If you want to redirect phone calls from anywhere, whether you’re traveling, away from your desk, or your phone is lost or broken, you may be wondering: Can you forward calls without having the phone on you?
The short answer is: yes.
Remote call forwarding, or redirecting your calls to another number without physical access to your phone, is possible, but it’s not supported by every type of phone or provider. For example, if you want to forward landline calls to a cell phone, you usually need to enter a dial code on your physical landline phone. Your mobile phone, on the other hand, might support up to three call forwarding methods.
Let’s reveal these options behind Doors 1 and 2, then explain why Door 3 is the ultimate grand prize. If you’re a team, you’ll want to skip ahead to Door 3.
Door #1 to forwarding calls from a cell phone: A carrier’s website
SSome cell phone service providers let you activate unconditional call forwarding straight from their website. For example, here’s how to forward calls without having the phone on hand with Verizon:
- Head to Verizon’s call forwarding page. You’ll need to sign in and have account owner or manager privileges to proceed.
- Find your Apple or Android phone and tap “Manage device.”
- Scroll down to “Call forwarding” and tap “Manage.”
- Enter the telephone number including its area code you want to forward calls to and click “Update Call Forwarding Status.”
- Verify your settings using your email, which can receive a confirmation link, or a mobile device, which can receive a push notification from the My Verizon app.
When you complete your carrier’s call forwarding activation process, your phone will route incoming calls to your forwarding number until you manually turn off call forwarding.
This method can be useful if there’s only one person who needs to receive forwarded calls from an Android phone or another device, but it’s also tedious. If you want multiple team members to share responsibility for incoming calls, you’ll need to open Door #3 in this article for the right option for your team. for incoming calls, you’ll need to open Door #3 in this article for the right option for your team.
Door #2 to forwarding calls from a cell phone: Access numbers
Some cell phone carriers give you the option to turn on call forwarding for an iPhone or another device by dialing an access number, which lets you adjust your call settings remotely. For instance, if you use AT&T and have Remote Access to Call Forwarding turned on, you can forward calls by following these steps:
- Dial the special access number provided when you added AT&T Remote Call Forwarding to your monthly plan.
- Enter the number you want to forward calls from.
- Enter your remote access PIN.
- Dial 72#.
- Enter the number you want to forward calls to.
- Confirm your forwarding number.
Keep in mind that AT&T’s Remote Access to Call Forwarding is a paid add-on for landlines and business phones — it’s not available for wireless accounts. And like our previous option, this call forwarding method isn’t scalable in a business context. You’ll waste time manually activating and deactivating call forwarding, and you’ll only be able to choose one forwarding number.
If you need to forward calls to several different numbers or devices, there’s a better option.
Door #3 to forwarding calls: Take calls from any device
Sometimes, you might not have access to another phone you can forward your calls to. While this might seem like a dire situation, there’s hope. In fact, in many cases — like when you want multiple people to get calls or when you want to avoid long-distance fees while you’re out of the country — you may not need call forwarding at all.
Unlike carrier call forwarding, which ties you to one device and a single forwarding number, a virtual phone system lets your whole team take calls from any device — with no manual setup or toggling required.
How to forward calls to another number without the phone
To forward calls without having your phone, you can use a virtual phone system like Quo, formerly OpenPhone. This system allows you to manage your calls online, including call forwarding. Here’s how:
- Sign up for a Quo account.
- Choose a new phone number or port your existing one.
- Set up call forwarding in your call flow settings.
- Specify the number you want your calls forwarded to.
This method is not only convenient but also offers more features than traditional call forwarding.
When you have a virtual number, you can get incoming calls without any phone in hand or any extra setup, all while benefiting from features above and beyond what traditional business call forwarding services have to offer.
Virtual phone numbers allow you to text and call using your internet connection. With the best business phone systems like Quo, you can get incoming calls to your virtual numbers from any device — just by using your provider’s phone app. There’s no need to set up call forwarding.
5 Benefits of using a virtual number app instead of call forwarding
Here are five key benefits of using virtual phone numbers instead of forwarding calls:
1. Receive calls and texts from your computer or any smartphone via WiFi
With virtual phone numbers, you’re not limited to answering calls from an iPhone or Android. You can use your computer or your tablet. This means you can call or text without the hassle or cost of having two phones with a second data or carrier plan. Quo plans start at just $15 per user per month and you can try out Quo for seven days with a free trial.
Conveniently use your business number anywhere you have access to WiFi, a data connection, or any other form of internet — which is pretty much everywhere these days.
2. Don’t worry about turning call forwarding on and off
You don’t need to adjust any permissions to get calls on a different device. All you need to do is sign into your business phone app and you’re all set to receive incoming calls and texts.
3. Port over your existing number
Switching to a virtual phone system won’t cause any disruptions to the customer experience. Quo offers free phone number porting, so you can keep using your current business phone number when you make the transition.
4. Share access to a number to split responsibility for incoming calls
Your team members can share phone numbers, in addition to having virtual numbers of their own. This allows your team to share responsibility for incoming calls and messages, working from a shared inbox.
Plus, with Quo, your team can collaborate on calls, texts, and voicemails — and share notes on contacts — to provide a better customer experience.
You can even specify who should receive incoming call notifications first by setting up a custom ring order. Ring orders can even have conditional call forwarding set so that if no one on your team picks up calls, that call can go to an external number such as an emergency line or answering service.
5. Get additional features to save time and communicate more effectively
Virtual phone numbers support plenty of features to help you work more efficiently than you can with traditional office phones. For example, Quo makes it easy for you to:
- Schedule text messages based on your contact’s time zone
- Get business phone analytics so you can make more informed operations decisions
- Set up auto-replies to give clients instant responses when they leave a voicemail, send a text, or can’t reach you
- Save text message templates to quickly craft responses to common questions
Get the calls you need 100% of the time with Quo
Learning how to forward calls without having the phone in hand is possible, but it can be a tedious process using traditional cell phone services.
If you want to eliminate the hassle of forwarding calls — and get a host of features to help you communicate more effectively — a virtual phone number is the best option for your team. With Quo, you can also share phone numbers to split responsibility for important calls and texts, as well as port over an existing number to make the switch as seamless as possible.
Start your free, seven-day trial of Quo today.
FAQs
There is no exclusive call forwarding method available to Android devices. You can enable remote call forwarding for Android phones using your carrier’s website or with a third-party virtual phone provider like Quo.
You can set up remote call forwarding in Quo with our desktop or web app.
If you want to forward all your calls remotely:
1. Sign up for a Quo account.
2. In the desktop or web app, go to the call flow builder in your phone number settings.
3. Click the Default call flow dropdown at the top of the call flow builder.
4. Select Forward all calls.
5. Enter the destination number, which can be internal or external.
6. Click Create new call flow.
If you want to set up conditional call forwarding remotely:
1. Add the Business hours call flow step to your default call flow.
2. Add the Forward call step to your during-hours or after-hours call flow.
You can set up remote call forwarding on the T-Mobile website or app. If it’s not working, the best option is to contact T-Mobile customer service to enable call forwarding remotely.
For most AT&T wireless customers, you can’t. AT&T requires you to change call forwarding settings directly from your wireless phone — there’s no option to manage it online or through the AT&T app. This is confirmed on AT&T’s support page.
The exception is AT&T landlines and business phones. If you have an AT&T landline, you can set up remote call forwarding using an access number — but this is a paid add-on, not a default feature. You’ll need to contact AT&T to enable it before you can use it.
Here’s how to deactivate call forwarding depending on how you set it up:
If you’re using a carrier’s website or app:
1. Sign in to your account on the carrier’s website or app, for example My Verizon or T-Mobile.
2. Find your device and go to the call forwarding section.
3. Toggle call forwarding off or remove the forwarding number.
You can also dial *73 from most phones to deactivate standard call forwarding. To turn off all types of call forwarding, including unreachable, busy, or conditional, dial ##002# instead.
If you’re using Quo:
1. Open Quo’s desktop or web app.
2. Go to the call flow builder in your phone number settings.
3. Select Default call flow from the dropdown at the top of the call flow builder.
4. Click Enable this call flow.
Forwarding stops immediately once you switch back to your default call flow. Note that this applies to the “Forward all calls” flow. If you set up conditional forwarding through a custom call flow, you’ll need to edit that flow directly.
Yes, carrier-based methods require you to sign in to your account or enter a PIN before you can change any settings, so unauthorized forwarding isn’t something that happens easily.
If you’re using a VoIP provider like Quo, your calls travel over an encrypted internet connection, and you manage everything through a secured account. This keeps your call data protected whether you’re forwarding from a desktop, tablet, or phone.
You have a couple of options depending on your setup:
– Use your carrier’s website or app. Most carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile let you activate call forwarding by signing in to your account online — no physical phone needed.
– Use a virtual phone number. If you’re already using a VoIP provider like Quo, a lost phone isn’t really a disruption. Just sign in to the app on another device, your computer, a tablet, or a borrowed phone, and you’ll keep receiving calls and texts to your business number automatically. No forwarding setup required.
If you haven’t set up a virtual number yet, this is one of the strongest reasons to consider it. You’re never dependent on a single device to stay reachable.
You can in most cases, but your provider usually requires you to add a remote access feature to your plan before you need it, and it may come with an extra monthly fee. You’ll typically receive a special access number and PIN to activate forwarding from any phone. The catch is if you haven’t set it up in advance, you won’t be able to enable it remotely.
With a virtual phone system like Quo, you can skip the landline entirely — just port your number and take calls from any device with an internet connection.
Call forwarding only applies to voice calls. Your text messages will still go to your original phone number and won’t be redirected. If you need both calls and texts accessible from another device, a virtual phone system like Quo lets you manage everything from one app on any device.
No, most carriers and VoIP providers don’t allow call forwarding to an international number. If you need to receive calls while traveling or working abroad, a virtual phone system like Quo is the simpler option.
