Glossary
Conditional call forwarding
Conditional call forwarding is a carrier feature that sends a call to another number only under set conditions, usually when the line is busy, nobody answers within a number of rings, or the phone is unreachable.
Explained
Conditional call forwarding, explained
Unconditional forwarding sends every call somewhere else. Conditional forwarding keeps your phone ringing first and only moves the call when it would otherwise be missed. Most mobile and business phone carriers offer separate settings for busy, no answer and unreachable, and many let you choose how long the phone rings before a no-answer forward.
You usually turn it on with a short dial code from your phone, or in your carrier's app or account settings. The codes differ by carrier and country, so check your carrier's help pages. The forwarded call keeps the original caller's number, so the receiving service can see who called.
Small businesses use conditional forwarding to send overflow and missed calls to a colleague, a voicemail service or an AI receptionist, without changing the number customers already know.
Supported in Voxipo
Conditional call forwarding and Voxipo
Voxipo is designed to work with conditional call forwarding. You keep your business number, set busy and no-answer forwarding with your carrier, and Voxipo answers the calls your team misses. You can also buy a new local number in Voxipo instead. Setup in the app walks through the forwarding step.
Questions
Conditional call forwarding: FAQs
Will I lose my business number if I forward calls?
No. Forwarding is a setting on your existing line. Customers keep calling the same number.
How many rings before a call forwards?
That depends on your carrier's no-answer setting. Many carriers let you choose the delay.
Can I turn forwarding off again?
Yes. Carriers provide a code or a setting to cancel each type of forwarding.