How To Activate Call Forwarding on Your iPhone

Call Forwarding on iPhone is one of those features that can be a lifesaver when you’re out of the office, on vacation, or just trying to avoid missing important calls while your phone is out of reach. When it works, your calls get seamlessly redirected to another number—say, your home phone or a different mobile. But, man, getting it set up isn’t always straightforward, especially if you’re new to iPhone or unfamiliar with the settings. Sometimes, it just doesn’t activate correctly or doesn’t show that little icon in the Status Bar, which makes you wonder if it really took. This little walkthrough aims to cover the necessary steps, common pitfalls, and extra tips to avoid surprises.

Important Things to Remember Before Enabling Call Forwarding

Before diving into Settings, there are a few things worth double-checking. Because of course, Apple’s setup routine isn’t always enough, and your network provider plays a crucial role here. If your carrier doesn’t support call forwarding, no amount of toggling will do the trick. Also, make sure that the number you’re forwarding to is active and able to receive calls—like, it shouldn’t be switched off or out of range. If you’re planning a trip abroad, keep in mind that forwarding calls might come with extra charges. Some carriers hit you with fees for forwarded calls, especially internationally, so it’s worth a quick check with them beforehand. Plus, setting up voicemail alongside call forwarding can help – especially if you don’t want missed calls to ring into silence in case the forwarded number is unreachable.

Carrier support is mandatory; check your carrier’s website or call support.
The destination number must be active and reachable—think of it like making sure your partner’s number is not switched off.
You can also set up voicemail on your iPhone for missed or forwarded calls.
If traveling abroad, verify international call forwarding charges and policies.

How to Forward Calls on iPhone

Alright, now for the actual setup. The process is pretty simple, but keep in mind that sometimes it’s not enough to just toggle the switch. You might need to input the number manually, or even restart your phone if it’s being stubborn. It’s kinda weird, but the icon showing call forwarding in the Status Bar isn’t always instant—sometimes a reboot helps lock it in. Here’s the detailed rundown:

Open the Settings app

Find the gear icon on your home screen and tap it to access Settings.
On some setups, this menu could look different if you’ve customized your layout, but Settings is usually the same.

Navigate to Phone settings

Tap on Phone—it’s the icon that looks like a green phone receiver.
If you don’t see Phone immediately, it might be under more general settings or you might need to scroll a bit.

Scroll down and find Call Forwarding

This is often a little hidden under the Call Settings (some carriers customize this menu, so it might look a little different).

Turn on Call Forwarding

Toggle the switch next to Call Forwarding. When enabled, it turns green, usually—sometimes it’s a little sluggish, so patience helps.

Enter your forwarding number

Tap on Forward To, then type in the number where you want your calls forwarded.
Use the correct country code if it’s a different country. For example, +1 for US numbers, +44 for UK, etc.
This is where some users get tripped up—if it doesn’t work, double-check the number format or try to include the country code explicitly.

Save your settings

Just tap the Back button or swipe back; iOS will automatically save this info. Sometimes, it’s better to restart the phone afterward to make sure it catches the change.

Confirm forwarding status

Pull down the Control Center (Swipe down from the top-right corner on newer iPhones, or Swipe up from the bottom on older models).Look for the phone with a right arrow icon—the call forwarding indicator. If you see it, call forwarding is active.
Note that on some setups, the icon can be missing or delayed. If it’s not there, try toggling the setting off and on again or restarting the device.

The whole thing isn’t always perfect, especially if carrier support is flaky or your phone acts up. Sometimes, toggling airplane mode on and off can force the network to refresh and show the change. Also, in some cases, dialing a specific code like *21*# from the keypad can activate call forwarding directly—this can be faster if Settings aren’t doing the trick. Anyway, on one setup it worked right away, on another, it took a reboot or two to stick.

Wrap-up

Getting call forwarding up and running on an iPhone isn’t always the easiest, especially when carriers or firmware get in the way. But if you make sure the number is right, your carrier supports it, and you’ve properly toggled everything, the icon should show up eventually. Just remember, sometimes Apple likes to be a little slow about updating the status indicator after changes – patience helps. And if nothing works, a quick restart or dialing the direct code can help nail it down.

Summary

Check with your carrier support before starting.
Make sure forwarding number is active and in correct format.
Enable Call Forwarding in Settings, then input the number.
Watch for the icon in Control Center—if not, restart or try dialing the code *21*#.

Final thoughts

This whole process can be a bit hit or miss, but mostly it’s straightforward once you know the tricks. Hopefully, this shaves off some head-scratching time for someone. Fingers crossed this helps someone get their calls redirected without a fuss.