Call forwarding on iPhone: the Settings steps and your carrier's codes

On an iPhone, open Settings, tap Apps, tap Phone, tap Call Forwarding and turn it on, then tap Forward To and enter the number that should get your calls. Apple lists the same path in its iOS 26 and iOS 27 guides. The steps are written for iPhones with service on a GSM network, and Apple tells anyone on a CDMA network to contact their carrier.

Two situations send you to the Keypad instead: the Call Forwarding row isn't in your Settings, or you only want the calls you miss forwarded.

Turn on call forwarding in Settings

1. Open the Settings app, tap Apps, then tap Phone.
2. Tap Call Forwarding and turn the switch on.
3. If your iPhone has Dual SIM, choose a line. On iOS 27 the lines are listed below SIMs.
4. Tap Forward To, enter the number you want calls sent to, then tap Back.

While forwarding is on, a Call Forwarding icon sits in the status bar. Set it somewhere with cell service: Apple warns that if the iPhone is out of cellular range at that moment, calls won't be forwarded.

Settings switch or dial code: what each carrier publishes

Apple's page names no carriers, so it can't tell you whose service has the switch. The table lists what each carrier publishes instead, with a link to its full page. The Settings route is Apple's, and a carrier that publishes codes may support the switch as well.

We also have pages for Boost Mobile, US Cellular and Consumer Cellular. If the Call Forwarding row is missing and your carrier isn't listed, ask the carrier for its forwarding code.

Dialing a code on an iPhone

Open the Phone app, tap Keypad, type the code with your number where NUMBER is, and tap the green call button. Verizon's confirmation is a run of beeps, after which the call ends on its own. Enter the number with its area code: Verizon always wants all 10 digits, and T-Mobile accepts 10 or 11.

Type the code yourself rather than tapping one in a message. Apple says iPhone warns you about, and blocks, links in texts, email, webpages and apps that ask to switch call forwarding on, since scammers may use them. For what forwarding changes about voicemail, texts and your bill, see how to forward calls.

Turn off call forwarding on an iPhone

Go back to Settings › Apps › Phone › Call Forwarding and switch Call Forwarding off. Apple's page covers turning forwarding on; the off step comes from AT&T's iPhone Air tutorial, which says to toggle the same switch to the OFF position.

If you set it with a code, or you can't tell how it was set, dial your carrier's off code from the Keypad:

• Verizon, Xfinity Mobile and Visible: *73.
• T-Mobile: ##21# for forward-everything, ##61#, ##62# or ##67# for the missed-call kinds, and ##004# to reset those three kinds to the default (forward-all still needs ##21#).
• AT&T: #21#, then the Call key.
• Google Fi: there's no code; choose Don't forward in the Fi app.

Then call your iPhone from another phone to make sure it rings. The turn off call forwarding guide has the same list for every phone.

Forwarding only the calls you miss

Apple's steps have a single Forward To number and no busy or no-answer choice. For forwarding when the line is busy or not in service, Apple says to contact your carrier. Carriers that publish codes for it:

• Verizon: *71NUMBER forwards calls you don't answer, and your phone still rings first. Verizon's help article adds calls that arrive while you're busy.
• T-Mobile: **61*1NUMBER# for no answer, **67*1NUMBER# for busy and **62*1NUMBER# for unreachable. Adding ** and a number of seconds before the last # of the no-answer code sets how long your phone rings first, from 5 up to 30 seconds, as in **61*1NUMBER**10#.
• Xfinity Mobile: *71NUMBER for unanswered calls.
• Visible: *71NUMBER when you're busy or on another line.
• AT&T: the call forwarding page lists no codes. It sends you to the tutorial for your device.

The conditional call forwarding guide lines these up side by side.

If the Call Forwarding row is missing or won't turn on

• Your network type. Apple's Settings steps are for GSM service, and for CDMA it says to contact the carrier. Apple doesn't say which carriers are which, so ask yours, and use its dial code meanwhile.
• Your signal. Apple wants the iPhone within cellular range at the moment you set forwarding.
• The wrong line. On a Dual SIM iPhone Apple has you choose a line first, so check you picked the one people call.
• Your plan. On some prepaid and MVNO plans, forwarding isn't available at all.
• The place you're changing it. AT&T says forwarding can only be changed from the wireless phone, not online, and Verizon says the same.

If calls still ring your iPhone

The no-answer kinds ring your phone first by design. With Verizon's *71 your phone rings before the call moves on, and on T-Mobile you choose how many seconds it waits. Forwarding everything is what stops the ring: Verizon says that with *72 on, your phone won't ring. If you meant to forward everything and your phone still rings, check for the Call Forwarding icon in the status bar, and on a Dual SIM iPhone check the other line.

If callers hit a busy tone, or calls stopped arriving

When callers get a busy tone right after setup, Verizon suggests rechecking the forwarding number first: a stray key press can make it unrecognizable, so dial *72 and the full 10-digit number again. On AT&T, callers hear a busy signal when the number you forward to is busy.

When no calls reach you at all, Verizon's troubleshooter includes forwarding on its list of reasons. On AT&T, turning forwarding off with #21# is part of the company's checklist for calls that don't arrive. T-Mobile's answer for incoming calls that go straight to voicemail is ##004# to reset the busy, unreachable and no-reply settings, and ##21# to reset forward-everything. Verizon also suggests checking Do Not Disturb, blocking and Quiet Mode.

Forwarding an iPhone to VettedCalls

Your cell number stays yours. Each account gets a separate VettedCalls number, and forwarding points your cell at it. Step 4 of setup is one dialed code, entered in the Phone app, that forwards every call: **21*NUMBER# for AT&T, T-Mobile and most other carriers, *72NUMBER for Verizon, Xfinity Mobile, Visible, Spectrum Mobile, Total by Verizon and Straight Talk. NUMBER is your VettedCalls number. To undo it, dial ##21# or *73. Setup uses that forward-every-call code, so the missed-call codes above aren't part of it.

With forwarding on, each call reaches us before it reaches you, and the cell itself shouldn't ring. The calls that pass screening ring inside the Cloud Softphone app, caller's number on the screen. Since iPhone blocks forwarding links (see the dialing section above), our iPhone setup page and welcome email print the code as plain text for you to type, never as a tap-to-dial link. Should your carrier turn out not to support forwarding, you can get a full refund during the first 14 days. The iPhone setup page has every step, and call screening explains what happens to a call once it reaches us. For Apple's own screening, read iPhone call screening. On an Android phone instead, see call forwarding on Android.