# Call forwarding on iPhone for business > Call forwarding on iPhone is a Settings switch that sends calls to one number. Here is Apple's path, and when your carrier still has to set the rest. Published 2026-11-08 · by RingKit · tags: call forwarding, setup, small business. Canonical: https://www.ringkit.com/blog/call-forwarding-on-iphone Call forwarding on iPhone, in the path Apple documents, is one switch. You turn it on, you type one phone number, and calls to that line go there. It is not a screen full of "if busy" and "if I don't answer." Apple tells you to ask the carrier for those. If you are forwarding a business line to an AI receptionist, that difference matters, because the Settings switch and a no-answer forward are not the same feature. The steps below are from [Apple's iPhone guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-call-forwarding-iph7405291c4/ios), read on November 8, 2026. Read them against your own phone. If the menu is missing, stop and use your carrier's instructions instead of hunting through settings. ## The path Apple documents Apple's guide applies when your cellular service is on a GSM network. The steps are: 1. Open Settings. 2. Tap Apps, then Phone. 3. Tap Call Forwarding, and turn Call Forwarding on. 4. If the iPhone has Dual SIM, choose the line. Apple puts that choice below SIMs. 5. Tap Forward To, enter the number, and tap Back. A Call Forwarding icon shows in the status bar while it is on. You have to be in range of the cellular network when you turn this on. Apple says that if you are not in range, calls will not be forwarded. Set it up while the phone has normal service, not later from a place with no bars. That is the whole menu. There is no field for ring time, and no separate toggle for busy. One number, on or off. ## It does not set up "only if I miss it" Apple's same guide says: if your carrier supports conditional call forwarding when the line is busy or not in service, contact the carrier for setup information. Conditional means the iPhone rings first, and the other number gets the call only in the case you chose. The Settings switch does not ask you which case. So there are two honest setups. - You want every call to go to the receptionist, and you do not need this iPhone to ring. Use the switch. Turn it off on the days you want the iPhone to ring again. - You want to answer when you can, and you want the missed calls to go onward. Use the carrier's conditional codes or the carrier's own app. The [conditional call forwarding](https://www.ringkit.com/blog/conditional-call-forwarding) guide separates those cases and quotes the codes Verizon and T-Mobile publish. Do not assume the iPhone switch does that job. If you turn the switch on and also turn on a carrier no-answer forward, test both. Two features aimed at the same calls can surprise you. One of them will win, and it might not be the one you meant. ## If you do not see Call Forwarding Apple draws a hard line. GSM: the steps above. CDMA: contact your carrier. The guide does not list a fallback menu for CDMA. If Call Forwarding is not under Apps, then Phone, do not invent a path. Open your carrier's help page for the line that is installed in the phone, and use the method they print. The [overview of forwarding a business number](https://www.ringkit.com/blog/forward-business-number-to-ai-receptionist) is the reason you are doing this (keep your number, do not port it). The taps still come from Apple or from the carrier, not from a generic list. Dual SIM is the other place people set the wrong line. Apple's step is to choose the line. If your business calls arrive on the second SIM, forwarding the first SIM does nothing to the number on your website. Look at which number the caller dials, and forward that line. ## Coverage, and links you did not ask for Set forwarding while the phone is on the cellular network. Apple is explicit that being out of range at the moment you turn it on means calls will not be forwarded. If you are about to get on a plane, turn it on before you leave coverage, then confirm with a test call from someone else's phone. Apple also warns you about messages. For your protection, the iPhone alerts you and blocks links in messages, email, webpages, or apps that ask you to turn on call forwarding. Those links are a common scam. If you did not expect the link, ignore it. Nothing further is required. If you do want forwarding, type the number yourself using the steps above. Do not tap a link a stranger sent, and do not tap one that a "customer" texts you during a call. The number you enter should be the receptionist's number, including the area code. It should not be the same iPhone's own number. Forwarding a line to itself is not a setup. It is a loop or an error, and the test call will show it immediately. Texts do not follow the voice forward. A text to the business number still arrives on the iPhone. Call the forwarded number before you turn the switch on. You should hear an AI identify itself. Fix a wrong answer before any customer is forwarded into it. ## Turn it on, then prove it Use a second phone. With the switch on, the status icon should show, and the second phone should reach the forwarded number without you answering the iPhone. Turn the switch off and call again. The iPhone should ring. If it does not, the carrier may still have a forward of its own. If you wanted no-answer forwarding, leave the Settings switch off. Otherwise every call skips the iPhone. Set the carrier feature, let the iPhone ring, and see who answers after you refuse the call. If voicemail answers, the carrier's timer is shorter than the forward. That is fixed with the carrier, not by toggling the switch again. The icon means the Apple switch is on or off. It does not tell you whether a carrier code is also active. Only the test call does. RingKit does not port the number and does not change iPhone settings for you. The current number charge and per-minute rate are on the [pricing page](https://www.ringkit.com/pricing). Your carrier may still count the forwarded call as usage. Someone creating the receptionist over the API should use the [docs](https://www.ringkit.com/docs). The iPhone steps stay on the phone. --- Try Ringkit: $0.20/min, $1.99/mo per number, no plan. Get started at https://app.ringkit.com/onboard