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Call Forwarding

My Workspace → Settings → Forwarding (/my/settings/forwarding) routes calls away from your phone when you’re away, busy, or unavailable. Everything on the page is scoped to your own extension, so you can change it yourself at any time.

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There are three independent rules. Turn on any combination — they don’t conflict, and each has its own destination.

RuleWhen it fires
Forward all callsEvery call. Your devices never ring. Use it for vacation, focus time, or handing your line to a colleague while you’re out.
Forward on busyA new call arrives while you’re already on one. The caller is routed on instead of hearing a busy tone.
Forward on no answerYour phone rings but nobody picks up before the ring timeout (typically 20–30 seconds).

Each rule has its own Forward to field. It accepts:

  • An internal extension — just the extension number of a colleague, e.g. 4001.
  • An external number, typed with its area code, e.g. 6475550100. Friendly punctuation such as +1 (416) 555-0100 is accepted and reduced to a dialable form when you save.

Nothing takes effect until you select Save changes. The new rule applies to the very next call.

When more than one rule is on, they apply in sequence:

  1. Forward all calls is checked first. If it’s on, the call goes there and no other rule matters.
  2. If it’s off and the call rings, Forward on busy fires when you’re already on another call.
  3. Forward on no answer fires when the ring timeout expires.

If nothing matches and you don’t pick up, the call falls through to your voicemail as usual.

Switch the rule off, clear the number if you don’t want to keep it for next time, and Save changes. Your phone rings normally again from the next call onward.

I forwarded to my mobile but it goes straight to my mobile’s voicemail. Some mobile carriers send unrecognized caller IDs — including your office number, which is what a forwarded call presents — to voicemail as a spam filter. That behavior is carrier-side, not something Switchboard controls.

Forwarding doesn’t seem to work — calls still ring my phone. Check three things: the toggle for that rule is on, the destination is a valid extension or number, and you selected Save changes.

Can I forward only after hours? Not from this page. Time-of-day routing is built by an administrator on the Nova Extensions page. Until then, turn Forward all calls on manually before you leave.

Can I forward to several numbers at once? That’s a ring group, not forwarding, and an administrator configures it.

What if I forward to someone who forwards back to me? The platform detects forwarding loops and stops after a handful of hops — the caller hears a fast-busy tone. Don’t chain forwards intentionally.

I see “No extension paired”. Your account isn’t linked to a phone extension yet. Forwarding is tied to a phone, so there’s nothing to configure until an administrator assigns you one.