Sarah isn't picking up.

Test it the right way

Call your business number from a different phone. Calling it from the business phone itself, or from a phone that forwards to it, tests nothing. What happens next depends on the mode you picked under What Sarah answers in setup:

Every call(the default): your business phone shouldn't ring at all, and Sarah answers straight away. If it rings, forwarding is off.
Only calls I miss:don't answer. Let the business phone ring out, or decline the call. A call you pick up never reaches Sarah.

Forwarding is off

This is the most common cause. Ansa can't see your phone carrier's settings, so it doesn't know whether forwarding is on. Pressing I've set it up, continueduring setup records that you did it; it doesn't check it.

Set it again from the business phone itself. If you don't have your Ansa number to hand, open the Your business number is ready alert on Notifications: it shows the number and links back to the forwarding steps. If that alert is gone, email us.

Use the code for your mode, with your 10-digit Ansa number:

# Every call / Only calls I miss
# AT&T, T-Mobile, US Cellular
**21*number#   /  **004*number#
# Verizon
*72 number     /  *71 number
# Landline (from the line itself)
*72 number     /  provider account

On Google Voice or VoIP, check that the forwarding rule in your provider's dashboard is saved and points at your Ansa number: all calls, or after 4 rings for only the calls you miss.

Also ask whoever else uses the phone. Someone dialing ##21#, ##004# or *73, or switching forwarding off in the phone's settings, turns it off. Full steps are in how to forward your business line.

Your voicemail answers first

If calls land in your old voicemail, your voicemail is still the destination. On a cell phone, forwarding to Sarah replaces that, so setting the code again usually fixes it. On VoIP, check that a voicemail or ring-group rule isn't catching the call before your forwarding rule does.

With Only calls I miss, a few rings before Sarah answers is normal: your phone gets its chance first, and how long it rings is set by your carrier or your VoIP settings, not by Ansa. With Every call, Sarah should answer without your phone ringing.

Sarah isn't live yet

Open your dashboard. If you still see the setup steps, you haven't gone live. On Self-serve, finish the last step and press Activate Sarah; any row still open tells you what's missing. On Done-for-you, our team turns Sarah on after you press Submit for review. Once she's live, the setup steps are gone and your dashboard opens on Overview.

Your account is paused

If a monthly payment fails, Sarah is paused right away and calls to your Ansa number aren't answered. You get a text (or an email, if Text alerts are off) saying your payment didn't go through, and your dashboard shows a Your AI receptionist is paused banner with Update card. Update the card and Sarah resumes on her own. You'll see a Payment received alert. If Billing shows Your account is closing, the date there is when the account closes and your Ansa number is released. See Updating your card, and failed payments.

A cancelled subscription stops Sarah when the paid period ends. Billing shows the date next to Subscription ends.

You hit a capacity limit

Every plan has the same limits: 50 calls at the same time per number, 1,500 call minutes in any 24 hours, and 500 calls a day. You get a Usage notice alert at 80% of a limit. Past the limit, new calls are refused until usage drops back under it. If you expect to reach a limit, email us.

Troubleshooting