What does unconditional call forwarding mean?

It means the carrier forwards every incoming call to the destination immediately, no conditions checked. Your phone never rings — every call goes to the destination from the moment forwarding is set.

What's the unconditional forwarding code?

On most North-American copper, cable, and CDMA wireless carriers (Verizon, Spectrum, Bell, Telus): `*72 `. On GSM wireless carriers (AT&T wireless, T-Mobile, Cricket, Mint, Rogers): `**21* #`.

Will my phone ring at all when unconditional forwarding is on?

No. Unconditional means every call goes to the destination immediately — your phone stays silent. If you want your phone to still ring when you're free, use conditional forwarding (`*71` / `**61*`) instead.

How long does unconditional forwarding stay active?

Indefinitely, until you dial the cancel code (`*73` on CDMA / landline / cable VoIP, `##21#` on GSM wireless). There's no automatic expiration — set it once, leave it on until you turn it off.

Can I have both unconditional and conditional forwarding active?

On most carriers, yes — they're separate settings. But unconditional always wins when both are set: every call routes immediately, so the conditional rule never gets a chance. Pick one and stick with it.

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What is unconditional call forwarding?

Forward every call away, no exceptions — the opposite of conditional forwarding.

Unconditional call forwarding is a carrier feature that routes every incoming call to a destination number immediately — your phone never rings. It's the opposite of conditional forwarding, which only routes calls you'd otherwise miss. Use unconditional when you want a complete handoff: vacation, deep-work block, off-hours coverage, or routing a published number to a different team member or queue.

Unconditional vs conditional, plainly

Unconditional (*72 on Verizon, **21* on GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile) routes every call away immediately. Your phone doesn't ring at all.

Conditional (*71 on Verizon, **61* on GSM) only routes when one of three conditions is met: - Your line is busy - Your line doesn't answer in ~25 seconds - Your phone is unreachable

Use unconditional when you don't want the option of answering — every call goes straight to the destination. Use conditional when you want to keep answering what you can and route the rest as a safety net.

Unconditional forwarding codes by carrier

Carrier	Unconditional forward	Cancel
Verizon (landline, Fios, wireless)	`*72<number>`	`*73`
AT&T wireless	`*21<number>#`	`##21#`
AT&T landline	`*72<number>`	`*73`
T-Mobile	`*21<number>#`	`##21#`
Cricket / Mint Mobile (GSM)	`*21<number>#`	`##21#`
Spectrum / Comcast Xfinity / cable VoIP	`*72<number>`	`*73`
Bell, Telus (CA)	`*72<number>`	`*73`
Rogers, Freedom Mobile (CA)	`*21<number>#`	`##21#`
Google Voice	voice.google.com → Settings → Calls	Same

Pattern: copper / cable / CDMA wireless use *72. GSM wireless uses **21*. Dial from the line you want to forward.

When to use unconditional over conditional

Use unconditional if you: - Will be entirely unreachable for a stretch (vacation, surgery, long flight, weekend off) - Want an answering service or AI receptionist to handle 100% of inbound, no exceptions - Are routing a published number to a different team member or queue - Want callers to skip your voicemail entirely

Use conditional if you: - Want to keep answering calls yourself when you're free - Use the destination as a safety net for after-hours, busy, or away-from-phone moments - Run a business where call quality matters and you'd rather take important calls personally

Many owners use both — unconditional on weekends, conditional during the workday.

Cancelling unconditional forwarding

Dial *73 (Verizon, landline, cable VoIP, Bell, Telus) or ##21# (AT&T wireless, T-Mobile, Cricket, Mint, Rogers, Freedom Mobile) from the same line that has forwarding active.

If you've set both unconditional and conditional at different times, the cancel codes are separate — *73 clears the active rule on CDMA carriers, while GSM ##21# only clears unconditional. Use ##61# for the conditional rule, or ##002# to wipe everything at once.

Try the carrier code generator

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FAQ

What does unconditional call forwarding mean?: It means the carrier forwards every incoming call to the destination immediately, no conditions checked. Your phone never rings — every call goes to the destination from the moment forwarding is set.
What's the unconditional forwarding code?: On most North-American copper, cable, and CDMA wireless carriers (Verizon, Spectrum, Bell, Telus): *72<destination-number>. On GSM wireless carriers (AT&T wireless, T-Mobile, Cricket, Mint, Rogers): **21*<destination-number>#.
Will my phone ring at all when unconditional forwarding is on?: No. Unconditional means every call goes to the destination immediately — your phone stays silent. If you want your phone to still ring when you're free, use conditional forwarding (*71 / **61*) instead.
How long does unconditional forwarding stay active?: Indefinitely, until you dial the cancel code (*73 on CDMA / landline / cable VoIP, ##21# on GSM wireless). There's no automatic expiration — set it once, leave it on until you turn it off.
Can I have both unconditional and conditional forwarding active?: On most carriers, yes — they're separate settings. But unconditional always wins when both are set: every call routes immediately, so the conditional rule never gets a chance. Pick one and stick with it.

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