How do I set up call forwarding on a business line?

Choose the mode before you touch a code, because each mode has its own. Forward all calls sends every ring away. Busy forwards when you're already on a call. No answer forwards after the phone rings for a set time. Unreachable forwards when the phone is off or out of signal.

Most small businesses start with no answer, so the calls you pick up stay yours and the rest get answered. Add busy and unreachable if you're often on the phone or on a job site with no signal.

Write down what you set and where. A forward you've forgotten about is the most confusing thing to debug six months later.

On AT&T, T-Mobile and the networks that run on them, the codes follow the GSM standard. Dial **21* plus the number and # for all calls, **67* for busy, **61* for no answer and **62* for unreachable. For no answer you can add a delay, such as **61*number**20#, where 20 is seconds.

Verizon uses its own codes. Dial *72 plus the number to forward everything, *71 plus the number to forward on no answer or busy, and *73 to cancel. Verizon's no-answer delay is fixed at about 30 seconds.

On a VoIP or hosted system, the forward is a rule in the admin dashboard, and the delay is a field beside it. RingCentral, Nextiva, Grasshopper and Google Voice all work this way.

The ring count is set where the forwarding is set, and GreetKeeper answers the moment the call arrives. AT&T and T-Mobile allow 5 to 30 seconds. At about six seconds per US ring, 20 seconds is three or four rings.

Say you're a solo electrician on a mobile plan that uses the standard GSM codes, as AT&T, T-Mobile and the carriers on their networks do. You want calls to forward only when you don't pick up. So you dial **61*, then the ten-digit number GreetKeeper gave you, then **20#, and press call. The 20 is the delay in seconds, and on most of these carriers it can be anything from 5 to 30 in steps of five.

Twenty seconds is about three or four rings, since a US ring cycle lasts six seconds. Your screen shows a confirmation. You borrow your neighbor's phone, call yourself, let it ring, and hear the assistant pick up. A minute later the transcript of your test arrives.

To undo it, you dial ##61# and press call. Carriers revise these codes from time to time, so check yours on the carrier's own help page before relying on any list, this one included.

A traditional landline usually takes *72 and the destination number, and many phone companies only activate the forward once the destination answers that first call. If nobody picks up, you repeat the code within a couple of minutes to confirm it, and skipping that second step is why nothing forwards.

On an iPhone, the Call Forwarding switch in Settings only does the forward-everything mode. For no-answer or busy forwarding you need the codes or your carrier's app.

Office systems move the setting up a level. With a hosted VoIP system or a desk PBX that has an auto attendant, forwarding the handset on your desk does nothing for calls the system answers first. Change the rule in the admin dashboard instead.

Lines in a hunt group need care. When line one is busy, the phone company rolls the call to line two, then three. Put the no-answer forward on the last line in the chain, or calls will jump to the assistant while a free line sits silent.

Every GreetKeeper plan includes a dedicated local number, with the area code chosen at signup and one per location. That's the number you forward to, and your customers keep dialing the number they already know.

GreetKeeper answers a forwarded call the same way in all four modes. So you can start on no answer, add busy next week, and change nothing on the GreetKeeper side.

Your first test call arrives as a transcript and a short summary. That's your proof the forward is live, and it's more reliable than a carrier's confirmation beep. Try it free for 14 days, with no card needed.