Call forwarding is a handy tool that lets you automatically redirect incoming phone calls to another phone number. This means that if someone can't reach you on one phone, they may be able to get in touch with you on another phone… or at least leave you a voicemail message. So how do you set it up on your Android smartphone? Follow this tutorial, and you'll know before long!
To forward calls made to your Android phone:
1. Turn on your phone and launch the Phone app.
Press the power button on your phone to turn it on. Once it has booted up, tap the Phone app to open it.
2. Access additional calling options.
Tap the More Options button (the three vertical dots) in the top-right corner of the screen to make a drop-down menu appear. When it does, tap Settings.
3. Choose to adjust your call settings.
On the "Settings" menu, tap Calls.
4. Access your call forwarding options.
Next, tap Call Forwarding.
5. Select when you want to use call forwarding (or not).
You will now be presented with a list of situations in which you can forward calls: Always Forward, When Busy (i.e. when you're on another call), When Unanswered (i.e. when you don't pick up a call in time), or When Unreachable (i.e. when your phone is off or has calling disabled). Tap the scenario for which you want to enable or disable call forwarding.
6. Turn on call forwarding by entering the number to forward to.
If call forwarding is turned off for your chosen scenario, use the dial pad that appears at the bottom of the screen to type in the phone number that you want to forward calls to in that circumstance. Then tap Turn On.
7. Change the number to forward to, or disable call forwarding.
If call forwarding is already enabled in the situation that you chose, you can change the phone number that you forward calls to in that scenario, or you can disable call forwarding for that instance.
To change the number that you forward calls to in your chosen situation, use the keys on the dial pad at the bottom of the screen to erase the old number and type in the new one. Then tap Update. Or, if you want to turn off call forwarding for the current scenario, simply tap Turn Off.
How to forward calls from specific contacts to your Android voicemail
Android phones also have a neat feature where you can set calls from certain people to automatically be forwarded to your voicemail account. If you haven't configured your Android voicemail yet, you can learn how to do so in our lesson here. If you have, though, then here's how to auto-forward calls from your contacts to your voicemail:
1. Start up your phone and open the Phone app.
After turning on your phone, you should be able to find the Phone app on your main screen. Tap it to start it up.
2. Go to your Contacts list and find the contact that you want to auto-forward calls from.
Tap the Contacts tab (the two profile picture icons) to see the list of contacts available on your phone. Tap the person for whom you wish to auto-forward calls.
3. Select More Options for the contact, and then choose to route all of their incoming calls to voicemail.
Once you're on the contact's information page, tap the More Options button (the three vertical dots) in the top-right corner of the screen. Then tap Route to Voicemail in the menu that appears.
4. Do this again if you want to disable auto-forwarding.
To stop calls from a contact from being forwarded to your voicemail automatically, simply repeat this process, but tap Unroute to Voicemail instead.
That's it! You now know everything you need to in order manage the call forwarding settings on your Android phone! You know how to turn call forwarding on or off for specific situations, as well as how to add or change the phone numbers to which you want to forward calls. You also know how to auto-forward calls from certain contacts to your voicemail account. If you want some more pointers for your Android phone, check out the rest of our Android calling and voicemail course.
Remember, call forwarding comes in handy if you know you're not going to be able to be reached on one phone, but are going to be available on another. Or, you can deflect incoming calls to your answering machine at home or your voicemail service if you're in a situation where you can't take a call. Try it out!
