Call forwarding
A call redirect sends the calls you miss to a number someone else answers. Here is how it works, which carriers make it easy or costly, and what to ask before you turn it on.
You dial a short code on your phone, or switch it on in your carrier’s app, and the carrier starts sending calls to the number you gave it. For a receptionist or an AI agent you want the no-answer kind: your phone rings first, you pick up if you are free, and only the missed call moves on. These are the standard codes. Carriers can block or rename them, so test yours.
| Type | Code | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Every call | *21*number# | Forwards all calls. Use after hours or on a dedicated line. |
| No answer | *61*number# | Your phone rings first. Unanswered calls move on. This is the one a receptionist setup wants. |
| Busy | *67*number# | Forwards when you are already on a call. |
| Unreachable | *62*number# | Forwards when the phone is off or out of range. Not the same as no answer. |
Check a setting with *#61#. Turn no-answer off with ##61#.
This ranks published plan terms for no-answer forwarding, not network quality. Read from carrier support pages and forum reports on 2026-10-27. Prices and rules change, and prepaid and postpaid often differ, so treat this as the list of questions to ask your carrier, not a quote.
No-answer forwarding is documented, and we found no per-minute fee on the carrier’s own page. Still confirm on your bill.
Its support page lists unconditional, no reply, not reachable, and busy as separate forward types, to Canadian numbers only. The page states no fee. Plans differ, so check the features on yours.
Source: Freedom Mobile support, "About: Call Control"
Members of its community forum report no-answer forwarding working at no extra charge to a local number. The same forum has many threads of the dial codes failing; some were fixed by Public Mobile refreshing the account. Budget a support chat.
Source: Public Mobile community forum threads (member reports, not a Public Mobile price list)
The feature exists, but a fee, a voicemail setting, or a plan rule can get in the way.
Its mobile help page lists a "no reply" code (*61*) and warns that conditional forwarding does not work while voicemail is activated, so turn voicemail off first. We could not confirm the postpaid fee, so ask. Prepaid reports from users are mixed.
Source: Rogers support, "use call forwarding"
Its support page describes forwarding unanswered calls to another number and notes that service charges may apply. Ask which charge applies on your plan before you turn it on.
Source: Telus support, "use call forwarding variable"
We found no Virgin Plus page that states the fee. Our first customer runs on a Virgin line and forwards after a few rings, so it works; confirm the cost in My Account or with support.
Source: Our own customer setup; no published fee found
Forwarded minutes are billed per use, or the feature is a paid add-on. Cheap if few calls go unanswered; not free.
Bell’s support page says call forwarding can be added to a plan for a monthly fee or used pay-per-use at $0.25 a minute, and its product page lists a $10 monthly add-on. Forwarding to a landline can save airtime on some plans.
Source: Bell support, "how to use call forwarding on my mobile phone"
Its support page says forwarded minutes are charged pay-per-use unless a call forwarding add-on is on the line. A Fido moderator in its forum put the pay-per-use rate at $0.20 a minute; newer plans may not include forwarding minutes.
Source: Fido support, "call forwarding", and Fido forum
Our own check (2026-08-10) found call forwarding was a paid add-on and prepaid advertised only forward-when-unreachable. Older help articles put the add-on near $3 a month. Koodo has raised other add-on prices since, so re-check.
Source: Koodo help; older third-party help article
Lucky Mobile, Chatr, and other prepaid brands are not ranked here. We found no published terms we could stand behind, and many prepaid plans only forward when the phone is off. The carrier-by-carrier checklist covers what to ask.
The carrier bills the forwarded leg as if you placed the call. A no-answer forward only fires on calls you miss, so the cost follows missed calls. As arithmetic, not a quote: 40 missed calls a month at 3 minutes each is 120 minutes. At Bell’s published pay-per-use rate of $0.25 a minute that is $30.00; a $10 monthly add-on would be cheaper. On a carrier that includes forwarding it is $0. Count your own missed calls first.
The carrier charge is separate from our plan. The receptionist’s minutes come from the plan you pick. See pricing.
A Twilio number is included on every paying plan. Use it as the public line, or keep your existing number and forward to it. That skips carrier forwarding and its fees entirely. The tradeoff is that the included number is a new one, so print and listings change. Porting your existing number to Twilio keeps the digits, with a cutover window we schedule. All three paths are on keep your number.
A call redirect, also called call forwarding or call diversion, sends a call that reaches your phone number to a different number. For a receptionist or an AI agent, you point it at the number they answer on. Set it to forward on no answer and your phone still rings first.
No carrier is best for everyone. The ones with the fewest known obstacles are those that document no-answer forwarding and state no per-minute fee. Bell, Fido, and Koodo have charged extra. Check your own plan, because the same carrier can differ between prepaid and postpaid.
Sometimes. You are billed for the forwarded leg of the call as if you had placed it. A no-answer forward only fires on calls you miss, so the bill scales with missed calls, not total calls. Some carriers include it, some charge a monthly add-on, and some charge per minute.
Yes. Any number that can answer a call can be a redirect target. A Twilio number is included on every Right On Call plan for this, or you can publish that number directly and skip carrier forwarding altogether.
Three fallbacks: forward all calls after hours, publish the included Twilio number as your public line, or port your number to Twilio. We live-test the setup on your exact line before it takes real customer calls.
