Lift the home phone receiver, dial *72, wait for the tone, enter your cell number — all incoming landline calls now ring your mobile. Cancel anytime with *73. Variants exist: forward-on-busy and no-answer-only versions preserve the ability to answer at home sometimes. Forwarding costs $0–$5/month on most plans; long-distance charges may apply per forwarded minute on legacy copper.
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Compare Plans →Free to compare · No credit check to browse · Affiliate-supportedCode Cheat-Sheet (Standard North American Lines)
| Action | Code |
|---|---|
| Forward ALL calls | *72, wait, dial destination |
| Cancel forward-all | *73 |
| Forward when busy | *90 (cancel *91) |
| Forward when unanswered | *92 (cancel *93) |
| Voice-mailbox-only overflow varies by provider | Ask support for exact set |
Cable/VoIP home-phone providers often replace codes with app toggles — check your account portal first; results identical.
Choosing a Flavor
- Leaving town for weeks: forward-all — simplest catch-everything mode.
- Home most days: no-answer forwarding keeps the house phone usable while catching misses on mobile.
- Business line continuity: busy+no-answer combo ensures customers always reach a human somewhere.
Test every configuration by calling yourself from another line — silent misconfiguration is the #1 complaint, and verification takes thirty seconds.
The Permanent Alternative: Port It
If nobody will ever answer that copper jack again, skip $60/year forwarding fees and port the landline number onto your cell plan — legal under FCC portability, taking days, after which the number IS your mobile number. Sequence matters: arrange alarm-system reprogramming and DSL replacement before cutting the cord. Full walkthrough in our dedicated porting guide.
Vacation Mode: Complete Forwarding Playbook
Extended absences deserve orchestration beyond simple forwarding: forward the landline, yes — but also set voicemail announcements stating return dates, hold newspaper/mail via postal holds, and brief household members answering forwarded calls about what information travels freely versus cautiously (television absence broadcasts invite burglaries; "they're unavailable" suffices). Business lines additionally benefit from overflow sequencing: try mobile first, fallback to colleague, final catch-all voicemail emailed as audio.
Return-day discipline closes the loop: cancel codes (*73), test from outside lines, restore normal voicemail greetings, and calendar the next scheduled departure's checklist — recurring travelers eventually run these plays from muscle memory, thirty seconds at a time.