How to forward missed calls to another number (Rogers, Bell and Telus)

By DialFrontDesk · October 12, 2026 · 6 min read

If you run a trades or restaurant business, your phone rings at the worst moments: on a roof, under a sink, in the middle of a dinner rush. The usual fix is to forward the calls you can’t answer to another number, such as a partner, an answering service or an AI receptionist. This guide shows how to do it on the phone you already have, without changing your business number.

Forward every call, or only the ones you miss?

There are two kinds of forwarding, and for a working business you almost always want the second.

• Forward all calls. Every call goes to the other number and your own phone never rings. Useful for a day off, not for normal work.
• Conditional forwarding. Your phone rings first. If you don’t answer, if the line is busy, or if the phone is off or out of coverage, the call moves on. This is what keeps you reachable and still catches the calls you miss.

Mobile phones: the standard codes

Most Canadian mobile carriers support the standard GSM forwarding codes. Open the keypad in your Phone app, type the code exactly as shown, and press call. Replace NUMBER with the 10-digit number you are forwarding to.

To cancel all forwarding at once, most carriers accept ##002#. To choose how long your phone rings before the call moves on (5 to 30 seconds), many carriers accept a version like **61*NUMBER**20#, which rings for 20 seconds.

What the carriers publish

Carriers don’t all document these codes the same way, so here is what we could confirm as of October 2026:

• Telus publishes *21* for forward-all and *67* for busy forwarding on its mobile service. We could not find an official page for the no-answer and unreachable codes, but they follow the same standard and are widely reported to work.
• Rogers and Telus home phones use *92 to turn on forwarding when you don’t answer (dial it, wait for the tone, then dial the number) and *93 to turn it off.
• Bell: we did not find published conditional codes. If the standard ones are rejected, use the phone menu below or ask Bell to set up “call forwarding on no answer, busy and unreachable.”

Carriers change their systems, so treat this as a starting point and always test the result.

If the code is rejected: use the phone’s menu

• Android: open Phone, tap the three dots, then Settings, Calls, Call forwarding. Set When unanswered, When busy and When unreachable to your number.
• iPhone: the menu under Settings, Phone, Call Forwarding can only forward every call, so for missed-calls-only forwarding on an iPhone you need the dial codes above or a request to your carrier.

Always test it

1. From a different phone, call your business number.
2. Let it ring and don’t answer.
3. After the ring time, the call should arrive at the forwarding number. Then try it once while you are on another call, if you set the busy code.

Common problems

• The call goes to your carrier voicemail instead. Voicemail is answering before forwarding kicks in. Shorten the ring time with the optional ring-time code, or ask your carrier to turn voicemail off on that line.
• Forwarding works from some phones but not others. Test again from a second phone. Some office systems and VoIP lines have their own forwarding settings that override the mobile ones.
• Fees. Forwarding is usually included, but some plans bill forwarded minutes. Ask before you rely on it.

Where the forwarded calls should go

Forwarding only helps if someone good answers on the other end. A partner or employee works until they are busy too. A voicemail box catches little. An answering service or an AI receptionist picks up every time, finds out what the caller needs and gets you the details. If you want to set that up, we have a step-by-step forwarding guide for DialFrontDesk clients.