The average small business owner misses 4 to 5 calls per day. For many of you, that could amount to 20% of your incoming calls going unanswered, which could result in a lot of lost opportunities. Learn how to forward calls to another number or device in this step-by-step guide.
Trying to answer every call that comes through is nearly impossible. And with the rising number of robocalls, there is nothing more frustrating than stressing over a missed call that turns out to be a scam…
Call forwarding is a sure-fire way to rescue missed calls, while also eliminating scam calls. In this guide, we’ll show you how to forward phone calls from your work phone to any device while also breaking down the benefits of using a cloud-based phone system.
Read on to learn how to forward calls to another number or device.
Call forwarding is a feature available in most traditional and virtual phone systems that enables you to redirect an incoming call to another number, extension, or device.
Let’s start with call forwarding on your smartphone.
The beauty of using your smartphone as your business phone, as opposed to a traditional desk phone, is that you can take your business on the go. You can say goodbye to the worry of missing any important business calls while out running errands or on a job.
But even with your business in your back pocket, missing a call is still a reality. That’s why call forwarding can still come in handy while you’re out and about and need to silence calls in a productive way. Whether you’re in the middle of a client meeting or taking the afternoon off, sometimes a little time away from answering your phone is necessary.
Keep in mind – there isn’t any way to forward business calls exclusively if you’re only using one phone number for both business and personal calls. (You can do so with a cloud phone system – but more on that later!)
To set up call forwarding on your smartphone, first you need to know which network your phone runs on. This will either be the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network or the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network.
A quick Google search of this question can help you discover whether you have a GSM phone or a CDMA phone. For example, AT&T or T-mobile phones typically use the GSM network, while Verizon uses the CDMA network.
With this information in tow, you can follow these steps to set up your call forwarding!
Setting up call forwarding on your iPhone is super simple! Here's how to forward calls on iPhone with a few quick steps.
To stop forwarding your calls, all you have to do is toggle the feature back off! Follow steps 1 through 3 and just turn it back off. The button should switch from Green to Gray again.
While iPhones do not have a built-in function for conditional call forwarding, you can still find this option by dialing a code. This depends on the carrier and network.
You can set up conditional call forwarding for the following situations:
To set up conditional call forwarding for this circumstance, you’ll need to dial *61*Your Phone Number# and hit the call button. Wait until you hear the confirmation that the feature has been enabled – which will read “Forwarding when Unanswered Activated” or something similar. To deactivate, call *61*Your Phone Number# again and it will turn the feature off.
To set up conditional call forwarding for this circumstance, you’ll need to dial *62*Your Phone Number# and hit the call button. Wait until you hear the confirmation that the feature has been enabled – which will read “Forwarding when Unreachable Activated” or something similar. To deactivate, call *62*Your Phone Number# again and it will turn the feature off.
To set up conditional call forwarding for this circumstance, you’ll need to dial *67*Your Phone Number# and hit the call button. Wait until you hear the confirmation that the feature has been enabled – which will read “Forwarding when Busy Activated” or something similar. To deactivate, call *67*Your Phone Number# again and it will turn the feature off.
Android phones on the GSM network offer a more advanced call forwarding experience. Follow these steps to forward your calls and customize your options:
If you use a traditional desk phone, landline, or you have a smartphone on the CDMA network, call forwarding will look a little different. This is because they do not have built-in call forwarding functionalities.
But that doesn’t mean you cannot still forward your calls. Follow these steps to utilize call forwarding:
Keep in mind – the number to dial in order to turn OFF your call forwarding will be different depending on your carrier.
Let's say you lost your business phone or you just don't have it on you, but still need to receive calls and want to set up call forwarding.
If you don't have your phone with you, you can still forward calls.
Simply follow the same steps for call forwarding on a traditional phone from any phone or device.
Maybe you have a cellular device for your personal calls and texts, but for your business, you’re still rocking with the traditional desk phone. If this is the case, call forwarding is about to be your new favorite thing.
With call forwarding, you can route your calls to a mobile phone number or other extension. This way you don’t have to stress over missing a call, nor do you have to handcuff yourself to your desk.
For most landlines, you’ll simply follow the steps we laid out above. However, if your business has its own internal phone network, you’re going to want to connect with your IT department for instructions on how to set up call forwarding properly.
Many business phone systems offer conditional call forwarding. With conditional call forwarding, you can set it up so that calls are only forwarded to your mobile device when you don’t answer or your phone line is unavailable. Chat with your phone system provider about how to configure these advanced settings.
Let’s take it one step further. Cloud phone systems are the modern way to stay on top of all your incoming calls even while you’re away from the office – without the need to forward your calls.
Using a cloud phone service for small business like Cloudphone.com unlocks the ability to answer calls from anywhere on any device – even your computer – simply by downloading an app or opening a browser. You also gain a number of useful features including more sophisticated call forwarding and other tools that help you answer the phone, drive responsiveness, and improve communication across your business.
When you need to leverage call forwarding while you’re on vacation or in “Do Not Disturb” mode, you can set it up right in the app. But the best part is – you can make sure that only your business calls are forwarded through the cloud phone system, while your personal calls still make it through to you…if you want them to of course!
If you’ve been using your personal phone number for business or still give out your personal number despite having a business line, you can use this handy tip to avoid missing important calls.
Have you ever been in the middle of something important and feel your phone ringing off the hook in your pocket? It’s an unfamiliar number, so you’re not sure if it’s business or personal. You find yourself stressing, is it important? Is it a scam call? Is it worth interrupting my conversation?
Instead of breaking your focus, let Cloudphone.com answer the call for you!
That’s not necessary. You can simply toggle on the Call Forwarding feature on your personal devices when it’s time to focus, and forward calls to your Cloudphone.com number – which will send them automatically to your virtual receptionist or another extension of someone on your team.
We know how little time the busy small business owner has – so we strive to make everything as simple as possible. You can set up call forwarding on Cloudphone.com in just a few simple steps.
To turn off call forwarding, return to the Call Settings on either the desktop or mobile app and change the setting from Connect to Phone Number back to Connect to Virtual Receptionist or another option.
Cloud phone systems come equipped with voice automation features that help you stay on top of answering your phone without being glued to it – including extensions, automated receptionists and IVR to text.
With extensions, you can give each member of your team their own business phone number. This makes it easy to forward calls based on department or when you need to delegate.
To learn more about setting up your extensions, check out our tutorial here.
With Cloudphone.com, all of your calls will go through your automated receptionist. Through an easy few-step process, set up your receptionist menu with different options to connect with you. For example, “Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Customer Support, Press 3 to Leave a Voicemail.”
You can set up your virtual receptionist menu to include options to forward the call to another number or extension.
To learn more about setting up your automated receptionist, check out our tutorial here.
Sometimes we receive calls with questions that could have easily been found on our website. While you want to ensure high-quality customer service, dozens of these calls throughout the week can add up and waste a lot of your time.
This is where our IVR to text feature comes in handy! With this feature, you’re essentially forwarding calls to text. Simply customize your automated receptionist to include the option to “Send a Text Message”. This will reroute the conversation to your text inbox with an auto-response that either lets the caller know you’ll be in touch promptly, or that includes the information they are looking for – taking you out of the equation completely.
To learn more about setting up your IVR to text message feature, check out our tutorial here.
Call forwarding can add hours back into your workweek and eliminate the stress of worrying about missed calls. With a cloud business phone system, like Cloudphone.com, you can leverage advanced, yet simple tools for forwarding and routing calls. And the best part? You can be up and running within minutes for a fraction of the cost of a typical monthly phone bill.
Ready to get started? Sign up today.