Call forwarding is one of the oldest features on a phone, and still one of the most useful. The office line goes to whoever is on call after closing time, a home worker takes over the reception line, or a colleague covers your calls while you are with a client. With one code on your phone, your network sends every call on to another number.

This article is written for two kinds of reader.

  • Just want to know how to divert calls on your own mobile or landline? Below you will find every code, for EE, Vodafone, O2, BT and most other UK networks, and how a diverted call is charged. You do not need any extra service for that.
  • Want to divert your business number, for your company or your team? Then read on at Call forwarding with a business number. There we explain what forwarding costs with us and what you get on top: routing you change live, a rota, several destinations, a voicebot and a log of every call.

Diverting calls in your phone’s settings

The easiest way is through your handset’s menu.

iPhone: open Settings, choose Phone and then Call Forwarding. Switch it on and enter the number you want to forward to. You switch it off with the same toggle.

Android: open the Phone app, tap the three dots and choose Settings. Look for Call forwarding or Supplementary services (on some handsets under More settings) and pick the situation and the number.

The iPhone menu only offers divert all calls. To divert only when you do not answer, have no signal or are on another call, use the codes below.

Every call divert code in one place

These codes work on EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three, and on most other UK networks. Replace number with the phone number you want to divert to, and press the green call button after the code. Your phone then shows whether it worked.

  • Always, on every call: switch on with **21*number#, off with ##21#, check with *#21#.
  • When you do not answer: switch on with **61*number#, off with ##61#, check with *#61#.
  • When you have no signal: switch on with **62*number#, off with ##62#, check with *#62#.
  • When you are on another call: switch on with **67*number#, off with ##67#, check with *#67#.
  • Everything off in one go: ##002#.

Vodafone advises entering the number you divert to in international format, replacing the first 0 with +44, if the standard format does not work.

Diverting your landline

A landline can be diverted too, for example to your mobile.

  • BT: on a BT phone line, press *21*, then the number, then # to divert all calls. Use *61* to divert calls not answered within 15 seconds and *67* when the line is engaged. Cancel with #21# (or #61#, #67#) and check with *#21#. You will hear an intermittent dial tone while a divert is on. Call Diversion is a feature on BT Business lines that you add to the line.
  • Other landline providers: most use the same codes, or let you set a divert in their online account.

What call forwarding costs on your own phone

Switching a divert on is free with the big networks. What you do pay for is the diverted leg of the call: your provider charges it as if you were calling the new number yourself. How much that is depends on your plan, so check your tariff.

  • A landline. BT charges the diverted part of the call at its standard dialling rates. On a plan with inclusive minutes, the diverted call usually comes out of your allowance. Outside it, the per-minute rate of your calling plan applies. Other landline providers work the same way.
  • A mobile. On EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three, the diverted call usually comes out of your inclusive minutes, like a normal call. Once you are over your allowance, or divert to a number outside it, your plan’s standard charges apply.
  • Abroad. Diverting to a number in another country is charged at international rates. If the divert is on while you are roaming, your network may also charge roaming rates for the forwarded leg.

Call forwarding with a business number

A CallFactory business number works on the same principle as call divert on your phone. Someone calls your number, and we forward the call to your current phone numbers, your phone system, or both. That happens over the fixed and mobile phone network, just like an ordinary phone call, so the call gets through even when you are on the road without Wi-Fi or mobile data. No app has to be running.

The difference is everything around it. Call divert on your phone is a setting on one number that you switch on or off with a code on the handset. With us it is a platform built to route calls:

  • Calls included with normal use. Forwarding to a UK mobile or landline is part of your plan, with no separate charge for the forwarding itself. If you call more as a matter of course, you pay 9p per minute to UK mobiles and landlines alike, billed per second. That 9p includes call recording, transcription and logging if you want them.
  • Forwarding abroad on request. If calls should go to a phone in another country, that has its own per-minute rate, which depends on the country. We give it on request.
  • Answering over the internet. You can also take calls on a softphone, desk phone or the browser phone, which is included with normal use as well.
  • Routing you change live. In the dashboard you change where calls go in seconds, from anywhere. No codes on the handset itself.
  • A rota instead of on and off. With calendar routing you plan weeks ahead who has the phone when, including bank holidays and leave.
  • More than one destination. Let phones ring one after another, in turn or all at once, with a fallback if nobody answers.
  • A voicebot as a destination. Outside office hours or when it is busy, our voicebot answers every caller straight away, handles the routine questions and puts callers through when needed.
  • Everything around it. A welcome message, voicemail, a whisper tone so you know it is a business call, and a log of every call.
  • Enough capacity. Your number runs on our platform with its own interconnect, so calls get through even when several people call at once.

You can read more about what is possible on our call forwarding page.

When the divert code on your phone is enough

If you only divert now and then, the code on your phone is all you need. At a trade fair for the day with a colleague covering your mobile, **21*number# and ##002# afterwards will do.

A business number is useful when you forward calls more often, when several people or locations share the phone, such as the office, home workers or a branch, or when you do not want your reachability to depend on a setting on one handset. Forwarding to UK mobiles and landlines is included with normal use, your personal number stays personal, and you run everything from one dashboard. A Business Number with call forwarding is £130 a year, and with your first purchase you get an extra year free. All prices are on our pricing page.