Landline Forwarding: How to Transfer or Forward a Landline Number

It seems like ages ago when people owned landline phones. They’ve almost completely disappeared from our lives and according to the CDC, over 80% of children and adults up to the age of 44 now live in houses without landlines.* 

Despite this, many businesses still rely on landlines because customers want to get support over the phone**. However, with remote work on the rise, companies can’t expect their employees to be tied to their seats waiting for the phone to ring. This makes companies fond of transferring landline calls to employees’ phones for flexibility needs—but this process can be time-consuming, error-prone, and costly.

If that’s your case too, this article is for you. Here, we’ll discuss call forwarding options between landlines and cell phones, teach you how to set them up, and show you a more effective alternative.

Key Takeaways: 

• You can route incoming calls to other phone numbers (mobile or landlines) if one of your agents is unavailable. This can happen automatically or manually and the process varies depending on your PBX (Private Branch Exchange) provider. 
  
• There’s a better alternative to call forwarding: Virtual numbers. You can take calls from anywhere at all times through an internet-connected device. This method also makes calls cheaper. 
  
• If you want to move from a standard line system to a cloud-based phone system, you can keep your existing numbers while adopting call center software. Number Porting allows your customers to call the same numbers they know and you to improve and update your phone services.

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How Does Call Forwarding Work?

Call Forwarding is an inherently simple process that allows you to route incoming calls to external mobile and landline numbers. Whenever a customer dials an agent who’s not at the office or away from their desk, their call will be forwarded to the agent’s cell. Alternatively, if a specific agent is on holiday or otherwise unavailable, the customer can be forwarded to another available agent. 

Call Forwarding can be either automatic or manual.

Automatic Call Forwarding

As illustrated by the examples above, automatic call forwarding transfers incoming calls to either the corresponding agent’s cell phone or to another available colleague. This helps deliver better customer service, reduces frustrating wait times, and increases efficiency.

Manual Call Forwarding

Also known as a Warm Transfer, manual call forwarding allows agents to speak to their customers and transfer them to colleagues who are better equipped to help solve their issues. This helps improve personalization and leads to more efficient call resolution and an overall better customer experience.

How to Forward a Landline to a Cell Phone

Thankfully, setting up call forwarding from a landline to a cell phone is relatively simple. All you need to do is follow these 4 steps:

• Dial *72 (North America) or use a Diversion Code like *21*(Europe & Australia) on your landline phone.
• Type in the desired phone number where you want to receive calls.
• Press “#”.
• Wait for the confirmation tone before hanging up.

A Better Alternative to Call Forwarding

To simplify call forwarding, try Virtual Numbers – all you need is an internet-connected device. This option allows you to take your calls from anywhere, at any time, and from your preferred smart device (smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc.). This makes virtual numbers more flexible and affordable. 

Also, since employees can take calls from any location, Virtual Numbers lets you offer a better customer experience by lowering the risk of missing customer calls. 

Lastly, since Virtual Numbers are tied to virtual business phone/call center systems by design, they come with a whole set of advanced features, including:

• Call Routing
• Click-to-Call
• Call Analytics
• Simplified Call Transferring

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Let’s take a look at how easy it is to use call forwarding with CloudTalk:

• With Manual Call Forwarding, all your agents need to do is click the “Transfer” button. This action will immediately forward the caller to one of their colleagues.
• Automatic Call Forwarding, on the other hand, requires a few extra steps to set up but the benefits are worth it. After setting up Automatic Call Forwarding, you’ll experience better Skill-Based Routing and optimized Call Queues, and access to an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. 

These functionalities allow you to transfer calls effectively and callers to be connected with the correct agent or department based on their language, location, or specific issue. 

All of this can be easily set up via CloudTalk’s Call Flow Designer (CFD), where you can create multiple IF → THEN scenarios in an understandable, visual-based interface. We discuss this process in more detail in the video below.

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As we’ve shown, forwarding a landline to a cell phone is an easy job. But if you’re experiencing issues with successfully routing calls, you may have bigger problems with your call center setup. Nowadays, customers have high expectations regarding customer support, and failing to meet those standards can make your business fall behind. 

So, join other companies as they swap landlines for modern, virtual call center solutions. 

Add new phone numbers in different locations with a few clicks, always direct customers to the right agent, and keep your local or international phone numbers thanks to Number Porting. You can achieve all of these benefits through call center software like CloudTalk. It’s cost-effective, quick, and requires no difficult technical setup. Plus, CloudTalk gives you access to detailed Call Analytics, Multi-Line Calls, and location-based phone numbers.

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Sources

*CDC — Wireless Substitution: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, July-December 2023. (2024).  

** Zendesk – CX Trends Report 2024. (2024)