Forward calls when not answered: Verizon, AT&T, VoIP

Whatever you decide should catch your missed calls, whether that's your cell, a family member, an answering service or an AI receptionist, the plumbing is the same. You tell your phone company to send calls somewhere else only when nobody answers.

That's called conditional forwarding, or "forward when not answered." Your phone keeps ringing first, like it does today. Calls you pick up never go anywhere. Only the ones that ring out move on.

This guide covers how to set it up on the common carriers, how to test it, and how to turn it off when you need to.

Two kinds of forwarding: pick the right one

Forward when not answered (sometimes called "no answer" or "busy/no answer"): your phone rings first. Unanswered calls move on. This is the one you want.
Forward all calls: every call goes straight to the other number and your shop phone doesn't ring at all. Useful when you're on vacation. It's a bad surprise on a normal Tuesday.

If you're ever unsure which one you turned on, call your shop line from another phone. If the shop phone never rings, you've set up forward-all.

Verizon (mobile)

Verizon publishes these codes in its call forwarding FAQs:

Turn on: dial *71 followed by the 10-digit number you're forwarding to, then press Call. Wait for the confirmation, then hang up.
Turn off: dial *73 and press Call.

Verizon says there's no monthly fee for call forwarding on most plans, though a fee may apply on certain older plans. If your plan doesn't have unlimited minutes, forwarded calls are billed according to your plan.

AT&T (mobile)

Google's support page for forwarding to Google Voice lists these AT&T no-answer codes:

Turn on: dial *61* then the 10-digit number, then #, and press Call.
Turn off: dial ##61# and press Call.

These come from Google's page, not AT&T's own. If your phone shows an error, call AT&T support and ask for "call forwarding when not answered."

T-Mobile (mobile)

T-Mobile lists these on its self-service short codes page:

Turn on: dial **61*1 followed by the 10-digit number, then #, and press Call.
Turn off: dial ##61#.
Change the delay: T-Mobile lets you pick a delay of 5 up to 30 seconds by adding ** and the seconds before the #. For example, **61*1 + number + **15# gives a 15-second delay.

Business landlines and others

For business landlines from providers like AT&T, Comcast Business and Spectrum Business, we didn't find a no-answer code we could confirm on the provider's own pages, and features vary by product and account. So we won't guess one. The fastest route is to call business support and say:

"Please set up call forwarding when not answered, not forward-all, to [the number], after several rings. And please tell me how to turn it off."

Write down what they tell you for turning it off and keep it near the phone.

VoIP phone systems

If your shop line runs through an app or a phone system (RingCentral, Grasshopper, a desk-phone system from your internet provider), forwarding usually lives in the admin settings rather than a dial code. Look for call handling, call rules, or what happens to missed or unanswered calls, and point that at the number you want.

RingCentral, for example: in the app, open your call handling rules. Under Missed calls, choose Forward to external number and enter the number. RingCentral's guide describes this for work hours. If you've set business hours, also open the After hours rules and set missed calls there, or your night calls may still go to voicemail. To turn it off, change Missed calls back to what it was before (write that down first). RingCentral's own call forwarding guide has the full steps.

Google Voice works differently. Its forwarding is about ringing your linked phones, and Google's help page says forwarding Google Voice calls to an automated system is unsupported. If your shop number is Google Voice, talk to your answering service or AI receptionist provider about it before you rely on that setup, and test it the way we describe below.

How long it rings before it forwards

On a mobile line, ask your carrier how long the phone rings before a call forwards and whether that can be changed. T-Mobile lets you set it yourself (above). On a VoIP system it may be a setting you can change yourself. RingCentral, for example, lets you choose from 2 rings (10 seconds) to 15 rings (75 seconds). Think about who actually answers the shop phone. If it's you on a job, give yourself enough time to get your hands free. If nobody's in the office, a shorter ring means the caller isn't left wondering if anyone's there.

Test it (takes two minutes)

Don't trust the confirmation tone. Check it:

From a different phone, call your shop number.
Let it ring. Don't answer.
The call should land wherever you forwarded it.
Now call again and answer on the shop phone. It should stay with you.

If the call went to your old voicemail instead, the forwarding isn't on, or the number was entered wrong. Turn it off, then try again carefully.

Test again any time you change carriers, phones or plans.

Turning it off

You should always know how to undo this before you set it up. If anything goes wrong, or you just want things back the way they were:

Verizon: *73
AT&T: ##61#
T-Mobile: ##61#
VoIP: set missed or unanswered calls back to voicemail in the admin app
Anyone else: call the carrier and ask to remove "forward when not answered"

After you turn it off, call your shop line once from another phone to make sure it rings out to your old voicemail.

A few things that trip people up

Busy is separate from no answer. If the shop phone is on another call, a no-answer setting may not catch the next caller. Google's page lists AT&T's separate busy code (*67*number#), and T-Mobile's page lists **67*1+number# (off: ##67#). Set it too if you want busy calls covered.
More than one line? Set forwarding on each line you want covered, and test each one.
Some desk phones and phone systems have their own forwarding settings too. If your test doesn't behave, check the phone itself.
Keep a card by the phone, or taped inside a drawer:

Forwarding: ON to ___________ (set /) · Off code: ________ · Carrier support: ____________

The person who needs it in a hurry may not be you.
Costs: on Verizon, forwarded calls are billed according to your plan if your minutes aren't unlimited. On any other carrier, ask whether forwarding has a monthly fee or uses minutes.

If the number you're forwarding to is Emma, Anchorline's AI receptionist, setup takes about 10 minutes. You sign up at anchorlineappai.com/start, then we email you the forwarding steps for your line (or Jake walks you through them on the phone). Want to hear what a forwarded caller would get first? Call the demo line at (615) 235-0039.