How to divert calls in the UK

What call diverting is

Call diverting, also called call forwarding, sends your incoming calls to another number: a colleague’s mobile, your landline, voicemail or a service that handles them for you. Your phone network does the work, so it keeps working when your phone is off.

There are two kinds:

• Divert every call. Your phone doesn’t ring at all. Every call goes straight to the other number. Good when you’re on holiday or someone else is covering.
• Divert only some calls (conditional call forwarding). Your phone rings as normal, and a call is only diverted when you don’t answer, you’re on another call, or your phone is off or out of signal. This is how voicemail works, and it’s the one most businesses want.

Divert codes for UK mobiles

These are the standard codes for UK mobile networks, including EE, O2 and Vodafone, and networks that run on them like giffgaff, Tesco Mobile, Sky Mobile, Voxi and Lebara. Vodafone publishes the full list.

To choose how long your phone rings before an unanswered call is diverted, add the seconds to the end: **61*+447700900123**20# rings for 20 seconds. Most networks accept 5 to 30 seconds, in steps of 5.

If a code shows an error, turn off Wi-Fi calling and try again on mobile signal. O2 and Three customers report that codes can fail, or change the wrong setting, while Wi-Fi calling is on.

EE

The codes above work on EE phones. EE also lets you set or remove a divert by calling 150 and following the menu, which is handy on an iPhone. EE says diverts can’t be set up for you remotely, so do it from the phone itself.

O2

Use the codes above, or set a divert in the My O2 app from the support section. If a code fails, switch off Wi-Fi calling first.

Vodafone

Use the codes above, with +44 in place of the first 0 of the number. Vodafone lists every code on its help pages, including **62* for when your phone is off.

Three

Three doesn’t publish its own list of codes, so the simplest route is your phone’s call forwarding settings (below). If your phone can’t do it, Three’s customer service can set the divert on your account.

Divert calls on an iPhone

1. Open Settings, tap Apps, then Phone. On iOS 17 or earlier, go straight to Settings, then Phone.
2. Tap Call Forwarding and turn it on.
3. Tap Forward To and enter the number.

A small phone icon with an arrow appears at the top of the screen while it’s on. This setting diverts every call. To divert only the calls you don’t answer, open the Phone app’s keypad and dial the **61* code instead.

Divert calls on Android

1. Open the Phone app and tap the three-dot menu, then Settings.
2. Look for Calls, Supplementary services or Calling accounts. The name depends on who made your phone.
3. Tap Call forwarding, then Voice calls if asked.
4. Choose When unanswered, When busy, When unreachable or Always forward, and enter the number.

Android shows all four options, so you can set a divert for unanswered calls without any codes.

Divert a landline to a mobile

Landline codes use a single star at the start. Dial them from a phone plugged into your line or router. Use the full number you’re diverting to, including the area code.

BT

BT includes Call Diversion with Digital Voice. You pay for the length of each diverted call, plus BT’s standard call set-up fee.

TalkTalk

TalkTalk uses the same codes as BT: *21*number# for every call, *61*number# for calls you don’t answer within 21 seconds and *67*number# for when you’re on the phone. Switch them off with #21#, #61# or #67#. You pay for each diverted call from your landline, which may come out of your inclusive minutes.

Virgin Media

Dial 1765 first to hear your area colour. In green, blue, yellow and purple areas, dial *21*, wait for the tone, then enter the number and #. Check it with *#21# and switch it off with #21#, which can take up to 24 hours. In red areas, dial *70, wait for the tone, then enter the number, and switch it off with #70.

Virgin Media’s Call Divert costs £2.25 a month and sends every call, not just the ones you miss. The free voicemail stops working while it’s on.

Sky Talk

Sky doesn’t list divert codes on its help pages. Sky’s help forum points to the same *21* style codes, and to calling Sky if a divert won’t switch off. Ask Sky to confirm before you rely on it.

What diverting costs

Setting up a divert is usually free on mobiles. Some landlines charge a monthly fee for the feature, like Virgin Media’s £2.25.

The diverted call itself is the part you pay for. Every provider we checked charges it as if you had called the other number yourself: from your inclusive minutes if they cover it, otherwise at your normal rate. A call diverted to a mobile usually costs more than one diverted to a landline, and diverting while you’re abroad adds roaming charges. Check your own plan before you divert a busy line.

How to turn call forwarding off

• On a mobile: dial ##002# to remove every divert, or a single code such as ##61#. On most networks, ##002# removes the divert to voicemail too.
• On an iPhone: turn off Call Forwarding in Settings, then Apps, then Phone.
• On BT or TalkTalk: dial #21#, #61# or #67#.
• On Virgin Media: dial #21#, or #70 in red areas.

Seeing “conditional call forwarding active” on your phone usually just means voicemail is on. Voicemail is a divert for unanswered calls, so you can leave it alone unless calls are going somewhere you don’t expect.

Where should the diverted calls go?

A divert only moves the call. What matters is what happens to the caller next. Here are the usual choices for a small business.

Keep the customer, call back when you’re free

Before choosing where to send unanswered calls, read how missed call text back works, with example messages, callback ownership and when live answering is a better fit.

Unmissed doesn’t answer your calls for you. Your phone rings as normal, and only the calls you can’t answer are diverted to Unmissed, with a divert for unanswered calls like the ones above. Then it does two things.

It keeps the caller with you. Within 5 seconds of the missed call, they get a friendly text from your business saying you’ll call them back, so they know they’ve been heard and don’t need to try someone else. They can reply to tell you what they need. Landline callers get a voice response instead of a text.

It lets someone else call them back. The missed call and any reply land in one inbox your team shares. Whoever is free takes the callback, so it doesn’t wait for you to finish the job in hand, and nobody rings twice. If nobody has picked it up after 5 minutes, the team gets a nudge.

You keep your number and your phones. We set up the divert with you, check your provider’s divert charges first, and test a real call together. Join the free beta or see how it works.

Sources

• Vodafone: How do I manage call diverts?
• EE: How do I set up and manage call diverts?
• BT: All about Call Diversion for Digital Voice
• TalkTalk: About Call Divert
• Virgin Media: Set up call diversion