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Forwarding fix
Your iPhone sends calls to voicemail instead of forwarding? Check these four things
Live Voicemail, unknown-caller silencing, Focus, and the wrong kind of forwarding are the usual culprits. Check them in that order, then test with one call.
The short answer
If you set up call forwarding and your iPhone still sends callers to voicemail, check four things in this order. First, Live Voicemail: when it's on, your iPhone can take an unanswered call itself, so it never reaches your forwarding number. Second, unknown-caller silencing, which sends numbers that aren't in your contacts straight to voicemail. Third, a Focus like Do Not Disturb that keeps the phone quiet. Fourth, which kind of forwarding you actually turned on. After each change, call yourself from another phone and see where the call ends up.
There are two kinds of forwarding
This is where the confusion usually starts.
- Forward every call. Your iPhone doesn't ring at all. Every call goes to the other number. This is the switch in Settings → Apps → Phone → Call Forwarding. Apple says this setting works on GSM-type networks, and that on other networks you ask your carrier.
- Forward only when you don't answer (or you're busy, or the phone is off). Your iPhone rings first. This one is not in iPhone settings. Apple's own guide says to contact your carrier to set it up. Carriers usually do it with a short dial code, and the codes are different on each carrier.
If you wanted "ring me first, then forward," the switch in Settings is the wrong tool. It forwards everything.
Floor vote
What happens to calls you don't answer right now?
One vote per device. Change it any time.
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1. Live Voicemail is answering first
Live Voicemail shows you a live transcript while someone leaves a message, and lets you pick up halfway through. It's handy. But when it's on, your iPhone can take an unanswered call itself, before your carrier's "no answer" forwarding gets a chance to send it on.
Phone-service companies that rely on no-answer forwarding tell their iPhone customers to switch it off for exactly this reason.
To turn it off: Settings → Apps → Phone → Live Voicemail. Then test.
Check in this order
- 01Live VoicemailTurn it off, then test
- 02Unknown callersNever, or Ask Reason
- 03FocusAllow calls through
- 04Which forwardAll calls, or no answer?
- 05Your carrierAsk where unanswered calls go
2. New callers are being silenced
On recent versions of iOS, go to Settings → Apps → Phone and look at how unknown numbers are handled. If it's set to Silence, calls from numbers you haven't saved are silenced and sent to voicemail. On older versions this is a switch called Silence Unknown Callers. Apple notes that with it on, unknown numbers go straight to Live Voicemail without ringing you.
For a business, every new customer is an unknown number. Set it to Never, or to Ask Reason for Calling if you want the caller to say who they are first.
3. A Focus kept the phone quiet
Do Not Disturb, Work, Sleep, and other Focus modes can silence calls. The call still comes in, but you don't hear it, so it rolls on to voicemail. In Settings → Focus, pick the Focus you use and allow calls from the people who need to reach you. You can also allow repeated calls, which lets a second call from the same person within three minutes come through.
4. Something declined the call
If you tap decline, or press the side button twice, Apple says the call goes to voicemail. It doesn't wait for forwarding. The same thing happens if a paired watch or another device declined it.
Ask your carrier what's actually set
Your carrier can read back every forwarding rule on your line: all calls, no answer, busy, and unreachable. Ask them plainly: "Where do my unanswered calls go right now?" Often the answer is "to your voicemail box," and that's the rule you need changed.
If the problem is that the phone gives up too fast, here's how to make your phone ring longer before it forwards.
What varies by carrier
The codes, the number of rings before forwarding, and whether you can change any of it yourself all depend on your carrier and plan. Verizon, for example, uses *72 for forwarding all calls and *71 for forwarding when you're busy or don't answer, and *73 turns both off. Other carriers use longer codes. Check your carrier's own help page before you dial anything.
Field check
Field check
Three questions. Honest answers. No score sent anywhere but this page.
01 / 03
Did you check whether Live Voicemail is on?
Short close
Turn off Live Voicemail, stop silencing unknown callers, let calls through your Focus, and make sure you set up "no answer" forwarding with your carrier, not "all calls" on the phone. Then test with one real call.
Keep these
The working rules
Forwarding is set in two places: your iPhone and your carrier. Then: Turn off Live Voicemail; Stop silencing unknown callers; Let calls through Focus; Check which forwarding is on.