Conditional call forwarding sends a call to another number only when something specific happens: you're already on a call, you don't pick up, or your phone is off or out of signal. Your phone keeps ringing normally the rest of the time.
For a business, that's usually the setting you actually want. You get the first chance at every call, and the ones you can't take go to a coworker, an office line or a service instead of a voicemail box nobody checks. This guide covers the three conditions, the codes the carriers publish, how to set it on iPhone and Android, how to change the ring delay, and what tends to break it.
The three conditions
| Condition | When it forwards | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Busy | You are on another call (T-Mobile notes it can also trigger while you are dialing out) | A second caller reaches a person instead of voicemail |
| No answer | Your phone rings for a set time and nobody picks up | A backup for every missed call |
| Unreachable | Your phone is off, in airplane mode or out of signal | Flights, dead zones, a dead battery |
Carrier codes for conditional forwarding
These come straight from each carrier's page. Dial them from your phone's keypad like a normal call.
| Verizon | T-Mobile | |
|---|---|---|
| No answer: on | *71 + 10-digit number | **61*1 + number + # |
| No answer: off | *73 | ##61# |
| Busy: on | Not listed | **67*1 + number + # |
| Busy: off | Not listed | ##67# |
| Unreachable: on | Not listed | **62*1 + number + # |
| Unreachable: off | Not listed | ##62# |
| Ring delay | Not listed | **61*1 + number + ** + seconds + # |
| Reset everything | *73 | ##004# |
Set it up on your phone
- Samsung Galaxy: Phone app > More options > Settings > Supplementary services > Call forwarding. Choose Forward when busy, Forward when unanswered or Forward when unreachable, enter the number and tap Enable. You can turn on each one separately.
- Google Pixel: Phone app > Settings > Calling accounts > your SIM > Call forwarding, then pick the condition. If you use Take a Message, see the conflict below.
- iPhone: The iPhone menu only has always-forward. Apple says to contact your carrier for forwarding when busy or not in service, so use the codes above.
- Landline: On AT&T home phone service, busy-line and don't-answer forwarding are set up by an AT&T agent, and *47 changes the ring count. See forwarding a landline to a cell phone.
- Google Fi: Fi offers Don't forward, Ring all numbers and Always forward in the Fi app; Google's page doesn't list a no-answer option.
Example setups for a small business
- Owner with a backup: No-answer forwarding from the owner’s cell to a partner or office manager, with a delay long enough to reach the phone. Busy forwarding to the same person, so a second caller reaches someone.
- Shop with a counter phone: Unreachable forwarding on the counter phone to the owner’s cell, so calls still land if the phone is off or the shop loses signal.
- Field work with patchy signal: Unreachable forwarding to an office line or a coworker, so calls placed while you are out of coverage reach someone instead of failing to voicemail.
- Travel: Unreachable forwarding covers flights. If you are abroad, check roaming rules first; Verizon says you cannot set up forwarding while traveling internationally, though forwarding set before you leave should keep working.
Write down what you set and where. Conditional rules are invisible on most phones, and the next person to troubleshoot them, maybe you in six months, will want to know.
Pick a sensible ring delay
Too short, and calls forward before you can reach the phone. Too long, and callers hang up before the backup ever rings. As a rough guide, each ring is a few seconds, so a 20-second delay gives you several rings. On T-Mobile you can set 5 to 30 seconds by code. On an AT&T landline, *47 followed by a code sets between 2 and 10 rings (for example, *47 then 30 for 5 rings).
Then test it: call your number from another phone, let it ring out, and time how long it takes to reach the backup.
What breaks conditional forwarding
- Your own voicemail answers first: If voicemail picks up before the no-answer timer, the call never forwards. Set the forwarding delay shorter than your voicemail timeout, or ask your carrier which wins on your plan.
- Pixel Take a Message: Google's help page says that if your carrier's conditional call forwarding doesn't work with Take a Message, turn Take a Message off. Calls it answers count as answered for your carrier.
- Set while out of signal: Codes and menus talk to the network, so set them with signal. Apple says the same for iPhone forwarding.
- Always-forward still on: Unconditional forwarding wins. Turn it off (##21# on T-Mobile, *73 on Verizon, or the switch in your phone settings) before relying on conditional rules.
- Wrong number format: T-Mobile codes include a 1 before the 10-digit number. Verizon wants the 10 digits with area code.
More fixes in call forwarding not working.
Where conditional forwarding falls short
Conditional forwarding is a relay: one phone, then the next. It doesn't tell the second person who's calling or why, it can't answer two callers at once, and if the backup misses the call too, it ends in someone's voicemail. That's fine for a household and often fine for a solo owner. For a store whose callers are asking about orders, the person who picks up needs the order in front of them. Our guide on when AI should hand a conversation to a person covers how to get that context across.
What Chargezen does instead
Chargezen doesn't forward calls, and it doesn't sell phone lines, desk phones or forwarding. It takes a different approach to the problem forwarding usually solves. Concierge answers calls and texts on your business number, around the clock: a new US number from Chargezen, or the number your customers already know, brought over to Chargezen. It recognizes the caller, looks up their orders and handles the request on the call.
So instead of a chain of phones that ring in turn, every call is answered the first time, and the caller's request is handled or written down in the conversation.
When a person should take over, Concierge alerts your team in the Finn app and the browser, and emails or texts the teammates you pick. A teammate listens in, taps Join the call, and Concierge tells the caller they're there, so nobody starts over. From the Finn app on iPhone or Mac, a teammate can also transfer the call to another teammate. The call, its transcript and every text and email with that customer stay in one conversation. See human handoff and how joining and transferring calls works.
To be plain about the limits: Chargezen has no call forwarding, simultaneous ring, ring groups, phone menu or business-hours routing, and it offers US (+1) numbers only. If you need calls to ring a list of phones by schedule, a VoIP phone system does that; our comparisons with Google Voice, Grasshopper and RingCentral say where each one fits.
See AI receptionist and phone calls. Concierge Starter is $20 a month with 20,000 credits. Pro is $199 a month with 199,000 credits, or $1,990 a year. Phone and text charges are billed as used, with no per-user fees. See pricing.
Related terms: AI answering service, warm transfer and AI receptionist. Related guides: how to forward calls, call forwarding on Android and AI receptionist vs answering service vs voicemail. See also warm transfers explained.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between conditional and unconditional call forwarding?
Unconditional forwarding sends every call away and your phone never rings. Conditional forwarding lets your phone ring and forwards only when you're busy, don't answer or can't be reached.
How do I turn off conditional call forwarding?
On T-Mobile, ##004# resets all forwarding, or use ##61#, ##67# and ##62# for each condition. On Verizon, dial *73. On Samsung, turn each type off under Supplementary services > Call forwarding.
Can I use conditional forwarding on iPhone?
Yes, through your carrier's codes. The iPhone settings menu only offers forwarding of all calls.
Does conditional forwarding cost more?
The feature usually doesn't; Verizon says there's no monthly fee on most plans. Forwarded calls can use minutes like any call.
Sources: Verizon: Call Forwarding FAQs, T-Mobile: Self-service & short codes, Samsung: Calling features on your Galaxy phone, AT&T: Google Pixel 7 Pro device guide, Google Pixel Phone Help: Take a Message, Apple: Set up call forwarding on iPhone, AT&T: Learn how to forward calls (home phone), Google Fi Help: Call forwarding & caller ID. All checked October 19, 2026.
