The iPhone's built-in call forwarding setting forwards every call, so your phone stops ringing. To forward only the calls you miss, you dial a short carrier code instead. Both are below: the Settings path takes about two minutes, the codes about three, and a one-minute test tells you whether it worked.
Elena Soto runs Soto Window Cleaning on a single iPhone. She is up a ladder most of the day, and she wants her phone to ring first and send the calls she can't take somewhere else. That is conditional forwarding, and on an iPhone it is done with codes, not a toggle.
What forwarding does, and what the iPhone setting cannot do
Call forwarding sends an incoming call to a different number. There are four rules: forward every call, forward when you're busy, forward when you don't answer, and forward when the phone is off or has no signal. The first one is unconditional and the other three are conditional. The iPhone's menu only offers the unconditional rule, so for the others you use the carrier codes below, or set it in your carrier's app or website.
The iPhone settings path
- On iOS 18 and later, open Settings, tap Apps, then Phone, then Call Forwarding. On iOS 17 and earlier, open Settings, then Phone, then Call Forwarding. Menu names shift a little between versions.
- Turn the Call Forwarding switch on.
- Tap Forward To and type the full number, including the area code.
- Go back to save it. A small phone icon with an arrow appears in the status bar while it is on.
If your phone has two lines, the setting appears per line, so you can forward the business line and leave the personal one alone. Use this route when you want all calls to go elsewhere, such as after hours or during a trip. It is a blunt tool for daytime, because your own phone will not ring at all.
Forward only the calls you miss: the carrier codes
Open the Phone keypad, type the code with the destination number in place of DEST (include the area code, and a leading 1 if your carrier asks), and press call. A confirmation screen appears. These are the common codes, and the full table is in our guide to forwarding your business number.
| What you want | AT&T, T-Mobile and other GSM carriers | Verizon |
|---|---|---|
| Forward all calls | **21*DEST# | *72 then DEST |
| Forward when unanswered | **61*DEST# | *71 then DEST |
| Forward when busy | **67*DEST# | *71 then DEST |
| Cancel one rule | ##21#, ##61# or ##67# | *73 |
| Cancel everything | ##002# | *73 |
Treat the table as the common standards. Prepaid plans, resellers and some business accounts change or block codes, and carriers revise them. If a code errors out, check your carrier's support page, or set the rule in its app. The iPhone settings screen shows only the forward-all rule, so to check that a conditional rule is active on a GSM carrier, dial *#61# for unanswered or *#67# for busy.
Test it in one minute
Use a second phone, preferably one whose number your phone doesn't know. Here is the minute:
- 0:00. Call your iPhone from the second phone. Your iPhone should ring if you set a conditional rule. It should not ring if you set forward-all.
- 0:00 to 0:25. Don't answer. After roughly five rings, the call should move to the destination number.
- 0:25 to 1:00. Confirm the destination picks up, and that what it says is right for a caller who has never heard it.
To test the busy rule, stay on one call and have a third person ring you. For unreachable, put your phone in airplane mode and call it. Soto tests once after setting the rule and again a week later, because carrier changes can quietly cancel rules.
Why the call still goes to voicemail
This is the surprise most people hit. Your carrier's voicemail also waits a set number of seconds before it picks up, and if voicemail's timer is shorter than the forwarding timer, voicemail wins. Two fixes: shorten the forward timer on GSM carriers by adding a ring time to the code, such as **61*DEST**15#, which forwards after 15 seconds; or turn carrier voicemail off so there is nothing to compete. The details are in the forwarding guide. And forwarded calls can use minutes on your plan, so check what your carrier counts.
Four things that quietly break it
A loop: you forward your number to a second number that forwards back to you, and callers hear silence or a busy signal. Never point two rules at each other. A Focus mode or Do Not Disturb setting that silences your phone: calls still ring on the network side, so the unanswered rule waits its full timer and the caller sits through more rings than you meant. A carrier plan change or a new SIM, which can wipe the rules without telling you, so re-test after either. And a typo in the destination, usually a missing area code, which sends the call to a stranger. Read the number back from the confirmation screen, and call it once yourself.
Turn it off
If you used the Settings toggle, go back to the same screen and switch Call Forwarding off. If you used codes, dial the cancel code from the table: ##002# clears every rule on a GSM line, and *73 clears forwarding on Verizon. Then run the one-minute test again to make sure your phone rings. If you forward after hours only, put the on and off times in your calendar, since it is easy to forget to switch it back in the morning. For people who don't want to touch it at all, handling after-hours calls without being on call shows how to leave it on and let something else answer.
Forwarding to an answering layer
Where the call goes is the real decision. If you forward to your own second number, you've moved the problem. If you forward to something that answers, you've solved it. Rocketship answers the number you already have through call forwarding: you forward to the number it gives you, and it takes the caller's details and books a time. Our answer to whether AI can answer your business phone explains the limits, and the guide on stopping missed calls as a one-person business shows the wider setup. If you want a separate business identity, see the four ways to get a second number, and the phone system guide covers when a team needs more.
Rocketship also finds the buyers, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the meeting on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and every monthly plan starts with a 7-day free trial, card required. Answering your existing number is included; a dedicated line is $5 a month.