How to forward business calls, carrier by carrier

How to forward calls from a business line: dial your carrier’s forwarding code, or turn on forwarding in your phone system’s settings. On many US lines, *72 plus a number forwards every call and *73 turns it off. To send only the calls you miss, use the busy and no-answer codes, such as Verizon’s *71 or T-Mobile’s **61*.

We took every code, menu path and fee below from the carrier’s own support page on October 10, 2026, and linked each one. Carriers change codes and plans, so open the page for your line before you dial. LobbyStack wrote this guide and sells an AI receptionist you can forward calls to.

What are the types of call forwarding?

Carriers offer four forwarding rules. All-calls forwarding sends every call to another number, and your phone doesn’t ring. Busy, no-answer and unreachable forwarding ring your phone first, then forward the call only when you’re on another call, don’t pick up, or the phone is off or out of signal.

Rule	Other names	When the call forwards	Use it for
All calls	Unconditional, always, call forward universal	Every call, before your phone rings	Full-time answering, or after hours if you turn it on at closing
Busy	Call forward busy	You’re already on a call	Overflow at busy times
No answer	No reply, don’t answer, missed calls	You don’t pick up within the ring time	Overflow and missed calls
Unreachable	Not reachable	Your phone is off or out of signal, or the line is down	Dead batteries, dead zones, outages

Conditional call forwarding is the name for the last three rules. Pair busy and no-answer forwarding when you want your team to answer first and a backup to catch the rest.

Call forwarding codes by carrier

Dial each code from the line you want to forward. Replace [number] with the 10-digit number that should get the calls, and include the # where a code ends with one. Lines marked “Phone settings” or “User Portal” forward from a menu instead of a code.

US carriers

Carrier and line	All calls	Busy	No answer	Unreachable	Turn off
AT&T wireless	Phone settings	Phone settings	Phone settings	Phone settings	Phone settings
AT&T Phone for Business	*72 [number] #	*90 [number] #	*92 [number] #	*372 [number] # (outages)	*73#, *91#, *93#, *373#
Verizon wireless	*72 [number]	*71 [number]	*71 [number]	Not listed	*73
Verizon Business Digital Voice	User Portal	User Portal	User Portal	Not listed	User Portal
T-Mobile	**21*1[number]#	**67*1[number]#	**61*1[number]#	**62*1[number]#	##21#, ##67#, ##61#, ##62#
Comcast Business Voice	*72 [number]	*90 [number]	*92 [number]	*58 (spoken menu)	*73, *91, *93, *59
Spectrum Mobile	*72 [number]	*71 [number]	*71 [number]	Not listed	*73

Canadian carriers

Carrier and line	All calls	Busy	No answer	Unreachable	Turn off
Bell Mobility	Phone settings	Not listed	Phone settings	Not listed	Phone settings
Bell Business Phone (Local Link)	*72 [number]	*90 [number]	*92 [number]	Not listed	*73, *91, *93
Rogers wireless	*21*[number]#	*67*[number]#	*61*[number]#	*62*[number]#	##21#, ##67#, ##61#, ##62#
TELUS mobility	*21*[number]#	*67*[number]#	*61*[number]#	*62*[number]#	#21#, #67#, #61#, #62#

AT&T

AT&T says you change forwarding on a wireless line from the phone itself, not online. On an iPhone, AT&T’s guide uses Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Forwarding, then Forward To, which forwards every call. AT&T’s Android guide goes through the Phone app > menu > Settings > Calling accounts > your SIM > Call forwarding, and offers Always forward, When busy, When unanswered and When unreachable. Menus vary by phone model. AT&T won’t forward to an international number, and forwarding replaces your voicemail.

AT&T Phone for Business uses the star codes in the table. Its Safe Call Forwarding (*372) sends calls to a backup number during a network or power outage, once the battery backup runs out. AT&T lists the same codes for its digital AT&T Phone and AT&T Phone - Advanced business lines.

Verizon

On a Verizon mobile line, *72 forwards every call and *73 turns forwarding off (Verizon FAQ). *71 forwards a call when your phone is busy or unanswered after 3 to 6 rings, in place of voicemail. Verizon says you have to manage forwarding from the mobile phone. The number you forward to must be an active, voice-capable US number with 10 digits, and texts don’t forward.

On Verizon Business Digital Voice, open the User Portal > Call Settings > Call Forwarding, pick Always, When Busy or When no answer, and enter the number. The no-answer option also lets you choose the number of rings. Click Save.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile’s short codes put a 1 before the 10-digit number: **61*1, then the number, then #. To change the no-answer delay, add the seconds at the end: **61*1[number]**[seconds]#, with a delay of 5 to 30 seconds. ##004# resets all forwarding to the default. T-Mobile won’t forward to international numbers and accepts only 10- or 11-digit numbers. The short-code page doesn’t list separate codes for business lines.

Comcast Business

These codes come from Comcast’s Business Voice call forwarding article, which covers Business Voice and VoiceEdge Select. Business VoiceEdge has its own instructions.

• After you dial *72 and the number, stay on the line until someone or a voicemail answers at the destination. If nobody answers, hang up and dial *72 again within two minutes.
• Busy forwarding doesn’t work with a hunt group, and Comcast says not to turn on no-answer forwarding on a phone that’s part of one.
• *58 opens a spoken menu for Not Reachable forwarding, which sends calls to a backup number during a power or network outage.
• You can also manage forwarding online in My Account, under Phone in the Services menu, though not every account type has it.
• Don’t forward to an international number (one that starts with 011).

Spectrum

Spectrum Mobile uses *72 for all calls, *71 for busy and missed calls, and *73 to turn forwarding off. The account holder can also set it in the Spectrum account: Mobile > the line > Call Forwarding, a one-time passcode, then All Incoming Calls or Busy Line & Missed Calls. Spectrum forwards only to domestic 10-digit numbers, and with forwarding on, unanswered calls skip the phone’s voicemail.

For Spectrum Business Voice lines, we couldn’t find forwarding codes on Spectrum’s business support pages. Its business star code list covers hold, park, pickup, Do Not Disturb and voicemail only, so ask Spectrum Business before you dial a code.

Bell

On Bell Mobility, open Call Settings > Call Forwarding on the phone, pick the calls to forward (all voice calls, or only the ones you don’t answer) and enter the number. Bell sends a free text to confirm. No Answer Transfer rings your phone first. To get your voicemail back, choose Deactivate All.

Bell Business Phone lists the codes in the table for Local Link lines; listen for two beeps after each one. *92 forwards after 4 rings, and *90 works only on Local Link without voicemail or with optional programmable voicemail. Bell last updated that page in 2014, so confirm with Bell if a code fails.

Rogers

Rogers wireless uses one pattern for each rule. For no-answer forwarding, *61* [number] # turns it on, #61# pauses it, *61# turns it back on, ##61# cancels it and *#61# checks its status. Swap in 21 for all calls, 67 for busy or 62 for unreachable. To change the number, cancel the forwarding, then turn it on again with the new number. Rogers says conditional forwarding won’t work while voicemail is on.

TELUS

TELUS mobility uses the codes in the table, and most recent phones also have the setting under Call settings. Call Forward Variable picks the delay: *004* [number] * [10, 20 or 30 seconds] #, and #004# turns it off. TELUS forwards only to North American numbers, doesn’t forward texts, and doesn’t offer forwarding on prepaid accounts.

How do I forward calls in RingCentral, Google Voice, Ooma or Grasshopper?

VoIP phone systems forward calls from their app or admin portal. RingCentral, Ooma Office and Grasshopper can send unanswered calls to an outside number. Google Voice forwards only to phones you link and verify, and Google doesn’t support forwarding to an automated system.

RingCentral

In the RingCentral app, go to Settings > Phone > Call handling and click Edit. Pick Work or After hours. Under Incoming calls, choose Ring in order or Ring all at once for your own phones. Under Missed calls, choose Forward to external number and enter the number. Click Save.

Google Voice

In Google Voice, go to Settings > Account > Linked numbers > New linked number, then verify the number with a code Google texts or reads to you in a call. You can link up to 6 numbers and turn forwarding off for any of them under Settings > Calls > Call forwarding. Google says forwarding Google Voice calls to an automated system is unsupported, and points to Google Workspace’s auto attendant for that use.

Ooma Office

In the Ooma Office End User Portal or desktop app, open Settings > Call Handling. Ring for sets how long your phone rings (12 seconds, or two rings, by default), and Then send to decides where unanswered calls go. To send calls to an outside number, an admin adds a shared external line on Pro Plus: office.ooma.com > Settings > ADD > Shared External Line. Ooma lists sending calls you can’t answer to an answering service as one use. An account gets one shared external line. If you turn on Required key press on answer, whoever answers must press 1 before the call comes through, so check that your service can do that first.

Grasshopper

In the Grasshopper admin portal, select Extensions, then Edit next to the extension, then Add a forwarding number. Each extension takes up to 15 numbers (1 on True Solo). Under Options, choose In order, just once to ring your phone first and the answering service second. Set your own phone to Calls will be announced when you pick up, so a missed call moves on to the next number. If you choose Calls will connect to you as soon as you pick up, a call you miss goes to your personal voicemail. Ring time defaults to 25 seconds. Don’t forward to your Grasshopper number itself, which creates a loop.

How do I forward only missed calls to an answering service?

Turn on busy and no-answer forwarding to the service’s number, and leave all-calls forwarding off. Your phone rings first, and the service gets the calls your team can’t take. Add unreachable forwarding if you also want coverage when a mobile is off or out of signal.

1. Get the service’s number. With LobbyStack, that’s your LobbyStack number, available in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Pick one in your line’s country: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Spectrum Mobile don’t forward to international numbers, and TELUS forwards only within North America.
2. Turn on busy and no-answer forwarding. Use the codes above, or the Busy Line & Missed Calls or Missed calls setting in your portal. Skip *72 for overflow, because it forwards every call before your phone rings.
3. Set the ring time. T-Mobile lets you pick 5 to 30 seconds and TELUS 10, 20 or 30. Grasshopper defaults to 25 seconds and Ooma Office to 12. Verizon’s *71 forwards after 3 to 6 rings and Bell Business Phone’s *92 after 4. A short delay sends calls your team could have answered; a long one keeps callers waiting.
4. Check your voicemail. AT&T says forwarding replaces voicemail, and Spectrum Mobile says unanswered calls skip it. Rogers says conditional forwarding won’t work while voicemail is on, so ask Rogers to turn voicemail off on that line if your codes don’t take.
5. Test it from another phone. Call your business number and let it ring out, then call again while you’re on another call. The service should answer both. On Rogers, *#61# and *#67# show whether no-answer and busy forwarding are on.

After-hours and full-time coverage

For after-hours coverage, turn on all-calls forwarding when you close and turn it off when you open: on Verizon, *72 and the number at 6 p.m., then *73 at 8 a.m. Some systems let you set a schedule instead, such as RingCentral’s After hours call handling and Grasshopper’s forwarding schedules. For full-time answering, leave all-calls forwarding on. Our after-hours answering service page covers emergency rules for nights and weekends.

Where LobbyStack fits

LobbyStack answers the calls your carrier forwards to its number. It has no built-in overflow schedule, so your forwarding rule decides which calls it gets. A caller you miss can still get answers from your business information and book a time in your Google Calendar. The receptionist also takes messages, emails your team an alert, and transfers urgent calls to one number. Each call gets a summary, a transcript and a recording in the dashboard. Calls open in your choice of eight languages, and the receptionist switches to the caller’s language, with 70+ languages on OpenAI GPT-Live.

Set the transfer number to a phone that doesn’t forward its missed calls back to LobbyStack. Otherwise a transfer nobody answers can land on the receptionist again. To decide what it should say on each call, start from these phone answering scripts. If you’re still weighing a person against software, read what a phone answering service is and where voicemail still works.

Does call forwarding cost extra?

It can. Some carriers bill forwarded calls as minutes on your plan, add long-distance charges, or charge for the feature itself. The answering service then bills its own minutes for the same call. Check with your carrier before you forward a busy line.

Carrier	What its page says, as of October 10, 2026
Verizon wireless	No monthly fee on most plans, though a fee may apply on some older plans. Without unlimited minutes, Verizon bills forwarded calls under your plan
AT&T wireless	AT&T bills forwarded calls for their length, and long-distance or roaming charges may apply. Some plans don’t count forwarding minutes against included minutes
Bell Mobility	A monthly add-on, or $0.25 a minute pay-per-use, which Bell adds to your bill if the feature isn’t on your plan. Forwarding to a long-distance number adds long-distance charges
TELUS mobility	Call Forwarding North America features include 3,000 minutes a month to Canadian or US numbers, then 75¢ a minute. Without the feature on your plan, TELUS bills forwarded minutes pay-per-use
AT&T Phone for Business, T-Mobile, Comcast Business, Spectrum Mobile, Bell Business Phone, Rogers	The pages we checked list no forwarding fee. Ask your carrier

Bell and TELUS quote Canadian dollars. At Bell’s pay-per-use rate, 40 missed calls of 3 minutes each (120 minutes) would add C$30 to the mobile bill. On LobbyStack Starter, the same 120 minutes fit inside the 150 minutes included for $30 a month. LobbyStack counts usage in seconds and doesn’t bill spam or calls under 10 seconds.

Questions about forwarding business calls

What is the difference between *71 and *72?

On Verizon wireless, *72 forwards every call, and your phone doesn’t ring. *71 rings your phone first and forwards the call when you’re busy or don’t answer after 3 to 6 rings. Spectrum Mobile uses the same pair, with *71 for busy and missed calls. On both, *73 turns forwarding off.

Does *73 turn off call forwarding?

On Verizon wireless and Spectrum Mobile, *73 turns forwarding off. On Comcast Business Voice and Bell Business Phone, *73 cancels all-calls forwarding, and busy and no-answer forwarding have their own off codes. AT&T Phone for Business uses *73#. T-Mobile and Rogers cancel all-calls forwarding with ##21#, and TELUS with #21#.

What does *#21# do?

On Rogers, *#21# checks whether all-calls forwarding is on, and *#61#, *#62# and *#67# check no-answer, unreachable and busy forwarding. These status codes don’t change any setting. To cancel forwarding, Rogers uses ##21#, ##61#, ##62# and ##67#, and T-Mobile’s ##004# resets all of its forwarding at once.

Can I set up call forwarding without my phone?

It depends on the carrier. Verizon says you manage forwarding from the mobile phone, and AT&T says you can’t change wireless forwarding online. Spectrum Mobile lets the account holder change it in the Spectrum account. Comcast Business Voice offers it in My Account, though not on every account type. RingCentral, Grasshopper and Ooma Office work from a browser or app.

Can I forward business calls to an AI receptionist?

Yes. You forward to the AI receptionist’s phone number like any other number. Ooma Office needs a shared external line, a Pro Plus feature, to reach an outside number. Google Voice is the exception: Google says forwarding to an automated system is unsupported. With LobbyStack, forward to your LobbyStack number. Free includes a US or Canadian number for 14 days, and Starter or Pro keeps it.

Hear the receptionist before you forward a line

LobbyStack’s Free plan gives you 30 voice minutes and a US or Canadian number free for 14 days, with no card. Dial your no-answer code to send it only the calls you miss, and see how it handles them. To keep the number, Starter costs $30 a month ($24 a month billed annually) for 150 minutes, with no setup fee, and you can cancel without a fee. Start free or compare plans.