How to Forward a Work Phone to a Cell Phone

The single biggest mistake people make is using codes from the wrong product. Carriers often sell several phone services, and the forwarding steps for one may not work on another. For example, AT&T publishes different codes for AT&T Phone for Business than for its Collaborate system, and Comcast Business features depend on whether you have Voice Mobility, VoiceEdge, or Managed Voice.

Check your monthly bill or your provider's welcome email for the exact product name. If you are not sure, call your provider's support line and ask two questions: what phone product my line is on, and whether call forwarding to an outside number is included on my plan.

• Look for the product name on your bill, not just the carrier name.
• Ask whether forwarding to an outside number is included or costs extra.
• Note whether your line is a landline, a hosted VoIP line, or a mobile line, since the steps differ.

Many traditional and VoIP business phone services use *72 to turn on all-call forwarding and *73 to turn it off. The exact confirmation steps vary by product. On Optimum Business Phone, dial *72, wait for a dial tone, then dial the destination; if the call is busy or unanswered, press the flash or hook switch, dial *72 again, and redial the destination, and two beeps followed by dial tone confirm. On Frontier Unlimited Digital Voice, lift the handset, dial *72, wait for a second dial tone, enter the destination, and listen for confirmation.

On AT&T Phone for Business, dial *72, the destination, then # to forward all calls, and *73# to turn it off; no-answer forwarding uses *92 and *93#, and busy forwarding uses *90 and *91#. On Comcast Managed Voice with a Panasonic TPA65 phone, lift the handset, dial *72 and the destination, then replace the handset, and dial *73 to disable. On Verizon business landline service, dial *72 and follow the activation instructions, then *73 from the same line to deactivate.

Some hosted systems manage forwarding through a web portal instead of codes. Spectrum Business Voice handles it in the online account under Voice Settings or the Forwarding Manager, where you choose all calls or busy/no-answer forwarding and set the destination. Vonage Business Communications lets you select Call Forwarding and enable forwarding to a phone number, and Windstream OfficeSuite UC uses the My Call Forwarding widget in its dashboard.

Always confirm the exact product name before using any of these steps, because codes from one product often fail or do nothing on another.

• Optimum Business Phone: *72, wait for dial tone, dial destination; *73 to turn off.
• Frontier Unlimited Digital Voice: *72, second dial tone, destination, confirmation tone; *73 to disable.
• AT&T Phone for Business: *72 + destination + # for all calls; *92 for no-answer; *90 for busy; *73# to disable.
• Comcast Managed Voice (TPA65): *72 + destination, hang up; *73 to disable.
• Verizon business landline: *72 to activate, *73 to deactivate.
• Spectrum Business Voice, Vonage Business Communications, and Windstream OfficeSuite UC use portal or dashboard controls instead of codes.

If your work phone is a mobile line, the codes depend on the carrier, and setup usually must be done from that phone.

On Verizon mobile, dial *72 plus the 10-digit destination to forward all calls, and *73 to turn it off. For calls that go unanswered, *71 plus the destination forwards only missed calls. Setup must be done from the phone while in Verizon coverage, and forwarding applies to calls, not texts.

On T-Mobile, dial **21*1 followed by the 10-digit destination and # to forward all calls, and ##21# to disable. Conditional options use **61*1 for no reply, **62*1 for unreachable, and **67*1 for busy, each disabled with the matching ## code such as ##61#. Dialing ##004# resets forwarding to defaults.

Not every mobile plan supports every forwarding option. Some prepaid and regional carriers support all-call forwarding but not conditional forwarding, or support it only in select areas. If a code gives an error, contact your carrier and ask which forwarding features your specific line supports rather than trying codes from another carrier.

• Verizon mobile: *72 + destination for all calls, *71 + destination for unanswered, *73 to disable.
• T-Mobile: **21*1 + destination + # for all calls; ##21# to disable; ##004# resets defaults.
• Forwarding moves calls only, not text messages.
• Prepaid and regional plans may not support conditional forwarding.

After activating forwarding, place a test call from a different phone, such as a friend's phone or a second line, and confirm it rings on your cell. Many services confirm activation with a tone or a spoken message, but an outside test call is the only way to verify the destination works. Vonage specifically recommends verifying the destination with an outside call.

Keep two things in mind while forwarding is active. First, all-call forwarding usually overrides voicemail on the work line, so calls will not reach the work line's voicemail while forwarding is on. Second, on some systems forwarding the primary line overrides hunt groups, so calls that used to roll to a second phone will now go only to your cell.

When you are back at the desk, dial *73 (or the matching disable code, or turn the feature off in your portal) from the same line, then place another test call to the work number to confirm it rings there again.

• Test with an outside call, not just the confirmation tone.
• All-call forwarding typically overrides the work line's voicemail.
• On some systems, forwarding the main line overrides hunt group ringing.
• Always deactivate from the same line the feature was set on.

Forwarding works well when you can answer, but it has limits. While you are on a call, driving, or out of coverage, forwarded callers hear your cell's voicemail or ring out with no answer. All-call forwarding also sends every call to your personal phone, including spam and after-hours callers.

If you want the work number covered when you cannot pick up, one option is an answering service or automated receptionist that answers in your business's voice, takes messages, and books appointments. AllDayDesk, the product on this site, is an AI receptionist that answers calls around the clock using your saved business details. You keep your public number by forwarding calls to it, and setup starts by choosing your business or entering its website, checking the details it found, hearing a personalized sample, and then choosing your phone setup. Calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings show up in your dashboard, and new appointments go to the built-in calendar by default once you have set your services and availability, with an optional Google Calendar connection available in Settings after you connect and authorize your account.

One important exception: Google Voice does not support forwarding its calls to an automated system, so a Google Voice work number cannot be forwarded to an AI receptionist this way. Also note that existing appointment changes made by a receptionist, human or AI, are requests for you to approve, not confirmed changes, and transfers to you require you to configure a destination and rules in advance.

• Forwarded callers reach your cell's voicemail when you cannot answer.
• All-call forwarding sends after-hours and spam calls to your personal phone too.
• An answering service or AI receptionist can cover calls when you are unavailable.
• Google Voice numbers cannot be forwarded to an automated system.