Can I Forward My Office Phone to My Cell?

Forwarding usually takes under five minutes, but a little preparation prevents frustration. First, identify your exact phone service. Companies like Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, and Frontier sell several different phone products, and the steps for one product often do not work on another. Your monthly bill or provider portal should show the service name.

Second, decide what kind of forwarding you want. All-call forwarding sends every incoming call straight to your cell, so your desk phone never rings. Conditional forwarding only sends calls to your cell when you are busy, do not answer, or your line is unreachable. Not every service supports conditional forwarding, so confirm with your provider before relying on it.

Third, ask your provider whether forwarding adds charges. Some plans bill forwarded calls as long distance, and mobile carriers may count forwarded minutes against your plan.

• Find the exact service name on your bill before looking up instructions
• Choose between all-call forwarding and conditional forwarding
• Ask about extra charges for forwarded calls
• Have your 10-digit cell number ready

Many traditional phone services use star codes you dial from the office phone itself. The most common pattern is *72 to turn forwarding on and *73 to turn it off, but the details vary. Here are the verified steps for several providers. Always confirm your product matches before dialing.

For Verizon business landline service, dial *72 and follow the activation instructions; dial *73 from the same line to deactivate. For AT&T Phone for Business, dial *72, your destination number, then # to forward all calls, and *73# to turn it off. No-answer forwarding uses *92 with the destination and #, and *93# disables it; busy forwarding uses *90 and *91#. For Optimum Business Phone covered by its user guide, dial *72, wait for dial tone, then dial the destination; the destination answering confirms it worked. Press *73 to turn it off.

For Frontier Unlimited Digital Voice, lift the handset, dial *72, wait for a second dial tone, enter your destination, and listen for confirmation; *73 disables it. For C Spire, dial *72 plus the 10-digit destination and press Call, and use *73 to disable. For AT&T Collaborate, a different AT&T product, *72 with the destination enables always forwarding and *73 disables it, while busy and no-answer use *62, *63, *92, and *93. These codes apply only to Collaborate, not AT&T wireless or other business lines.

• Verizon business landline: *72 to activate, *73 to deactivate
• AT&T Phone for Business: *72 + destination + # for all calls; *92 for no answer; *90 for busy
• Optimum Business Phone: *72, wait for dial tone, dial destination; *73 to disable
• Frontier Unlimited Digital Voice: *72, second dial tone, destination; *73 to disable
• C Spire: *72 + 10-digit number, press Call; *73 to disable
• AT&T Collaborate: *72 always, *62 busy, *92 no answer, with matching off codes

Internet-based business phone systems usually handle forwarding through a website or app rather than codes. For Spectrum Business Voice, sign in to SpectrumBusiness.net with an account role that can manage voice, open Voice, choose your phone number, then use Voice Settings or the Forwarding Manager to enable forwarding and set the destination. You can choose all calls or busy/no-answer forwarding there.

For Comcast Business, features like forwarding and remote forwarding are managed through My Account or the Comcast Business App, and availability depends on which services you subscribe to. Identify whether you have Voice Mobility, Business Voice, or VoiceEdge before following any product's instructions. For Vonage Business Communications, select Call Forwarding and enable forwarding to a phone number, then verify the destination by placing an outside call.

For Windstream OfficeSuite UC, use the WE Connect Dashboard's My Call Forwarding widget to set Immediate forwarding to another phone number, or configure a ring count and destination for unanswered calls.

• Spectrum Business Voice: manage forwarding in Voice Settings or Forwarding Manager
• Comcast Business: use My Account or the Business App; confirm your product first
• Vonage Business Communications: enable Call Forwarding to a phone number
• Windstream OfficeSuite UC: use the My Call Forwarding widget in WE Connect

Forwarding works in both directions. If you want calls to your cell to ring your office when you cannot answer, mobile carriers offer their own codes. On Verizon mobile, dial *72 plus the 10-digit destination to forward all calls, *71 plus the destination for unanswered calls, and *73 to disable; set this up from the mobile phone while in Verizon coverage, and note it forwards calls only, not texts. T-Mobile uses **21*1 with the destination and # for unconditional forwarding, **61*1 for no reply, **62*1 for unreachable, and **67*1 for busy, with matching ## codes to disable each and ##004# to reset everything.

Not every mobile line supports every option. Some carriers and prepaid plans limit forwarding to select areas or handsets, so check with your carrier if a code is rejected.

• Verizon mobile: *72 + destination for all calls, *71 for unanswered, *73 to disable
• T-Mobile: **21*1, **61*1, **62*1, **67*1 with destination and #, disabled with ## codes
• Forwarding applies to calls, not text messages
• Some prepaid or regional plans only support forwarding in select areas

A few situations can block forwarding. Google Voice explicitly does not support forwarding calls from a Google Voice number to an automated system, so a Voice number cannot be pointed at an answering service or auto attendant. Some hosted systems restrict who can change forwarding, requiring an account owner or administrator to make the change. And all-call forwarding on a landline typically stops the original desk phone from ringing and can override voicemail, so remember to dial *73 when you want calls back at the office.

If your provider does not support the conditional option you want, ask what alternatives exist for your exact product rather than borrowing another carrier's code. Codes are product-specific, and a code from one service may fail or behave differently on another.

• Google Voice numbers cannot forward to automated systems
• Administrator permissions may be required on hosted systems
• All-call forwarding can override desk phone ringing and voicemail
• Never use another carrier's codes; confirm with your own provider

Forwarding your office line to your cell keeps your published business number working while you are out, which matters because customers keep calling the number they already have. But it also means every call follows you, including spam, sales calls, and after-hours callers. If you forward all calls and then cannot pick up, callers land in your personal cell voicemail, where a business caller may not leave the details you need.

Many owners handle this by forwarding the office line to an answering service instead of, or after, their cell. With AllDayDesk, you keep your existing number and forward calls to the service, which answers using your saved business information around the clock. Setup involves choosing your business or entering its website, checking the details it found, hearing a personalized sample, and choosing how to connect your phone. Calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings show up in your dashboard, and new appointments go on the built-in calendar once you have configured services and availability, with an optional Google Calendar connection available in Settings after you authorize your account. If a caller asks something the service does not know, like a price not in your saved information, it takes a message instead of guessing.