How to forward or divert calls on any UK phone

Call forwarding — also called call divert — sends calls that come to one number on to another. It is one of the most useful and least understood phone features: handled well, it means you never miss an important call whether you are abroad, between phones, or moving house; handled badly, it can quietly send your calls into a void or run up charges. This guide shows you exactly how to forward calls on an iPhone, an Android phone and a UK landline, the difference between forwarding everything and forwarding only when busy or unanswered, what it costs, and — importantly — how to turn it off again. The star codes involved are standard across UK networks, so the same instructions work whether you are on EE, O2, Vodafone, Three or any of the brands that run on them.

#What call forwarding actually does

When you forward a number, the network intercepts incoming calls and routes them to a second number you nominate. The caller usually has no idea it has happened — they dial your number as normal and the network quietly passes the call along. There are two broad modes. Unconditional forwarding sends every call straight to the other number, so your original phone never rings. Conditional forwarding only kicks in under certain circumstances: when you are already on a call (busy), when you do not pick up within a set time (no answer), or when your phone is off or has no signal (unreachable). Most people want one of these conditional modes — for example, sending unanswered calls to voicemail or to a colleague — rather than diverting absolutely everything.

The mechanism is built into the GSM standard, which is why the same star codes (technically 'GSM supplementary service codes' or MMI codes) work across networks and handsets. You can set forwarding from the keypad with these codes, or — on smartphones — through a settings menu that does the same thing behind the scenes.

#How to forward calls on iPhone

iPhones give you two routes: the quick star codes that work everywhere, or the built-in menu. The menu is easiest for unconditional forwarding; the codes give you the conditional options the menu hides.

1. 1

   Open Call Forwarding settings

   Go to Settings, then Apps, then Phone, then Call Forwarding (the exact path varies slightly by iOS version). Toggle Call Forwarding on.

2. 2

   Enter the destination number

   Tap 'Forward To' and type the full UK number including the leading 0. Calls will now divert to that number. A forwarding icon appears in your status bar.

3. 3

   For conditional forwarding, use codes

   The menu only sets 'forward all'. To forward only when busy or unanswered, use the star codes from the keypad instead (see the codes section below).

4. 4

   Turn it off

   Toggle Call Forwarding off in the same menu, or dial ##002# from the keypad to clear all forwarding at once.

Note that the menu-based toggle on iPhone only handles unconditional forwarding. If you want the more common 'send to my other phone only when I miss it', the keypad codes below are the way to do it.

#How to forward calls on Android

Android handsets vary by manufacturer, but the Phone app almost always has a settings menu, and the universal star codes work regardless of brand.

1. 1

   Open the Phone app settings

   In the Phone app, tap the three-dot menu, choose Settings, then Calls or Supplementary services, then Call forwarding.

2. 2

   Choose the forwarding type

   Pick Always forward (unconditional) or one of the conditional options: when busy, when unanswered, or when unreachable. Enter the destination number for each.

3. 3

   Save and confirm

   Save the setting. The network confirms it is active, often with an on-screen message. A status icon may appear.

4. 4

   Disable when done

   Return to the same menu and turn forwarding off, or dial ##002# to clear everything in one go.

#The universal star codes (work on any UK mobile)

If menus differ or you just want the fastest method, dial these codes from your phone's keypad and press call. Replace <number> with the full destination number, including the leading 0.

For example, to send calls you do not answer within about 15-20 seconds to 07700 900000, dial **61*07700900000# and press call. To stop it, dial ##61#. If you ever lose track of what is set, ##002# is the master reset that clears every divert in one command.

#How to forward calls on a UK landline

Landline call forwarding uses a single star code rather than the double-star mobile codes. On BT and most UK landline providers the pattern is the same:

• Set forwarding: dial *21* then the destination number then #, and wait for the confirmation tone.
• Cancel forwarding: dial #21# and wait for the tone.
• Forward on no answer: *61*<number>#; cancel with #61#.
• Forward when busy: *67*<number>#; cancel with #67#.

Some providers require you to activate the 'Call Diversion' feature on your account first, and a few offer it only as a paid add-on. If the star codes do nothing, check with your provider that diversion is enabled on the line. Many of the same providers also offer useful incoming-call features like anonymous call rejection and 1471, which pair well with forwarding for managing who gets through.

#What call forwarding costs

This is the part people most often get wrong. When a call is forwarded, the leg from your number to the forwarding destination is charged to you, as though you had made an outbound call to that destination. If you divert to another UK mobile or landline that is within your inclusive minutes, it typically costs nothing extra. But if you forward to a number outside your allowance — an international number, a premium-rate number, or a destination your plan does not include — you can run up real charges, because every forwarded call bills you for that onward leg. Always check your plan's terms before forwarding to anything unusual, and never forward to a number you have not verified.

#Common problems and fixes

• Codes do nothing: the feature may not be enabled on your account — contact your network or landline provider to switch on call diversion.
• Calls still ring my phone: you may have set conditional forwarding (e.g. no-answer) rather than unconditional; that is usually what you want, but check with *#21#.
• Unexpected charges: you forwarded to a number outside your allowance. Cancel with ##002# and forward only to inclusive destinations.
• Forwarding stuck on: dial ##002# to clear everything, then set only the specific divert you need.
• Voicemail not working after forwarding: unconditional forwarding overrides voicemail; turn forwarding off to restore normal voicemail behaviour.

#Forwarding for small businesses and sole traders

Call forwarding is quietly one of the most useful tools for anyone running a business from a phone. A sole trader can publish a single landline or 03 number for professionalism and forward it to whichever mobile is on shift, so customers never see a personal number and never reach a dead line. A small team can use forward-on-busy to overflow calls from one person to the next, so a ringing phone is always answered somewhere. And because the original caller's ID is passed through on most networks, whoever picks up still sees who is calling and can decide how to handle it — or look the number up if it is unfamiliar. If you take business calls, it is also worth understanding the different UK number types and how a non-geographic number can project a national presence while still forwarding to a local mobile.

Two cautions for business use. First, watch the cost: forwarding to mobiles or out-of-allowance numbers bills the onward leg to the line that holds the divert, which adds up at volume. Second, keep a clear record of which diverts are active across the team, because an unnoticed 'forward all' left on overnight can silently swallow every call. The master reset ##002# on each handset is the quickest way to start from a clean slate.

#Forwarding, blocking and screening together

Forwarding works best alongside the other call-management tools rather than in isolation. If your goal is to stop nuisance calls reaching you at all, forwarding is the wrong tool — blocking is. Pair a sensible forwarding setup (so wanted calls always land somewhere) with robust blocking of the unwanted ones. Our guides on blocking spam calls and blocking numbers on a landline cover the options, and if your problem is anonymous callers specifically, turning on No Caller ID rejection is more effective than any divert. Think of it as a system: forward the calls you want to catch, block the ones you do not, and check unknown callers with a quick lookup before engaging.

#When forwarding is genuinely useful

Set up thoughtfully, forwarding solves a lot of everyday problems. Moving house and waiting for a new landline? Forward the old line to your mobile. Going abroad and want to avoid roaming on your main number? Forward it to a local or VoIP number. Running a small business from one mobile but want a colleague to catch overflow? Forward-on-busy to their phone. Switching handsets for a day? Forward everything to the temporary phone. In each case, remember to clear the divert afterwards with ##002#, and remember that a forwarded call still shows the original caller's ID where the network supports it — so you can still see who is calling and, if it is an unknown number, look it up before deciding whether to answer.

#Forwarding when you travel abroad

Travelling is one of the best reasons to use forwarding, and one of the easiest to get wrong. If you do not want to pay roaming charges on your main number, you can forward it before you leave to a number that will reach you cheaply abroad — a local SIM you will buy at your destination, a VoIP number, or a colleague at home. The key thing to understand is the billing: the forwarded leg is charged to your home line as an outbound call to wherever you have diverted it, so forwarding a UK number to an overseas number can itself be expensive. For many travellers the cheaper approach is to forward to UK voicemail or a UK contact rather than directly to a foreign number, and to pick the call up on a data app like WhatsApp where possible.

Before you fly, run *#21# and *#61# to see exactly what is already set, then configure only what you need and note it down. The classic traveller's mistake is returning home to find calls still diverting to a number abroad, or discovering mid-trip that an old divert is sending everything to a voicemail you cannot check. The single command ##002# clears the slate; build the habit of running it whenever your situation changes. If you rely on a VoIP number while travelling, the same forwarding principles apply, and you can point your main number at it for the duration of the trip.

#A note on caller ID and forwarded calls

People often worry that forwarding will hide who is calling from the person who ultimately answers. In the large majority of cases it does not: the network passes the original caller's number through to the final destination, so whoever picks up sees the genuine caller, not your number. That is exactly what you want — it means a forwarded business call still shows the customer's number, and a forwarded personal call still lets you screen an unknown caller. The same caveats about caller ID apply as always, though: the displayed number can be spoofed, and a withheld caller stays withheld through the divert. So even on a forwarded call, if an unfamiliar number appears, treat it with the usual care and check who is calling before sharing anything sensitive. Forwarding changes where a call rings, not how trustworthy the caller is.

It is also worth knowing that forwarding interacts with the network's own call features. Unconditional 'forward all' overrides voicemail, because the call is diverted before it can ring out to the voicemail service. If you still want unanswered calls to reach voicemail, use the conditional 'no answer' divert to your chosen number and leave the rest alone, or simply rely on the standard voicemail that no-answer forwarding to the voicemail service already provides. Mixing several diverts at once is the usual cause of 'my voicemail stopped working' confusion — when in doubt, reset with ##002# and set just the one divert you actually need.

#Does it differ by network?

The reassuring answer is: barely. Because call forwarding is part of the GSM standard rather than a network add-on, the star codes behave the same on EE, O2, Vodafone and Three, and on every budget brand that runs on them — Giffgaff, Smarty, Voxi, Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile, iD Mobile, Lebara and the rest. The destination number you forward to does not have to be on the same network either; you can forward an EE number to a Vodafone mobile or a BT landline without any special steps. The only real differences between networks are cosmetic (where the toggle lives in their app) and commercial (how the onward leg is charged on your particular plan). If a code does not work, it is almost always because the feature is not enabled on your account rather than because your network uses different codes — a quick call to customer services switches it on. Because numbers also move freely between these networks via porting, you genuinely cannot tell which network a forwarded call's original caller is on from the number alone, which is another reason to look up an unfamiliar caller rather than guess.

If you forward to or from a VoIP or virtual number, the same principles hold, though the menus differ — VoIP providers usually expose forwarding rules in a web dashboard with more options (time-of-day routing, multiple destinations in sequence) than a mobile keypad allows. For most people, though, the four mobile codes and the single landline pattern cover every situation they will ever meet.

#A quick reference to keep

If you remember nothing else, remember these five commands — they cover the vast majority of real-world forwarding needs:

1. Forward everything: **21*<number># — your phone never rings; all calls go to the other number.
2. Forward only missed calls: **61*<number># — your phone rings first, unanswered calls divert.
3. Forward only when busy: **67*<number># — calls divert only while you are on another call.
4. Check what's set: *#21# (and *#61#) — shows the active diverts so nothing runs unnoticed.
5. Clear everything: ##002# — the master reset that cancels all forwarding at once.

Set deliberately, checked before you travel, and cleared when you are done, forwarding becomes a quietly powerful tool that means the calls that matter always find you — at home, abroad, between phones, or across a small team.

#Three real-world setups

To make this concrete, here are three common situations and the exact setup for each. First, moving house with an overlap: forward your old landline to your mobile with *21*<your mobile># so nothing is missed during the changeover, then cancel it with #21# once the new line is live. Second, a one-person business that does not want to miss leads: leave your phone ringing normally but add **61*<colleague or voicemail># so any call you cannot grab within about 20 seconds diverts onward — you stay reachable without being chained to the handset. Third, a short trip abroad without roaming on your main number: before you fly, forward your number to a UK contact or to voicemail, check it with *#21#, and clear it with ##002# the moment you are home. In every case the pattern is the same: set the minimum divert that solves the problem, confirm it, and clear it when the situation changes. And whoever ends up answering still sees the caller's ID, so an unfamiliar number can still be checked with a quick lookup before they engage.

#Bottom line

Call forwarding is a simple, standard feature on every UK phone, controlled by the same star codes across all networks. Use **21*<number># to forward everything, the conditional codes (**67*, **61*, **62*) to forward only when busy, unanswered or unreachable, and ##002# to switch it all off. On a landline, use the single-star *21* pattern. Watch the cost of forwarding to numbers outside your allowance, never key in a forwarding code an unknown caller asks you to dial, and always clear old diverts before you travel. Done right, you simply stop missing the calls that matter.