Divert Office Phone to Mobile: Step-by-Step Guide

Diverting (also called call forwarding) sends calls that ring your office number to a different phone, such as your cell. There are two main kinds. All-call (unconditional) forwarding sends every incoming call straight to the mobile, and the desk phone does not ring at all. Conditional forwarding only sends calls when you cannot answer, such as when the line is busy, nobody picks up after a set number of rings, or the phone is unreachable.

The right choice depends on how you work. If you have left the office for the day, all-call forwarding makes sense. If you are at your desk but want missed calls to reach your cell, conditional forwarding is the better fit. Keep in mind that forwarding moves calls, not text messages, so texts to your office line stay where they were.

• All-call forwarding: every call goes to the mobile immediately; the desk phone never rings.
• No-answer forwarding: the desk phone rings first, then unanswered calls move to the mobile.
• Busy forwarding: calls go to the mobile only while the desk line is in use.
• Unreachable forwarding: calls move to the mobile if the office line is down or out of service.
• Forwarding applies to calls only, not texts.

Forwarding fails most often because of a mismatch between the instructions and the actual phone service. A few minutes of checking saves a frustrating afternoon of dropped test calls.

• Identify your exact product. Verizon business landline, Verizon wireless, AT&T Phone for Business, and AT&T Collaborate all use different codes, so the name on your bill matters.
• Confirm the feature is on your plan. Some providers include forwarding automatically; others require you to add it or have an administrator enable it.
• Ask about charges. Forwarded calls can be billed as outgoing long distance depending on the plan and where the mobile number is located.
• Know how to undo it. Write down the deactivation code (usually *73) before you activate, so you can return calls to the desk phone quickly.

These are the activation steps published by each provider for its own product. Match the product name on your bill to the right set of instructions, and do not mix codes between carriers or products.

• Verizon business landline: dial *72 and follow the activation instructions; dial *73 from the same line to turn it off.
• Verizon mobile: call *72 plus the 10-digit destination to forward all calls, *71 plus the destination for unanswered calls, and *73 to disable. Set it up from the mobile while in Verizon coverage.
• AT&T Phone for Business: dial *72, destination, then # for all calls; *92, destination, # for no answer; *90, destination, # for busy. Turn each off with *73#, *93#, or *91#.
• AT&T Collaborate: *72 plus destination enables always forwarding and *73 disables it; *62 plus destination covers busy (*63 off) and *92 plus destination covers no answer (*93 off). An administrator controls feature access.
• Comcast Managed Voice (Panasonic TPA65): lift the handset, dial *72 and the destination, then hang up; *73 disables. *92/*93 set no-answer forwarding and *90/*91 set busy forwarding.
• Optimum Business Phone: dial *72, wait for dial tone, then dial the destination. The destination answering confirms it. If busy or unanswered, press flash, dial *72 again and redial; two beeps confirm. *73 turns it off.
• Frontier Unlimited Digital Voice: lift the handset, dial *72, wait for a second dial tone, enter the destination, and listen for confirmation. *73 disables it.
• C Spire: dial *72 plus the 10-digit number and press Call to forward all calls; *73 then Call disables it. T-Mobile: dial **21*1, the 10-digit destination, then # for unconditional forwarding, and ##21# to disable; **61*1, **62*1, and **67*1 with the destination handle no reply, unreachable, and busy, with ##61#, ##62#, and ##67# to disable.

Many modern business phone systems skip star codes entirely and manage forwarding through a web dashboard or app. Comcast Business Voice Mobility includes call forwarding and remote call forwarding, managed through My Account and the Comcast Business App, with features depending on the services you subscribe to. Vonage Business Communications lets you select Call Forwarding and enable forwarding to a phone number. Windstream OfficeSuite UC users set immediate forwarding in the WE Connect Dashboard under My Call Forwarding, and can also send unanswered calls to another number after a chosen ring count.

With portal-based systems, always verify the change with a real outside call, since screens vary between devices and account roles. On some systems, such as Optimum Business Phone, forwarding the primary line overrides hunt groups, so check how your ring groups behave after activation.

• Comcast Business: identify whether you have Voice Mobility, Business Voice, or VoiceEdge before following any product's instructions.
• Vonage Business Communications: select Call Forwarding and enable Forward Calls to a phone number, then verify with an outside call.
• Windstream OfficeSuite UC: use the WE Connect Dashboard's My Call Forwarding widget for immediate and no-answer forwarding.

Once forwarding is on, treat it as something you switch on and off rather than a one-time setup. Many people who divert to a mobile are simply covering hours when they are away from the desk, and they turn forwarding off when they are back.

• Call your office number from a different phone and confirm the mobile rings.
• Check call quality and voicemail: decide whether the mobile's voicemail or the office system should catch missed calls, since forwarding changes which one answers first.
• Turn forwarding off with the deactivation code (*73 on most landline products) before you need the desk phone again.
• If you use conditional forwarding, adjust the ring count so callers are not waiting too long before the mobile picks up.
• Remember that forwarded calls use plan minutes, so review your bill after the first forwarded week.

Diverting to a mobile works well when you personally want to catch office calls. It does less well when you are on another call, driving, or simply cannot answer, because the caller then lands in whatever voicemail answers first. That is where an answering layer helps. AllDayDesk, the service on this site, answers business calls around the clock using your saved business information. You keep your existing office number by forwarding calls to it, using the same provider steps described above, and the receptionist can take messages, share saved details, and book new appointments into the built-in dashboard calendar once you have configured your services and availability. An optional Google Calendar connection is available in Settings after you connect and authorize your account. Every call, transcript, summary, and booking shows up in your dashboard, and if a caller asks something the saved information cannot answer, the receptionist takes a message for you.

Forwarding to AllDayDesk follows the same mechanics as forwarding to any other number: identify your provider product, use its activation code or portal, and test with a real call. The difference is what happens when you cannot pick up.

• Setup: choose your business or enter its website, check the details, and hear a personalized sample before choosing phone setup.
• Coverage: calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings appear in the dashboard so nothing depends on you being near the desk.
• Booking: new appointments go to the built-in dashboard calendar by default, with an optional Google Calendar connection in Settings.