Verizon Call Forwarding: Busy, No Answer and Turning It Off

On a Verizon mobile, dial *71 followed by the 10-digit number to forward calls when you are busy or do not answer (Verizon calls it No Answer/Busy Transfer; it forwards after about three or four rings). Dial *72 followed by the number to forward all calls, so your phone does not ring at all. Dial *73 to turn either one off. Verizon forwards only to active US phone numbers, and the forwarded calls use your plan's minutes. Verizon Business Digital Voice lines use *90 (busy), *92 (no answer), *94 (not reachable) and *72 (all calls).

What Verizon says about call forwarding

• There is no monthly fee for call forwarding on most Verizon plans; some older plans may charge for it.
• Airtime applies to every forwarded call, even when you forward to a landline, so on a plan without unlimited minutes each forwarded call is billed.
• You can forward only to an active voice line in the US, dialled as 10 digits with the area code. International numbers are not allowed.
• Text messages are not forwarded, only calls.
• Set forwarding up while you are in Verizon coverage; once on, it keeps working when you travel.
• If your callers hear a busy tone after you set *71 or *72, the number was probably mistyped: turn it off with *73 and set it again.

Verizon Business Digital Voice

Verizon Business Digital Voice lines have separate codes for each case, and you can also set them in the User Portal (businessdigital.verizon.com > Call Settings > Call Forwarding: Always, When Busy, or When no answer with the number of rings).

*72 + number   all calls        *73  off
*90 + number   when busy        *91  off
*92 + number   on no answer     *93  off
*94 + number   not reachable    *95  off

Verizon Fios Digital Voice and traditional home lines

• Fios Digital Voice: *72 + number forwards all calls and *73 turns it off, or use My Verizon > Manage your phone > Call Features > Call Forwarding. Its busy and no-answer handling goes to voicemail, not to another number.
• Traditional Verizon copper lines: *72 + number forwards all calls once the forwarded-to number answers (our agent answers, which completes the setup). Busy and no-answer forwarding is a feature you order from Verizon and is not available in every state.

Visible, Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile

These brands run on Verizon's network but publish their own rules for call forwarding. Check with them before you rely on the Verizon codes.

Forward to a local number

Forward to a number in your own country. US carriers do not forward to international numbers, and in Israel Bezeq forwards only to Israeli numbers, so your UIRIX agent's number should be local. Numbers come from 27 countries. In the US, Canada, Israel and Puerto Rico a number is ready at once; in 23 more, such as the UK, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, Brazil and Mexico, the telephony provider first reviews your details and documents, usually in 1 to 3 business days.

What happens when the call reaches your AI receptionist

• Your agent answers in your business's name, day and night, in 17 languages: it answers from your website and documents, takes messages and leads, books appointments where you connect a calendar, and can put the caller through to a person you choose.
• When your carrier marks the call as forwarded, the agent knows it came through your line: it never reads your business number back as the caller's own, and it asks for a callback number when it needs one.
• Calls are recorded (on by default), transcribed and summarized in your dashboard, and you can get the summary by e-mail.
• If the agent transfers callers to a person, use a number that does not forward back to the agent (a mobile or a direct line), so a call cannot loop between the two.

Verizon mobile forwarding codes

Dial from your Verizon phone, then the 10-digit number with the area code. The confirmation tone can sound like a busy signal.

Forward your missed Verizon calls to an AI receptionist

1. 1

   Get the agent's US number

   Create your UIRIX agent and give it a US phone number in the dashboard.

2. 2

   Dial *71 and the number

   From your Verizon phone, dial *71 followed by the agent's 10-digit number and wait for the confirmation tone.

3. 3

   Call yourself while busy

   From a second phone, call your business number while your phone is on another call (or you decline the call). Your agent should answer.

4. 4

   Call yourself and do not answer

   Let it ring. After the delay you set, your agent should answer. If voicemail answers instead, voicemail is still catching the call first.

Verizon call forwarding: common questions