesn’t.
6. Write down the off code in your phone’s notes: *73 on Verizon, the matching ## code on T-Mobile, or #21# (or the phone’s Call forwarding screen) on AT&T.

Retest after a new phone, a SIM swap, a carrier change or a port. Each of those can quietly reset forwarding. And if your greeting still mentions voicemail, update it; our page on voicemail greetings has scripts.

Common questions

Sources and how we compared

Every code and setting comes from the carrier’s, Apple’s, Google’s or the FCC’s own help pages, opened October 4, 2026; where a carrier’s page didn’t list something we say so rather than fill it in from forums.

1. AT&T device support: Setting up call forwarding
2. T-Mobile support: Self-service and short codes
3. Verizon: Call forwarding FAQs
4. AT&T: Troubleshoot AT&T wireless call issues
5. Google Voice Help: Send your mobile phone calls to Google Voice voicemail
6. Apple Personal Safety User Guide: Review forwarding settings
7. Google Voice Help: Set up your phone to make and receive Google Voice calls (Android)
8. FCC: Porting, keeping your phone number when you change providers

Last updated October 4, 2026. Prices change; if something here is out of date, call or text (507) 628-0400 and we’ll fix it.

Related: Calls and leads: the full guide · Answering services for contractors · After-hours calls · Missed-call text-back