Before you start
You'll need two things in front of you: the Ansa number we assigned you (it's in your welcome email and in your dashboard under Settings → Numbers), and access to your office handset or your hosted PBX admin.
If you're on a Crew or Multi-location plan with multiple lines, you can forward them one at a time. Nothing breaks if line 1 forwards and line 2 doesn't yet.
For most landline carriers
Pick up your office handset
You need a live dial tone. If your office line is on a desk phone connected to a hosted PBX, skip down to the PBX section.
Dial the forwarding code
On most US/Canada carriers:
*72followed by your Ansa number. Examples:# Forward unconditionally (recommended for after-hours) *72 1 8 5 5 5 5 5 0 7 2 1 # Forward only when busy *90 1 8 5 5 5 5 5 0 7 2 1 # Forward only when unanswered *92 1 8 5 5 5 5 5 0 7 2 1Wait for the confirmation tone, usually two short beeps. If you get a stutter dial-tone, the code wasn't accepted. See troubleshooting.
Hang up
That's it on the phone side. The forward stays in place until you cancel it, even through power outages.
For hosted PBXs (RingCentral, 8x8, Dialpad, etc.)
Hosted PBX systems usually have a "Call Forwarding" screen in admin. Here's the RingCentral path; the others are similar:
Log in as an admin
You need permissions to change call-handling rules, not just call routing for your own extension.
Open Call Handling for the inbound number
Settings → Phone System → Phone Numbers → click the number → Call Handling tab.
Add a forward to your Ansa number
Use the "Forward to external number" option, not "Add user extension." Paste the Ansa number we sent you.
Save and apply
Changes take effect within 60 seconds. Skip down to Verify it's working to test.
Verify it's working
Call your office line from your cell phone. You should hear Sarah pick up within two seconds: not your old voicemail, not a ring-out, not an error tone. If you get anything else, see troubleshooting.
Rolling it back
To turn off forwarding on most landlines: pick up the handset and dial *73. Wait for confirmation tone. Hang up. Your office line goes back to ringing at your desk.
On hosted PBXs, just remove or toggle off the forwarding rule you added.
Troubleshooting
I got a stutter dial-tone or an error message.
Your carrier doesn't support *72for this line. Most cellular carriers don't (they use a different mechanism). Try:
1. Logging into your carrier's web portal and setting "Call Forward Always" from there.
2. Calling your carrier and asking for "unconditional forwarding to external number." Takes them ~5 minutes.
If neither works, email us your carrier name and we have setup notes for 22 carriers and can probably walk you through it.
Sarah picked up but the caller heard my old voicemail first.
You set up conditional forwarding (only when unanswered) but your phone is still answering before forwarding kicks in. Two options:
1. Switch to unconditional forwarding (*72 instead of *92).
2. Increase the "ring count before forwarding" in your carrier portal, but this also delays Sarah's pickup, which hurts conversion.
I dialed the code but my line still rings at my desk.
The forward didn't take. Common causes:
1. You dialed before getting a dial tone. Pick up, wait 1 second, then dial.
2. Your carrier requires the +1 country code. Try *72 1 8 5 5 5 5 5 0 7 2 1.
3. You're on a hosted PBX where carrier codes don't work. Use the admin panel instead.
The forward worked but Sarah doesn't have my shop's name.
You completed onboarding too quickly or skipped a field. Go to Configure → Shop profilein the dashboard. Anything you change goes live within 5 minutes; you'll get an email confirmation when she's running the new version.