How to forward a landline to a cell phone in 4 steps

If there’s one thing every customer can agree on, it’s that businesses should answer the phone. Getting a busy signal or being stuck on hold is frustrating when you need help. Let’s be real — no one is happily humming to hold music.

The good news? You can avoid long hold times and missed calls by using the call forwarding option on your landline. Even better news? There’s a simpler way to forward calls. 

Here’s what you need to know about how to forward a landline to a cell phone and a solution that makes the process easier.

How to forward a landline to a cell phone

Using the unconditional call forwarding feature on your landline, you can reroute your calls to your cell phone number. Keep in mind the exact process can vary depending on your desk phone model.

To forward your landline to a cell phone, follow these steps:

1. Dial *72.
2. Type in the 10-digit phone number that you want to forward calls to.
3. Press pound (#).
4. Wait for a confirmation tone before hanging up.

If you only want calls to be forwarded when you’re on another call, you can set up busy call forwarding to automatically redirect calls. To turn off call forwarding and take calls on your landline again, dial *73 and wait for the confirmation tone.

OpenPhone: A better alternative to call forwarding 

Call forwarding shouldn’t have to happen every time you’re away from your desk. If you only want to forward calls when you’re busy — like when you’re on vacation or in a meeting — it may be time to ditch your landline altogether.

Instead, you can use a virtual phone service to take calls from your computer, tablet, or smartphone via WiFi. 

Here’s how you can set up a virtual number in OpenPhone:

Set up a virtual number

Getting started with OpenPhone is quick and easy. Here’s how you can set up your virtual number in just a few minutes:

1. Create an OpenPhone account — when you sign up, you can try OpenPhone free for seven days.
2. Pick a phone number — choose a local US, Canadian, or toll-free number by searching for an area code or city.
3. Download the app — after completing the sign-up process, including selecting your plan, download the iOS or Android app to start calling, texting, and customizing your phone settings.

Now you have a virtual phone number you can use to work from anywhere with an internet connection. But what if you need to forward calls when you’re not working? That’s where shared numbers come in. 

Share access to a phone number

When someone calls a team’s shared number, it rings everyone with access so any available rep can answer. The whole team can also make calls, send texts, and view all conversations in one place, keeping everything organized.

Here’s how to share a business number with teammates in OpenPhone:

1. Open the OpenPhone app.
2. Go to Inboxes.
3. Then tap … on the Phone number you want to share.
4. Click Add users.
5. Enter the email address of the person you want to share the number with and choose their role (Admin or Member).
6. Click Send invitation.

Once a teammate accepts the invite, they’ll have access to the shared number. On their cell phone, the OpenPhone mobile app lets you know if an incoming call is from an OpenPhone number, making it easy to distinguish business calls from personal ones.

Forward voicemails

Traditional voicemail makes it easy to miss or lose track of important messages. With OpenPhone, voicemails aren’t stuck on one person’s device — anyone with access to the shared number can check them. No more waiting for someone to forward messages or worrying about missed follow-ups.

OpenPhone also transcribes voicemails automatically, so you can search for specific phrases or keywords and skip to the relevant part of the message. 

You can also connect OpenPhone to email or Slack to get voicemail notifications when a forwarded call goes unanswered, ensuring you don’t miss important messages.

6 ways virtual phone systems help your small business grow

Switching to a virtual number offers more benefits than just avoiding the hassle of forwarding a landline to a cell phone.  Here are six ways a virtual telephone number can help grow your business.

1. Make calls with your existing hardware

Virtual phone systems are simple and affordable to set up. Once you subscribe to a VoIP provider and download their app, you can use your phone number on any compatible device from anywhere with an internet connection. You don’t need extra hardware, so your employees can use their own smartphones or laptops.

2. Separate business from personal

There’s nothing worse than getting business calls on your mobile device after work and feeling pressured to answer. VoIP systems let you have two phone numbers on one phone, making it easy to distinguish between incoming personal and business calls. Plus, you can keep your personal number private and exclusively use a business phone number that forwards to your cell phone for work.

3. Add phone numbers with ease

As your team grows, you can add as many numbers as you need to help your business scale. On OpenPhone, all you need to do is open your web app, click Phone Numbers from your settings, and select Add a new number to select your new digits.

You can choose phone numbers with different area codes to enter new markets or get a toll-free number to give your business a larger presence.

Or you can assign different numbers to different departments (like sales and customer support) so your team members only get relevant calls and texts.

4. Instantly route calls with an automated phone menu

If you don’t want to manually route calls meant for other team members, you can set up a phone menu for every virtual number to let callers route themselves. Phone menus are simpler to configure on VoIP systems than on landlines. All you need to do is add a greeting message for callers and phone menu options.

You can also customize how calls are distributed among your team. With OpenPhone, you have the flexibility to ring everyone at once so the first available person can answer, send calls to specific teammates in a set order, or randomize the order to distribute calls evenly.

5. Automate your workflows 

Taking advantage of the VoIP call forwarding service on your virtual phone system isn’t the only way you can improve the customer experience. You can also automate your workflows:

• Keep track of every call without lifting a finger with OpenPhone’s HubSpot integration. Phone activity — including call logs, voicemails, texts, and recordings — syncs automatically to the right contact in your CRM.
• Send text messages based on survey responses using OpenPhone’s Make integration. If a customer submits feedback through a Survicate survey, OpenPhone can automatically send a text to confirm their submission.
• Send texts automatically when certain events happen using the OpenPhone API. If a new lead fills out a sales form, you can instantly send them a welcome text introducing your team and the next steps. 

6. Text from your virtual number

OpenPhone supports SMS and MMS messages, so you can send anything from text and images to videos and GIFs. It also makes texting easier with features that help you save time and respond faster:

• Auto-replies that let you set clear expectations when your team is busy or away.
• Text message templates (snippets), so you can quickly reply to common questions without typing the same message over and over again.
• Scheduled texts that help you stay TCPA compliant by making sure you only respond to customers during business hours in their timezone.

How to port your landline number to OpenPhone

Switching to a virtual number is quick and painless, as it should be. You can port your landline phone number to OpenPhone in two simple steps:

1. Find out if you can port your phone number.
2. Tell your landline service provider you’ll be porting out.
3. Complete our phone number porting form in the OpenPhone app. It only takes a few minutes, but it’s helpful to have your account number, account PIN, landline number, and latest phone bill or invoice ready.
4. Wait 5-7 business days for your porting request to be processed.
5. If you want to send text messages to US numbers, complete the US carrier registration.

Once complete, OpenPhone will inform you of your porting date and time. After the port is complete, you’re all set to cancel service with your landline provider — but avoid canceling before your virtual number is activated to avoid service interruptions.

Simplify call forwarding with OpenPhone

Learning how to forward a landline to a cell phone is a great way to minimize missed calls, reduce call overflow, and improve the customer experience. Switching to a virtual phone system is even better.

When you port your landline number to OpenPhone, you can take calls from anywhere (or have someone on your team answer calls instead) and eliminate the need to forward calls altogether. You can use your virtual number anywhere with internet service instead of being tied to your desk.

Call forwarding is only one perk of using OpenPhone. You can also save on hardware expenses, add phone numbers in just a few steps, set up a Slack integration to receive notifications when a voicemail is left, share business phone numbers, automate texts, set up international call forwarding, and save text message templates.

Start your free trial of OpenPhone today.

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