Verizon Call Forwarding Instructions

Call Forwarding Instructions

This is a cheat sheet for Verizon customers looking to direct their incoming calls to an answering service. Let’s walk through the various ways you can set up call forwarding on your Verizon phone—whether it’s general call forwarding, no answer, and busy forwarding. With call forwarding you will never miss an important call—and always help customers when they need it the most.

Unconditional Call Forwarding:

  1. Lift the receiver on your business phone and dial *72 once you hear the dial tone.
  2. Enter the 10-digit number you want to forward calls.
  3. Call forwarding will be activated once you hear a series of beeps and the call automatically ends.

No Answer and Busy Call Forwarding:

  1. Lift the receiver on your business phone and dial *71 on your keypad once you hear the dial tone.​​
  2. Enter your 10-digit answering service forwarding number.
  3. Call forwarding will be activated once you hear a confirmation tone.

Selective Call Forwarding:

Selective call forwarding can only be set up online.

  1. Log in to your My Verizon account to access the account manager.
  2. Navigate to Calling Features > Call Forwarding
  3. Continue the process by forwarding your incoming calls to a specific phone number.*
  4. Activate call forwarding and select OK.

*You can also set up selective call forwarding according to a schedule by choosing “Forward Calls According to a Schedule” and entering start/end dates and times​.

Keep in mind that some answering services may have specific requirements or limitations with their call forwarding capabilities. So make sure to always check with them to be certain they can take forwarded calls. An important note: before using the forwarding option for customer calls, always make sure it works as you expected.

Turn Off Call Forwarding

To turn off any type of Call Forwarding with Verizon, including unconditional, no answer, busy, and selective call forwarding, the process is the same. You simply dial *73 from your mobile phone. Upon doing this, you’ll hear a confirmation tone or message, which might resemble a busy signal, indicating that Call Forwarding has been successfully deactivated​​. This universal code simplifies the management of various call forwarding settings on your Verizon phone.

Verizon Call Forwarding FAQs

1. Are There Any Call Forwarding Restrictions?

There are specific restrictions on the numbers to which you can forward calls using Verizon’s service:

 

  • The phone number you are forwarding to must be an active voice-capable line.
  • It must be a U.S. number.
  • The number must be 10 digits long, including the area code. This is required even if it’s a local number.
  • Calls cannot be forwarded to international numbers​​.

 

These limitations ensure that call forwarding is used within the operational and legal boundaries set by Verizon and aligns with telecommunications regulations.

2. Can You Forward Text Messages?

Verizon’s Call Forwarding service does not forward text messages. When you activate Call Forwarding, it only redirects incoming phone calls to another designated number. Text messages received on your mobile phone will remain there and are not forwarded. However, if you want to access your texts remotely, Verizon offers a service called Verizon Messages (Message+), which allows you to read and reply to your text messages online.

For other troubleshooting concerns, like phone specific issues, visit the Verizon website.

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