How to Forward Calls to Voicemail (Easy Guide 2025)

Every missed call is a missed opportunity. For service businesses, a single unanswered ring can mean a lost booking, a frustrated customer, or thousands in revenue walking out the door. Sound familiar? Knowing how to forward calls to voicemail gives you a safety net, ensuring that even when you can’t pick up, your callers still have a way to reach you and leave a message that gets followed up on.

Forwarding calls to voicemail redirects incoming calls directly to your voicemail box instead of ringing through to your phone. You can forward all calls at once, specific contacts only, or set rules for calls to go to voicemail after a certain number of rings, ensuring callers can always leave messages.

What Does Forwarding Calls to Voicemail Mean?

Call forwarding to voicemail is the process of redirecting incoming calls, either all of them or only specific ones, straight to a voicemail box instead of letting them ring through to your phone. It’s a basic but essential feature available on virtually every phone system, whether you’re using a personal smartphone, a landline, or a business VoIP platform.

There are a few different flavors of this. You can send all calls to voicemail at once, forward only calls from specific contacts, or set rules so calls go to voicemail only after a certain number of rings or during certain hours. What does that look like in practice? It depends on your situation, but the goal is always the same: make sure no caller hits a dead end.

How to Forward Calls to Voicemail on Any Device

The exact steps vary depending on your phone or platform, but the underlying concept is consistent across all of them. Here’s a breakdown of the most common methods.

On Android Phones

Android gives you several options. The simplest is turning on don’t Disturb mode, which silences all incoming calls and sends them straight to voicemail. You’ll find this in your device’s Settings under Sound or Notifications. But here’s the catch: this is a blunt tool. It blocks everything, including calls you might actually want.

For more control, use conditional call forwarding through your Phone app’s settings. Most Android devices let you set forwarding rules for unanswered calls, busy signals, or when your phone isn’t reachable. Here’s what to look for:

• Forward when unanswered: Sends calls to voicemail after a set number of rings
• Forward when busy: Redirects callers when you’re already on another call
• Forward when unreachable: Catches calls when your phone has no signal or is powered off
• Forward all calls: Routes every incoming call directly to voicemail, no ringing at all

You can also block individual contacts and send them straight to voicemail. Open the contact, tap the three-dot menu, and select “Route to voicemail” or “Block number,” depending on your Android version.

On iPhones

Apple keeps things straightforward. Toggling on don’t Disturb or a Focus mode will silence calls and push them to voicemail. But like Android, this affects all callers unless you configure exceptions.

For individual contacts, open the contact card, tap “Edit,” scroll down, and enable “Send to Voicemail.” That specific person’s calls will always go to voicemail without your phone ever ringing. If you want to forward all calls using your carrier, dial the appropriate star code (typically *21# followed by your voicemail number), though this varies by carrier.

Using Carrier Star Codes

Most carriers in the U.S. support conditional forwarding through dial codes you enter directly from your phone’s keypad. These work on both Android and iPhone regardless of the device model:

• *71 + voicemail number: Forwards calls when there’s no answer (varies by carrier)
• *21# + number: Unconditional forwarding of all calls
• #21#: Deactivates unconditional forwarding
• *61# + number: Forwards when unanswered (GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile)

Check with your specific carrier for the exact codes. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile each have slightly different syntax, and getting it wrong simply won’t activate the feature.

On Business VoIP and Phone Systems

If you’re running a business phone system, call forwarding to voicemail is typically managed through an admin dashboard rather than on the handset itself. Most VoIP platforms let you build rules around when and how calls get forwarded. You can set time-based rules (after hours, weekends, holidays), ring groups that fall back to voicemail, or IVR menus that give callers the option to leave a message.

This is where things get different. A smartphone’s built-in forwarding is fine for one person, but it doesn’t scale when you’ve got a team, multiple locations, or high call volume.

Why Forwarding Calls to Voicemail Matters for Your Business

Sending calls to voicemail sounds simple. Almost too simple to matter. But for service businesses, it’s a critical part of not losing money. According to research on missed call statistics for small businesses, a significant percentage of callers won’t call back after reaching no answer and no voicemail. They’ll just move on to the next company in their search results.

The financial impact adds up fast. Industry data suggests missed calls can cost service businesses six figures annually, with home services and healthcare practices being especially vulnerable. Even if your team is great at returning calls during business hours, you’re still losing the after-hours callers, the lunch break callers, and anyone who phones in during your busiest rush.

Voicemail isn’t a perfect solution on its own, though. Here’s the honest truth: many callers don’t want to leave a voicemail at all. They want an answer. That’s why forward-to-voicemail should be one layer of a broader strategy, not your entire plan.

Best Practices for Business Call Forwarding and Voicemail

Setting up forwarding is the easy part. Making it actually work for your business requires a bit more thought. These practices separate businesses that capture leads from those that let them slip away.

Build a Professional Voicemail Greeting

Your voicemail greeting is often the first impression a new customer gets. A generic “leave a message after the beep” tells callers nothing. And it gives them no reason to stay on the line. Instead, your greeting should include your business name, a brief mention of when you’ll return the call, and an alternative way to reach you (like texting your business number).

Set Up Conditional Forwarding, Not Blanket Forwarding

Don’t send every call to voicemail unless you’ve got a specific reason. Use conditional rules so calls only go to voicemail when they genuinely can’t be answered. Ring your team first, try a backup number second, and only then route to voicemail. This layered approach catches more live calls. And it still provides a safety net.

Follow Up Fast

Speed matters enormously. According to small business data compiled by Fit Small Business, leads contacted within the first few minutes are dramatically more likely to convert. If someone leaves a voicemail at 7 PM and you don’t return it until 10 AM the next day, there’s a strong chance they’ve already booked with a competitor.

Consider What Happens Beyond Voicemail

The smartest businesses don’t stop at voicemail. They pair it with automated responses: a text message that goes out immediately when a call is missed, letting the caller know their message was received and offering a way to book online or continue the conversation via text. This bridges the gap between “we missed your call” and “we’re actively helping you.”

• Missed-call text-back: Automatically sends an SMS the moment a call goes unanswered
• After-hours routing: Directs calls to an AI agent or specific voicemail box based on time of day
• Voicemail transcription: Converts voice messages to text so your team can scan and prioritize
• Automated follow-up workflows: Triggers a callback reminder or drip sequence when a voicemail is left

How SalesCaptain Helps

Forwarding calls to voicemail is useful, but it’s still a reactive solution. SalesCaptain takes a different approach by letting you build intelligent call flows that handle incoming calls before they ever need to reach voicemail at all.

With SalesCaptain’s drag-and-drop Call Flow Builder, you can create step-by-step paths for every incoming call. Greet callers with a professional IVR menu, route them to the right team member, and only fall back to voicemail as a last resort. If a call does go to voicemail, SalesCaptain’s AI Summaries and Transcriptions convert the message to text instantly, so your team doesn’t have to listen through recordings to figure out who called and what they need.

But here’s where it gets interesting. SalesCaptain’s AI Phone Agent can answer calls 24/7, so voicemail becomes less necessary in the first place. The AI agent handles FAQs, books appointments, qualifies leads, and blocks spam calls, all without any human involvement. According to an AI receptionist buyer’s guide, platforms with voice AI dramatically reduce missed call rates compared to traditional voicemail-only setups.

On top of that, SalesCaptain’s AI Chat Agents handle the missed-call text-back automatically, engaging callers over SMS the instant they can’t get through. Everything flows into a Unified Inbox where your team can see calls, texts, voicemails, and social messages in one place. And with small businesses facing ongoing staffing pressures, automating these interactions means you can handle more volume without hiring more people.

Pricing starts with a free plan for a single location. Paid plans run $159/month per location. AI calls cost $0.12/minute, which is a fraction of what human answering services charge.

Key Takeaways

Learning how to forward calls to voicemail is a foundational skill for any business owner. On Android, use conditional forwarding or don’t Disturb. On iPhone, toggle per-contact voicemail or use carrier codes. For business phone systems, build forwarding rules in your admin dashboard with time-based and conditional logic.

However, voicemail alone isn’t enough. Not for a business that wants to grow. Pair it with instant text-back responses, voicemail transcription, and, ideally, an AI-powered system that answers calls before they ever hit voicemail. The businesses that capture the most leads aren’t the ones with the best voicemail greetings. They’re the ones that answer every call, every time, even at 2 AM on a Saturday.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I forward calls to voicemail only during certain hours?

Yes. Most business phone systems allow time-based call forwarding rules. You can route calls to your team during business hours and automatically forward to voicemail (or an AI agent) after hours, on weekends, and during holidays. Smartphones offer more limited scheduling through don’t Disturb modes with time-based activation.

Will the caller know their call was forwarded to voicemail?

In most cases, the caller simply hears ringing followed by a voicemail greeting, no different from a normal unanswered call. If you use unconditional forwarding (all calls go straight to voicemail), they won’t hear any ringing at all. Either way, there’s no notification telling them the call was explicitly forwarded.

What’s the difference between call forwarding and sending a call to voicemail?

Call forwarding is a broader feature that can redirect calls to any number, whether that’s another phone, a receptionist, or a voicemail box. Sending to voicemail is one specific use of call forwarding. On business platforms, you can chain multiple forwarding destinations together, with voicemail as the final fallback.

Do I need a separate voicemail service for my business?

Not necessarily. Most VoIP business phone systems include voicemail as a built-in feature, often with transcription and email notifications. If you’re still using a personal cell phone for business, you’re limited to your carrier’s basic voicemail. Upgrading to a business phone system gives you more control, better greetings, and the ability to route voicemails to your team.

How can I reduce the number of calls that go to voicemail in the first place?

The best strategy combines smart call routing with AI automation. Set up ring groups so multiple team members can answer, use IVR menus to direct callers efficiently, and deploy an AI phone agent to handle calls when your team is unavailable. Missed-call text-back also helps by immediately engaging callers through SMS, converting what would’ve been a voicemail into a live text conversation.