Call forwarding sends the calls you don't answer to your AI. Your phone still rings first and the AI only picks up when you don't.
It's a setting on your phone line, so you set it up once and only you can change it.
You need: your AI number (in NiceJob → Leads → Voice) and the phone that has your business number.
How forwarding works
Conditional vs. unconditional
There are two kinds of call forwarding. You want the first.
| What happens | Use it for |
Conditional | Your phone rings first. The call forwards only if you don't answer, you're busy, or you're unreachable. | AI voice. This is what the codes in this article set up. |
Unconditional | Every call forwards immediately. Your phone never rings. | Vacation, a lost phone. Not AI voice. |
iPhone's built-in setting is unconditional. Settings → Phone → Call Forwarding forwards all your calls, customers would reach the AI every time, even when you're free to answer. Don't turn it on for this.
It also doesn't turn conditional forwarding off. If you set up AI voice by dialing a code, flipping that switch off does nothing to it. Use the turn-off code for your carrier instead.
On Android, the Phone app's forwarding menu lists the conditions separately (Always / When busy / When unanswered / When unreachable), so you can pick the conditional ones directly. "Always" is the unconditional one, leave it off.
Not answered, busy, unreachable
Conditional forwarding has three triggers. Each is a separate setting.
Trigger | When it forwards | Without it |
Not answered | Your phone rings and you don't pick up, after about 20–30 seconds, depending on carrier. | Calls go to your voicemail. Always set this one. |
Busy | You're already on a call. | Callers hear a busy signal or go to voicemail. |
Unreachable | Your phone is off, out of battery, airplane mode, or has no signal. | Callers go straight to voicemail or hear "not available." |
Set Not answered at minimum. Add Busy and Unreachable if you take calls on job sites or are often on the phone. They're optional but cheap to add.
Verizon is the exception: one code (*71) covers Not answered and Busy together, and Verizon doesn't offer a separate Unreachable code.
Before you start: what answers your missed calls now?
Whatever picks up a missed call today will keep picking up first and block the AI. Find yours below, then deal with it before you set forwarding. In every case, the AI becomes your voicemail.
Where your voicemail lives | How to tell | What to do |
Your carrier: a voicemail service on your phone plan (most mobile voicemail; paid services like Bell Voicemail; Rogers, Fido, Telus voicemail) | You call a number or hold 1 to hear messages. It's a line on your bill. | On most carriers, setting the forward code takes over from voicemail for missed calls, and you have nothing more to do. |
The phone itself: an answering machine built into a landline handset or desk phone | Messages play from the handset or base. A light blinks on the device. | It answers after a set number of rings, usually before the call can forward. Turn it off. If you want to keep it as a backup, set it to 8 or more rings so forwarding wins. |
A feature on your mobile: iPhone Live Voicemail, Pixel Call Screen, Samsung call assist, or a voicemail app like YouMail or Google Voice | Callers get screened or transcribed live on your screen, or an app you installed handles your voicemail. | Turn it off for this line. |
Someone else: a franchise or parent company, an office phone system, or IT manages the number | You didn't set the number up. Someone else changes the greeting, or there's a shared menu when customers call. | You probably can't change it yourself. Ask them to forward unanswered calls on your number to your AI number and turn off voicemail for it. |
Not sure which you have? Call your business number from another phone and let it ring. The greeting you hear tells you which row you're in: carrier prompt, your own recording from a machine, a screening message, or a company menu.
Do not use Call Forwarding in your iPhone's Settings for any of this as it forwards every call and your phone never rings. See Conditional vs. unconditional.
Pick your carrier
AT&T · T-Mobile · Verizon · Rogers · Fido · Telus · Bell · Landline · Google Voice, RingCentral, VoIP, phone tree · Not sure
In every code below, replace AI with your AI number, digits only.
Example: if your AI number is (469) 555-0182, *61*AI# is dialed as *61*4695550182#.
Dial from the phone's keypad and tap call. You'll hear a tone or see a confirmation.
AT&T
| Dial |
Forward missed calls |
|
Also forward when you're on a call |
|
Also forward when you have no signal |
|
Check it's on |
|
Turn off |
|
These are the standard wireless codes. If AT&T's website shows *92 / *93, those are for home phone, not mobile.
If a code doesn't take, call AT&T and ask for conditional call forwarding on no answer to your AI number.
T-Mobile
| Dial |
Forward missed calls |
|
Also forward when you're on a call |
|
Also forward when you have no signal |
|
Check it's on |
|
Turn off |
|
Some T-Mobile lines don't accept dialed codes. If yours doesn't, set it in your phone's call settings (Android) or call T-Mobile and ask for conditional call forwarding on no answer to your AI number.
Verizon
| Dial |
Forward missed and busy calls |
|
Turn off |
|
Verizon has no dial code to check status. Confirm with a test call.
Official: verizon.com/support/call-forwarding-faqs
Rogers
First: turn off Rogers voicemail. Rogers states conditional forwarding won't work while voicemail is active.
| Dial |
Forward missed calls |
|
Also forward when you're on a call |
|
Also forward when you have no signal |
|
Check it's on |
|
Turn off |
|
Fido
First: turn off Fido voicemail. Conditional forwarding is only available on lines without voicemail.
| Dial |
Forward missed calls |
|
Also forward when you're on a call |
|
Also forward when you have no signal |
|
Check it's on |
|
Turn off |
|
Charges: if Call Forwarding isn't included in your plan, Fido may bill forwarded calls per minute (about $0.20/min). Check your plan in the Fido app.
Official: fido.ca/support
Telus
First: turn off Telus voicemail — it answers before the call can forward.
| Dial |
Forward missed calls |
|
Also forward when you're on a call |
|
Also forward when you have no signal |
|
Check it's on |
|
Turn off |
|
Some Telus lines stop honouring these codes and send calls to voicemail instead. If the AI stops getting calls, dial *#61# to check, and re-dial the forward code if it's off.
Bell
Dialed codes don't work on Bell. Bell enables forwarding on their side.
Call Bell (or use the Bell app) and ask them to forward your unanswered calls to your AI number.
Bell charges for call forwarding. A monthly add-on or per-minute. Confirm the cost when you call.
It can take a day or two. Then do a test call.
To turn off: ask Bell to remove no-answer call forwarding. Ask them to remove the add-on too, so you're not billed for it.
Landline (traditional home or office phone)
Landline codes are the same across most North American providers, and they're different from the mobile codes above.
| Dial |
Forward missed calls |
|
Turn off |
|
Dial from the landline itself. There's no # at the end and no unreachable option. A landline is either ringing, busy, or dead.
Three things that stop it working:
The feature isn't on your line. Many providers have to enable Call Forward No Answer before
*92does anything. On Telus and Bell home phone it's a subscribed feature. If you dial*92and get nothing, call your provider and ask for Call Forward No Answer to your AI number. Some providers set the forward-to number for you instead of letting you dial it.Provider voicemail. If you pay your provider for landline voicemail,
*92may only switch voicemail on and off rather than forward. Rogers states you must unsubscribe from voicemail to use*92for forwarding. Ask your provider to remove voicemail or to point unanswered calls at your AI number themselves.The answering machine in the phone. If your handset or base takes messages, it picks up after a set number of rings, usually before forwarding does. Turn it off, or set it to 8 or more rings. See what answers your missed calls now.
Forwarding when busy exists on some landline providers (AT&T uses *90 on / *91 off) but not all. Ask your provider if you want it.
Charges: some providers bill forwarded calls per minute or as long distance. Ask when you call.
Google Voice, RingCentral, VoIP, phone tree or managed system
These don't use dialed codes.
Google Voice, RingCentral, Ooma, other internet phone: In the provider's app or admin, find call forwarding and set unanswered calls to your AI number. If there's a "when unreachable" option, set that too. Turn off the provider's own voicemail for this number, or it may answer first.
Phone tree or multi-line system you control: Set forwarding on the number customers call, or on every line in the ring group. If the system has its own voicemail, turn it off for those lines.
A number managed by someone else (franchise, parent company, office phone system, IT): Send them your AI number and ask them to forward unanswered calls on your number to it, and to turn off voicemail for it. If they own the number, they may need to approve routing calls to an outside service. You can't do this part yourself.
To turn off: reverse the same setting, or point unanswered calls back to your own voicemail.
Not sure who your carrier is
Try
*61*AI#. Most carriers accept it.If that errors, try
*71AI(Verizon).If neither works, call your carrier and ask for conditional call forwarding on no answer to your AI number.
Your carrier's name is on your monthly bill or in your phone's Settings → Cellular / Mobile network.
Testing
From another phone, call your business number and let it ring. Don't pick up.
The AI answered → you're set. Turn on AI voice in NiceJob.
It went to your voicemail → see It went to voicemail.
Only one phone? Dial
*#61#. It should show your AI number. (Not available on Verizon or Bell.)
Troubleshooting
It went to voicemail, not the AI
In order of likelihood:
Carrier voicemail is still on (Rogers, Fido, Telus): It answers first. Turn it off, then test again.
Something on the device answered first: iPhone Live Voicemail, Pixel Call Screen, a voicemail app, or a landline's built-in answering machine. Turn it off. See what answers your missed calls now.
The code didn't take: Dial
*#61#. If it doesn't show your AI number, dial the forward code again.You're on Verizon and dialed
*61*: Verizon uses*71AI.Someone else manages the number: A parent company or phone system is still sending missed calls to its own voicemail. Ask them to change it: see managed system.
Wrong phone: The code must be dialed from the phone that has your business number.
The code gave an error or didn't do anything
Check the number: digits only, no spaces or dashes,
#at the end (except Verizon).Some lines don't accept dialed codes. Set it in your phone's call settings instead (Android), or call your carrier: see what to ask for.
On Telus, codes can stop working after they've been set. Dial
*#61#to check.
Setting it on Android without codes
Phone app → ⋮ → Settings → Call forwarding → When unanswered → enter your AI number → turn on.
Also set When unreachable if you want the AI to catch calls when you have no signal.
The menu name varies: on some phones it's under Calls, Calling accounts, or Supplementary services. To turn off, set When unanswered back to off or to your voicemail number.
Turning off AI voice vs. turning off forwarding
They're different.
AI voice off (the toggle in NiceJob): Calls still forward to us; we send them to voicemail, transcribe, and notify you. The AI doesn't answer live. Turn it back on any time.
Forwarding off (a code on your phone): calls stop coming to us at all. Your phone rings, then your own voicemail. Only you can do this, see your carrier above.
If you turned off carrier voicemail during setup and then turn off forwarding, turn carrier voicemail back on. Otherwise missed calls go nowhere and callers hear "not available."
If you cancel NiceJob Leads, turn off forwarding first. Otherwise your missed calls keep forwarding to a number that no longer answers.
I only have one phone
Dial *#61#. Your phone shows whether missed-call forwarding is on and the number it forwards to. It should be your AI number. Not available on Verizon or Bell, ask someone to call you instead.
Charges
Bell charges for call forwarding (monthly add-on or per-minute).
Fido may bill forwarded calls per minute if Call Forwarding isn't in your plan.
Long distance: some carriers bill forwarded calls to a number outside your local area as long distance. Check with your carrier if your AI number isn't local.
NiceJob billing doesn't change when you turn AI voice or forwarding on or off.
Who to call
Forwarding has two halves: your phone line (your carrier) and the AI that answers (us). Here's how to tell which one has the problem.
Quick check: dial *#61#.
- If it doesn't show your AI number, the problem is on your line, call your carrier.
- If it does show your AI number and the AI still isn't answering right, call us.
- On Verizon or Bell, use a test call instead: if it goes to voicemail, it's your line; if it rings through and something's wrong on the other end, it's us.
Call your carrier when
A code errors, does nothing, or
*#61#shows forwarding off after you dialed it.Your line doesn't accept dialed codes (some T-Mobile lines, all Bell lines, most landlines).
Carrier voicemail needs to be turned off and you can't do it in their app.
You want to confirm charges, forwarding fees or long distance to your AI number.
Forwarding needs to be removed and the turn-off code isn't working.
What to ask for.
Say the word conditional or no answer. Plain "call forwarding" often gets set up as forward-everything, and your phone will stop ringing.
"I need conditional call forwarding on no answer on [your business number], forwarding to [your AI number]. Please don't set it to forward all calls."
Add if you want them: "Also forward on busy and unreachable to the same number." And for Rogers, Fido, Telus, or Bell: "Please turn off voicemail on this line."
Carriers name the feature differently: Call Forward No Answer, No Answer Transfer, Conditional Call Forwarding. Any of those is the right one.
Call us when
The test call reaches the AI but the AI gets something wrong. Wrong business name, wrong greeting, doesn't ask your questions, hangs up, or you don't get the notification or the lead in NiceJob.
Forwarding checks out (
*#61#shows your AI number, or the test call rings through) but nothing answers on our end.You don't know your AI number, can't find it, or it isn't local to you.
You're cancelling and want to make sure your missed calls don't end up at a number that no longer answers.
You can't tell which side it is. Tell us your carrier and what happened when you tested and we'll point you the right way.