You want your phone to ring as usual, and only the calls you miss to go somewhere else: a business line, an answering service, or a missed-call text back. That is called “no answer” or conditional forwarding, and every carrier does it differently. Here is the code for each, taken from the carrier’s own support page, and where a carrier doesn’t document one, we say so.
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The Call Forwarding switch in your phone’s settings forwards every call. Turn it on and your phone stops ringing, which is the opposite of what you want. What you want is the carrier’s no-answer forwarding: your phone rings first, and only if you don’t pick up does the call move on.
In the codes below, N means the 10-digit number you want unanswered calls to go to, area code included and no spaces. Type the code into your phone’s dialer and press call, the same as dialing a number. You should hear a confirmation tone or see a message.
| Carrier | Forward unanswered calls | Turn off | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verizon | *71 + N | *73 | From the carrier’s page |
| T-Mobile | **61*1 + N + # | ##61# | Standard GSM code · test it |
| AT&T | **61*1 + N + # | ##61# | Standard GSM code · test it |
| Xfinity Mobile | *71 + N | *73 | From the carrier’s page |
| Visible | *71 + N | *73 | From the carrier’s page |
| Google Fi | Not offered | — | Not offered |
| Cricket, Metro, Mint and other prepaid | **61*1 + N + # | ##61# | Standard GSM code · test it |
On: *71 + N · Off: *73
Source: Verizon: Call Forwarding FAQs, checked 2 October 2026
On: **61*1 + N + # · Off: ##61#
On: **61*1 + N + # · Off: ##61#
Source: AT&T: set up call forwarding
On: *71 + N · Off: *73
Source: Xfinity: how to use call forwarding, checked 2 October 2026
On: *71 + N · Off: *73
Source: Visible: plan features, checked 2 October 2026
Source: Google Fi: forward calls
On: **61*1 + N + # · Off: ##61#
Leave the switch at Settings › Apps › Phone › Call Forwarding off. Apple’s own guide says it forwards calls to one number, and that for forwarding only when you’re busy or not answering you should get the setup from your carrier. So on an iPhone, use the carrier code above in the Phone app’s keypad.
iOS also blocks links in texts, emails and web pages that try to turn on call forwarding. That is why the codes on this page are written out for you to type, not tappable.
On most Android phones you can set it without a code: open the Phone app, then Settings, then Calling accounts or Supplementary services, then Call forwarding, and choose When unanswered. The menu names vary by maker and carrier. On Verizon, use *71 instead.
While it’s on: calls you don’t answer go to the forwarding number, not to your voicemail. That is the point, but it means your old voicemail greeting stops playing for missed calls.
This is the setup step for LeadHunter USA’s missed-call text back: your unanswered calls forward to your business line, and the caller gets a text from your business within seconds. You keep your own number, and we walk founding customers through this for their carrier and test it with them.
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Questions
Use your carrier’s "no answer" (conditional) forwarding, not the phone’s plain Call Forwarding switch. On Verizon and Xfinity Mobile you dial *71 followed by the 10-digit number. On T-Mobile, AT&T and most prepaid brands the standard GSM code is **61* followed by 1, the 10-digit number and #, or you can set "When unanswered" in Android’s call settings. Then test it by calling yourself from another phone and letting it ring.
Because that is what it does. Apple’s Settings › Apps › Phone › Call Forwarding forwards every call to one number, so your phone stops ringing. Apple says that for forwarding only when busy or unanswered you should get the setup from your carrier. Use the carrier code instead and leave that switch off.
Dial *71 followed by the 10-digit number you want unanswered calls to go to. Verizon describes it as forwarding only the calls you don’t answer. *72 forwards every call, and *73 turns forwarding off.
It depends on the carrier. On GSM networks such as T-Mobile and AT&T you can usually set it in the code itself by adding the seconds before the final #, for example **61*1 + number + **20#, with values from 5 to 30 seconds. Verizon does not publish a setting for it.
Yes, while it is on. The calls you don’t answer go to the forwarding number instead of your voicemail. Xfinity says this outright. If the number you forward to has its own voicemail, callers can still leave a message there.
Usually not on current plans, but check. Verizon says there is no monthly fee on most plans, that a fee may apply on some older plans, and that per-minute charges may apply to forwarded calls.
On Verizon, Xfinity Mobile and Visible dial *73. With the GSM codes, ##61# turns off no-answer forwarding and ##004# clears every conditional forward at once.