How to Forward Texts and Calls to Another Phone

You’re on the road, at a job site, or finally taking a day off, and your business phone keeps ringing back at the office. Every unanswered call or unread text is a potential customer slipping away. According to recent industry data, small businesses lose over $26,000 per year from missed calls alone. Knowing how to forward texts and calls to another phone is one of the simplest ways to stop that revenue leak, and it doesn’t require any technical expertise to set up.

What Is Call and Text Forwarding?

Call forwarding routes incoming calls from one phone number to another automatically. Instead of letting a call ring out on your office line, it redirects the caller to your cell phone, a colleague’s number, or even a virtual receptionist. Text forwarding works the same way for SMS messages, sending inbound texts from your business number to another device so nothing gets missed.

Both features exist at the carrier level (think built-in settings on iPhone or Android) and at the business phone system level. The carrier-level approach is quick but limited. A business-grade solution, on the other hand, gives you rules, schedules, and multi-destination routing. The right choice depends on your situation, which we’ll break down next.

How to Forward Calls on iPhone, Android, and Carrier Settings

If you just need a quick redirect for a single line, your phone’s native settings will get the job done. Here’s how it works on each platform.

Forwarding Calls on iPhone

• Open Settings and tap Phone.
• Tap Call Forwarding and toggle it on.
• Enter the number you want calls sent to.
• A small phone icon appears in your status bar when forwarding is active.

Keep in mind that this forwards every call, with no filtering, no schedule, and no way to forward only when you’re busy. It’s all or nothing. Also, your iPhone won’t ring at all while forwarding is on, so you’ll need to remember to turn it off when you’re back at your desk.

Forwarding Calls on Android

• Open your Phone app and tap the three-dot menu, then Settings.
• Select Calls (or Supplementary Services depending on your manufacturer).
• Tap Call Forwarding and choose a condition: always, when busy, when unanswered, or when unreachable.
• Enter the destination number and confirm.

Android gives you slightly more control than iPhone because you can set conditional forwarding. For instance, you can forward only unanswered calls after a set number of rings while still answering live calls yourself. That said, it’s still one destination number, one set of rules.

Carrier-Level Forwarding Codes

Most U.S. carriers support star codes you can dial directly, regardless of your phone model:

• *72 + destination number activates unconditional forwarding on most carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile).
• *73 deactivates it.
• *71 + destination number sets forwarding only when the line is busy (varies by carrier).

These codes work from any phone, so you can set up forwarding even from a landline. However, the same limitation applies: there’s no smart routing, no time-based rules, and no way to send texts along with calls.

How to Forward Text Messages to Another Phone

Text forwarding is trickier than call forwarding because most carriers don’t offer a native “forward all texts” feature the way they do for calls. Your options depend on your device and what you’re willing to set up.

iPhone Text Forwarding

Apple lets you forward iMessages to other Apple devices signed into the same Apple ID. Go to Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding and toggle on the devices you want. But this only works within Apple’s ecosystem. You can’t auto-forward standard SMS texts from an iPhone to an Android phone natively.

For individual messages, you can long-press a message, tap “More,” then use the forward arrow. That’s manual and tedious, obviously not a real solution for business volume.

Android Text Forwarding

Android doesn’t have a built-in auto-forward feature either. Some manufacturers include it in their messaging apps, but it’s inconsistent. Third-party apps on the Google Play Store can auto-forward texts to another number, email, or even a Slack channel. However, these apps often require broad permissions and raise privacy concerns, especially if you’re handling customer data subject to small business compliance requirements.

The Real Limitation of Native Forwarding

Here’s the core problem. Native call and text forwarding treats your phone number like a pipe: everything flows one direction, to one destination. There’s no shared visibility, no conversation history, and no way for multiple team members to see what’s happening. If you forward texts to your personal phone, your receptionist can’t see the conversation. If you forward calls to a coworker, you lose track of whether they answered. For a solo operator handling five calls a day, that might be fine. For a growing service business, it creates blind spots fast.

Why Basic Forwarding Falls Short for Service Businesses

According to missed call research from Aira, 85% of customers whose calls go unanswered won’t call back. That’s a striking number, and it explains why simple forwarding often isn’t enough for businesses that rely on inbound leads.

No Shared Conversation History

When calls and texts forward to one person’s phone, the rest of your team is in the dark. A customer texts about a quote, your partner responds from their personal phone, and then the original team member has no idea what was promised. Miscommunication piles up, and customers notice.

After-Hours Gaps Still Exist

Forwarding solves the “wrong phone” problem but not the “nobody’s available” problem. Research from Dialzara shows that missed calls during evenings and weekends account for a significant share of lost revenue for service businesses. Forwarding to a personal cell at 10 PM isn’t a sustainable answer, especially when you’re trying to separate work from life.

No Intelligence or Automation

Native forwarding can’t qualify a lead, book an appointment, or even send a “we’ll call you back” text. Every forwarded interaction still requires a human to pick up and handle it. That works until call volume grows, and then you’re hiring more staff just to answer the phone.

According to NerdWallet’s small business statistics, labor is consistently one of the top expenses for SMBs. Adding headcount to handle communication is expensive. Automating it isn’t.

Three Scenarios That Demand More Than Basic Forwarding

Not every business needs a sophisticated phone system. But if any of these scenarios sound familiar, basic forwarding probably isn’t cutting it.

Multiple Team Members Need Access to the Same Number

When two or more people need to see and respond to incoming texts or calls from the same business number, forwarding breaks down. You need a shared inbox, not a redirect. Think of a dental office where the front desk, office manager, and owner all need visibility into patient texts.

You Need After-Hours Coverage Without Burnout

Service businesses like HVAC, plumbing, and roofing get emergency calls at all hours. Forwarding those to your personal phone means you’re always on. What you actually need is a system that can answer, qualify, and either book or escalate, without waking you up for a spam call at midnight.

Leads Need Faster Response Than You Can Deliver Manually

Data from Ringlii shows that responding within five minutes dramatically increases conversion rates. If your forwarding setup adds even a small delay, whether because you’re on another call or checking texts later, you’re losing winnable business. Speed matters more than most owners realize.

How SalesCaptain Helps

SalesCaptain replaces the patchwork of call forwarding, text forwarding apps, and voicemail with a single unified platform built for service businesses. Instead of bouncing calls from phone to phone, you get a system where every interaction, calls, texts, webchat, Instagram DMs, Facebook Messenger, is visible in one collaborative inbox.

Here’s what that looks like in practice. A customer calls your business number after hours. SalesCaptain’s AI Phone Agent picks up in a natural-sounding voice, answers their question, qualifies whether they’re a real lead, and books an appointment directly on your calendar. No forwarding needed. No missed opportunity. The entire transcript and AI summary appear in your inbox the next morning so your team has full context.

For texts, SalesCaptain’s AI Chat Agents handle inbound SMS, webchat, and social media messages instantly. If someone texts your business number at 11 PM asking for a quote, the AI responds, captures their info, and starts the conversation. Your team picks up in the morning with full history, not a forwarded text on someone’s personal phone.

Beyond AI, the platform includes features that eliminate the need for basic forwarding entirely:

• Call Flows: Drag-and-drop builder lets you route calls based on time of day, caller type, or team availability, far beyond what carrier forwarding offers.
• Missed Call Text-Back: If a call does go unanswered, SalesCaptain automatically texts the caller so they’re not left hanging.
• Workflow Automation: Trigger follow-up sequences, CRM updates, and team notifications automatically after any inbound interaction.
• 50+ Integrations: Connect to HubSpot, Salesforce, HousecallPro, Clio, and more, so forwarded context doesn’t live in a silo.

Pricing starts with a free plan for one location, with paid plans at $159/month per location. AI call minutes run $0.12/minute. Compare that to hiring a part-time receptionist or paying per-call pricing at services like Smith.ai, and the math is clear.

Key Takeaways

Knowing how to forward texts and calls to another phone is a useful baseline skill. Native settings on iPhone and Android, along with carrier star codes, can redirect calls in seconds. But for service businesses handling real volume, basic forwarding creates more problems than it solves: no shared history, no after-hours intelligence, and no automation.

The smarter path is a platform that handles forwarding, routing, and response all in one place. Your customers don’t care how your phone system works behind the scenes. They care that someone answers, responds quickly, and doesn’t make them repeat themselves. Build your communication around that expectation, and you’ll capture the revenue that your competitors are losing to voicemail.

FAQ

Can I forward both calls and texts from the same number at the same time?

With carrier settings, call forwarding and text forwarding are handled separately, and most carriers don’t offer automatic text forwarding at all. A business phone platform like SalesCaptain routes both calls and texts from your business number to the right destination, whether that’s an AI agent, a team inbox, or a specific team member.

Will the person I forward to see my business number or the caller’s number?

It depends on the forwarding method. Carrier-level forwarding typically shows the original caller’s number. Business phone systems vary, but SalesCaptain displays full caller information in your unified inbox along with conversation history, so your team always has context.

Does call forwarding cost extra on my phone plan?

Most major U.S. carriers include basic call forwarding at no extra charge, though forwarded calls count against your minutes. Some carriers charge per-forwarded-call fees on older plans. Check with your carrier if you’re unsure. With a VoIP-based business system, forwarding is built into the platform at no additional per-call cost beyond your plan.

Can I forward calls only during certain hours?

iPhone doesn’t support time-based forwarding natively. Android lets you forward when unanswered, but not on a schedule. For time-based routing, you need a business phone system with call flow rules. SalesCaptain’s call flow builder lets you set different routing for business hours, after hours, weekends, and holidays.

What happens to forwarded calls if the destination phone doesn’t answer?

With carrier forwarding, the call typically goes to the destination phone’s voicemail, not yours. That means your customer hears a personal voicemail greeting instead of your business greeting. With SalesCaptain, unanswered calls trigger a missed call text-back and can be picked up by the AI Phone Agent, so no call truly goes unanswered.