How to Forward Calls From Business Phone to Cell Phone

Before you touch any settings, it helps to know what kind of forwarding you want. The two basic types behave very differently, and picking the wrong one is the most common mistake owners make.

Unconditional (all-call) forwarding sends every incoming call straight to your cell. Your office phone will not ring at all while it is on. Conditional forwarding only sends calls along in certain situations, such as when nobody answers, the line is busy, or the phone is unreachable.

• All-call forwarding: every call goes to your cell immediately; the business line stays silent.
• No-answer forwarding: the business line rings first, then the call moves to your cell if nobody picks up.
• Busy forwarding: calls redirect to your cell while the business line is already on another call.
• Unreachable forwarding: calls redirect when the office phone is off or out of service.
• All-call forwarding usually overrides the business line's own voicemail, so callers reach your cell instead of the office greeting.

Forwarding instructions are not universal. The same company can sell several products with different codes and menus. For example, AT&T Phone for Business, AT&T Collaborate, and AT&T wireless each use different codes, and Comcast Business features depend on whether you have Voice Mobility, Business Voice, VoiceEdge, or Managed Voice.

Check your bill or your provider's welcome email for the exact product name. Then look up that product's own instructions. Using another product's code can simply fail, or in some cases activate a feature you did not intend.

• Find the product name on your monthly bill or account portal.
• Note whether it is a landline, hosted VoIP, or wireless service.
• Check whether an administrator account is required; some systems only let the account owner change forwarding.
• Confirm whether your plan includes forwarding at all; some carriers offer it only in select areas or on certain plans.

Most business lines support one or both of two methods: dialing a short code from the phone itself, or managing forwarding through an online account or app. Both reach the same result, so pick whichever is easier for you.

With the code method, you typically dial *72, hear a second dial tone or a prompt, then enter your 10-digit cell number. A confirmation tone or a test call tells you it worked. To turn forwarding off, you dial *73 from the same line. With the portal method, you sign in to your provider's website or app, open the voice or phone settings, choose the number, and enter the forwarding destination there.

• Code method example: lift the handset, dial *72, wait for the tone, dial your cell number, and listen for confirmation.
• Portal method example: sign in, open Voice or Phone settings, select your business number, enable forwarding, and enter the destination.
• Some providers let you save destinations online so you do not have to retype the number each time.
• Wireless carriers often use different codes, such as *72 for all calls or *71 for unanswered calls on Verizon mobile lines.
• Always deactivate with the matching code (*73 on many services) or the same portal setting when you want calls to ring the office again.

These examples show how much instructions vary between products. They are drawn from each provider's own published guides, so match them to your exact service before dialing anything.

If your provider is not listed, call their support line or search their help center for your exact product name plus the words call forwarding.

• Verizon business landline: dial *72 and follow the activation prompts; dial *73 to deactivate.
• Optimum Business Phone: dial *72, wait for dial tone, then dial the destination; the destination answering confirms it. *73 turns it off.
• AT&T Phone for Business: all calls *72 then destination then #; no-answer *92 then destination then #; busy *90 then destination then #.
• AT&T Collaborate: always forward *72 plus destination; busy *62 plus destination; no-answer *92 plus destination.
• Spectrum Business Voice: sign in to SpectrumBusiness.net, open Voice, choose the number, then use Voice Settings or Forwarding Manager to enable forwarding and set the destination.
• Comcast Business: forwarding and remote forwarding are managed through My Account or the Comcast Business App under Voice Mobility or your subscribed voice product.
• Vonage Business Communications: select Call Forwarding and enable forwarding to a phone number in the admin or user settings.
• Frontier Unlimited Digital Voice: dial *72, wait for the second dial tone, enter the destination, and listen for confirmation; *73 disables.

Never assume forwarding is working just because you heard a confirmation tone. Have a friend, family member, or second phone call your business number and confirm the call actually reaches your cell with the right caller ID and sound quality.

While forwarding is on, keep a few things in mind. All-call forwarding means your office phone will not ring, so anyone else who shares the line will not hear incoming calls. Calls are forwarded, not texts. And if you use conditional forwarding, the business line's own voicemail may still catch calls before they redirect, depending on how many rings you have set.

• Place a test call from a different phone to confirm calls reach your cell.
• Verify your cell's own voicemail is set up, since forwarded calls that you miss will land there.
• Remember that forwarding applies to calls only, not text messages.
• Turn forwarding off with *73 or the portal setting when you are back at the office.
• If forwarding fails to activate, confirm the product name and try the provider's portal method instead.

Forwarding to your cell works well when you can answer. But when you are on a job, driving, or with a customer, a forwarded call still needs you to pick up, and missed calls go to your personal voicemail where callers may not leave useful details.

An answering service picks up when you cannot. AllDayDesk, the service on this site, answers business calls around the clock using your saved business information. You keep your existing business number by forwarding calls to it, using the same forwarding steps your provider gives you. During setup you choose your business or enter its website, check the details it pulled together, hear a personalized sample greeting, and then choose your phone setup. The sample is a preview only and does not create a real booking.

Once you are set up, calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings show up in your dashboard. New appointments go on the built-in AllDayDesk calendar by default after you configure your services and availability, and an optional Google Calendar connection is available in Settings after you connect and authorize your Google account. When the answer, price, or appointment time is unknown, the service takes a message instead of guessing. If you configure a transfer destination and rules, calls can be transferred to you, though pickup is not guaranteed.

• Forwarding sends calls to your cell; an answering service answers them for you.
• AllDayDesk uses your existing business number, so callers see no change.
• Setup: choose your business or website, review details, hear a sample, then pick phone setup.
• Calls, transcripts, summaries, and bookings appear in the dashboard.
• Changes to existing appointments are passed to you as requests, not confirmed automatically.