Call forwarding on Android, from any Phone app
Android manages call forwarding inside the Phone app rather than a dial code, though the codes still work too. Open the Phone app, tap the three-dot menu or your profile icon, choose Settings, then find Calls or Calling accounts, and open Call forwarding. Samsung phones put it under Supplementary services. Android then shows the four standard forwarding types, always forward, forward when busy, forward when unanswered, and forward when unreachable, and you set a destination number for whichever you want. Changes are written to your carrier over the network, so a working signal is required. The same carrier dial codes used on any phone, star 72 on Verizon or the star 21 star family on AT&T and T-Mobile, work from the Android dialer as well, and both methods control the same underlying setting.
The settings path (Pixel and most Android phones)
- 1Open the Phone app
- 2Tap the three-dot menu, then Settings
- 3Tap Calls or Calling accounts, then Call forwarding
- 4Pick a forwarding type: always, when busy, when unanswered, or when unreachable
- 5Enter the ten-digit destination number and tap Enable or Turn on
- 6Wait for the updating banner to finish, then test from another phone
The Samsung path
- 1Open the Phone app and tap the three-dot menu, then Settings
- 2Tap Supplementary services, then Call forwarding
- 3Choose Voice calls, then the forwarding type you want
- 4Enter the destination number and tap Enable
The codes at a glance
| What it does | Turn on | Turn off | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Always forward (Verizon style) | *72 [number] | *73 | Works from the dialer on star 72 carriers |
| Always forward (GSM style) | *21* [number] # | ##21# | AT&T single star; T-Mobile double star |
| Forward when unanswered (GSM) | *61* [number] # | ##61# | The overflow setting most businesses want |
| Cancel all GSM forwarding | ##002# | - | Clears every rule at once |
The four forwarding types, and which one to use
Android exposes forwarding the way carriers actually implement it, as four independent rules. Always forward redirects everything immediately and your phone never rings. Forward when busy catches the second caller who arrives mid-call. Forward when unanswered redirects after your ring timer expires. Forward when unreachable covers the phone being off, in airplane mode, or out of coverage.
For a business line, the practical recipe is the last three together, all pointed at the same destination: you answer when you can, and every call you physically cannot take, busy, missed, or dead battery, lands somewhere that helps the caller instead of voicemail. Always forward is for holidays and retired numbers.
Menus differ by phone; the setting does not
Google, Samsung, Motorola, and OnePlus each arrange the Phone app differently, which is why every guide seems slightly wrong on someone else’s phone. The reliable route is Phone app, then its Settings, then anything named Calls, Calling accounts, or Supplementary services, and Call forwarding is inside. If the menu genuinely is not there, your carrier may be managing forwarding in its own app, and the dial codes in the table above are the universal fallback.
Troubleshooting Android forwarding
The updating banner needs signal to finish, so a change made in a dead zone silently fails: retry with bars. An error like connection problem or invalid MMI code usually means the wrong dialect for your carrier, GSM codes on a star 72 network or vice versa, so use the Phone app path instead and let Android speak to the carrier itself.
When rules get tangled across the four types, cancel everything, pound pound 002 pound on GSM carriers or star 73 on the rest, and set the one rule you actually want, fresh.
The destination matters more than the method
Once forwarding works, the question becomes where those calls should go. Another phone that also goes unanswered is not an answer, and voicemail is what the overflow rules exist to avoid. Pointing forward-when-unanswered at an AI answering service means the calls you miss are answered in your business name, booked, and summarized back to you by text: OrderToAI does exactly that, and you can hear it answer for your own business before paying anything.
Questions
- How do I forward calls on Android?
- Open the Phone app, tap the three-dot menu, then Settings, then Calls or Calling accounts, then Call forwarding, choose a forwarding type, and enter the destination number. On Samsung phones the path is Phone Settings, then Supplementary services, then Call forwarding. Android sends the change to your carrier over the network, so make sure you have signal.
- How do I turn off call forwarding on Android?
- Return to the Phone app settings, open Call forwarding, select the active rule, and tap Turn off or Disable for each type that is enabled. If a rule refuses to clear, dial pound pound 002 pound on AT&T or T-Mobile, or star 73 on Verizon and most landline-style carriers, which cancels forwarding at the network directly.
- What is forward when unreachable on Android?
- Forward when unreachable redirects calls that arrive while your phone is switched off, in airplane mode, or outside coverage. It is one of the four independent forwarding rules Android exposes, and for a business phone it is the rule that catches the dead-battery afternoon, sending those calls to a destination that answers instead of straight to voicemail.
- Why does Android say connection problem or invalid MMI code?
- That error appears when a dial code in the wrong carrier dialect is used, such as a GSM star 21 star code on a network that expects star 72, or when the change is attempted with no signal. Use the Phone app settings path instead, which lets Android negotiate with the carrier, or retry the correct code for your carrier with full bars.
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