What is Call Forwarding? A Complete Guide to How It Works

Last Updated on June 3, 2025 by BusinAssist Editorial Team

Call forwarding is a feature that helps redirect calls to another number that is an alternative to that being called. This feature can divert calls to business numbers, home phones, or personal numbers.

What is a call-forwarding feature? This article will highlight how call forwarding works, how to set it up, and how to know if a call is being forwarded.

What are the types of call forwarding?

There are different types of call forwarding depending on the receiver’s needs. The two main types include unconditional and conditional call forwarding.

Unconditional call forwarding:

This is where all incoming calls are redirected to another number without ringing in the original number.

Conditional call forwarding:

This type of call forwarding gives you the flexibility to receive business or personal calls in certain circumstances such as:

• When your phone line is busy
• When you do not answer after a certain number of rings.
• When your phone is not reachable, it is either turned off or doesn’t have reception.

Other types of call forwarding include:

Immediate call forwarding: upon activation, incoming calls will be forwarded immediately.

Delayed call forwarding: before the call is forwarded to your alternative number, there will be a significant period where the call will ring at the original number before it is forwarded.

How does call forwarding work?

When you set up call forwarding, you designate a phone number (the forwarding number) to which incoming calls to your original number will be redirected. Here’s a simple breakdown of how it works:

Activate the call forwarding features: you can do this through your phone. Go to the phone’s settings and select call forwarding. Depending on your service provider, this may differ. Some service providers offer call forwarding activation through dialing specific codes.

Redirect any incoming calls: Once you have activated this feature, start redirecting any incoming calls to your number to an alternative number.

Start receiving calls: the numbers you have redirected will be placed directly to the alternative number. The recipients of the forwarded call will still hear the same ringtone as your original number.

What are the benefits of call forwarding?

A call is never missed: it will increase availability and ensure important calls will never be missed no matter how far you are from your phone or desk. This will help you not to miss any calls from your customers, clients, etc. and will help you grow your business.

Professionalism: Call forwarding contributes to the professional image of a business by ensuring all calls are answered promptly. This fosters trust and confidence among your clients and partners.

Flexibility: Call forwarding offers you and your employees flexibility in managing calls effectively. Users can easily switch forwarding numbers based on their changing needs or locations. The feature also gives employees flexibility since they can operate remotely and receive business calls effectively.

Improved communication: Streamlines communication, making reaching you easier for clients and customers.

Greater productivity: this feature boosts the productivity level by allowing you and your team to focus on core tasks without the constant interruption of missed calls.

Simplicity: you only have to give one number to your customers. It is also easy to set it up at their convenience. It also makes it easier for companies to handle and manage phone volumes.

How to set up call forwarding

Setting up call forwarding is generally straightforward. Here is a general guide to help you get started:

1. Contact your service provider for specific instructions on how to set up call forwarding.
2. Choose the forwarding number to which you would like your calls to be forwarded.
3. Enter the activation code sent to your original phone number to activate the call-forwarding feature.
4. Now test the feature by making a call test to ensure the call forwarding is functional.

Tips to maximise call forwarding features

Scheduling options: Take advantage of scheduling options to define how you want to receive calls and the timings. Find ways to configure call forwarding with specific days and time ranges to seamlessly control your own extensions.

Don’t forward the calls to the same number multiple times: Do not forward calls to the same number multiple times. Ensure the number you are forwarding the call to never misses a call. Some users forward a call to an alternative number and when a call is missed, the call is forwarded again to the original number putting the call in a continuous loop making the system get stuck in re-answering calls.

Voicemail greetings: Take advantage of voicemail greetings, giving callers affirmation that they are calling the right person. This will help them continue calling the number whenever they want. 

When to use the call forwarding feature?

None working hours

Some customers may want to reach you during non-operational hours. Since you are not at your desk, you can redirect the calls to your cell phone and receive them while away.

Business expansion

When your business is expanding, you will find that you do not have the time and energy to answer all calls by yourself, so you will have to redirect calls to employees or call workers to handle them. This will help you reduce the burden and help you focus on how to maintain the growth of the business.

Transition

Business transition is one hectic and confusing process that slows down the business and many may lose their customers due to reduced communication. Whether you are moving your business from one location to another or merging and acquisition, you can use the call forwarding feature to ensure the communication is continuous and at per. 

Transition can also be employees quitting or upgrading to another department. If they were the ones receiving the calls, you can redirect the calls to another department or coworker to seamlessly maintain the communication process.

Working out of the office

If you always work out of the office or remotely and still want to maintain communication with your customers or partners, you can activate the call-forwarding feature to receive incoming calls from your office phone. This will ensure you maintain communication even when traveling or on vacation. Missing a call is a missed opportunity.

So, what is the call forwarding feature? As mentioned above, the call forwarding feature ensures a business or an individual never misses a call whether in the office or not. This maintains the productivity of a business, creating confidence and trust within your customers and partners. 

Never miss a call with BusinAssist with our UK virtual numbers accessible with an app and VoIP landlines. Communication is key to retaining customers and maintaining positive customer service which leads to the success of your business. With our virtual numbers, you can redirect all your business calls to them to ensure 100% of business calls are always answered.

Give us a call, and we will ensure your number is set and ready to set the call forwarding feature exactly how you need it. For more information on virtual and UK VoIP landline numbers, contact us at [email protected].

FAQs

Q: Can I forward calls from a specific number?
Ans: You can do this by using a feature called “selective call forwarding” that allows you to set up a list of numbers that will automatically be forwarded to another designated phone number when they call you.

Q: Can I call forward to an international number?
Ans: Yes, you can call forward to an international number since the feature allows users to divert inbound calls from anywhere.

Q: Can I activate call forwarding remotely?
Ans: Yes, you can activate it remotely. Most mobile carriers allow you to set up call forwarding to another number without having physical access to your phone.

Q: Can call forwarding be tracked​?
Ans: Depending on your phone provider and plan, your call can be tracked.

Q: Why does my phone say conditional call forwarding is active?
Ans: “Conditional call forwarding active,” means that you have set up your phone to automatically forward calls to another number under specific conditions like if your phone is busy or in DND.

Q: Why does it say call forwarded when I call someone?
Ans: It means that the person you are trying to reach has set up a feature on their phone to automatically redirect incoming calls to another phone number.

Q: How to forward business calls to cell phones?
Ans: To forward business calls to your cell phone, typically you need to access your phone line settings and activate call forwarding, then enter your cell phone number as the destination for incoming calls.

Q: How to turn off call forwarding by dialing?
Ans: To turn off call forwarding in the UK, dial #21# on your phone keypad; this will deactivate the “divert all calls.”

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