Overview
Your business number is already on your website, your van, and your Google listing — you don’t need to change it to use Voxworks. Instead, set up call forwarding with your carrier so calls to your existing number divert to the Voxworks number assigned to your AI receptionist (or to any inbound script). Your customers keep dialling the number they already know; Voxworks answers. Forwarding is configured with your carrier — usually by dialling a short code from the phone being forwarded — not inside the Voxworks app. This page is the complete reference for those codes on Australian services. The same instructions are also generated for you in the app: on the receptionist editor’s Settings tab, in the Your phone number card, click Click here for instructions on forwarding an existing number, which opens a Forward your number to [your receptionist’s name] dialog. Pick your Carrier (Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, or Other / not sure), Phone setup (Mobile, Landline, or PBX / VoIP system), and When to forward — the dialog opens with Telstra, Mobile, and Only when unanswered pre-selected — then copy each dial code with your assigned Voxworks number already substituted in. If no number is assigned to the receptionist yet, the dialog reminds you to pick one in the Your phone number section so the instructions can include it automatically. See Receptionist Number & Call Forwarding for a tour of that dialog. Porting your existing number into Voxworks is coming soon; until then, forwarding achieves the same outcome — your receptionist answers every call made to your existing number. In the dial codes below, replace<Voxworks number> with the Voxworks number assigned to your receptionist or script.
Choose a forwarding mode
There are two ways to forward, matching the When to forward options in the app:
In Only when unanswered mode on a mobile, calls divert after roughly 15 seconds of ringing by default. You can also optionally divert calls when your phone is busy or out of coverage, so no scenario falls through to carrier voicemail.
Two notes apply to almost every setup:
- Charges — the forwarded leg of each call may be billed to your account depending on your plan. Check with your carrier.
- Prepaid plans — many prepaid plans don’t support conditional (no-answer) forwarding, including Vodafone prepaid, amaysim, Kogan, and felix. If a code is rejected, check with your carrier.
Mobile phones
The GSM diversion codes below are standard across Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone mobiles, so they also work on most other Australian mobile carriers. Open your phone’s dialler, enter the code, and press call.Forward all calls
You should see a confirmation on screen that call forwarding is active. This code works the same on Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, and most other carriers.
Only when unanswered
Dialling all three “turn on” codes gives you complete coverage: missed, busy, and unreachable calls all go to your receptionist instead of voicemail.
Choosing how long your phone rings first
- Telstra — rings for 15 seconds by default before diverting. To choose a different ring time (5–30 seconds, in steps of 5), dial
**61*<Voxworks number>**20#, replacing20with the number of seconds you want. - Optus — same syntax:
**61*<Voxworks number>**20#sets the ring time (5–30 seconds). - Vodafone — the ring time before diverting is fixed at 15 seconds and can’t be changed with a dial code. Contact Vodafone if you need a different delay.
Cancelling every diversion at once
To remove all diversions on a mobile service in one go — forward-all, no-answer, busy, and unreachable — dial:##002#
This is useful if you’ve experimented with several codes and want a clean slate.
Landlines
Landline codes are similar to the mobile ones but omit the second*. Pick up the handset, wait for dial tone, and dial the code. Listen for the confirmation tone, then hang up.
Landline diversion codes can vary between providers. If a code is rejected:
- Check your provider’s feature-code list, or
- Ask them to enable Call Forward Immediate (for forward-all) or Call Forward No Answer (for unanswered) on your service.
PBX / VoIP systems
Office phone systems (3CX, Cisco, Yealink, hosted VoIP, and similar) don’t use dial codes — forwarding is set in the system’s admin portal. Exact menus differ between systems, but your system administrator or provider can apply this in minutes.Forward all calls
- Log in to your phone system’s admin portal (or ask whoever manages it).
- Find the call routing / call forwarding settings for your main number and set “Forward all calls” (sometimes called Call Forward Always or Immediate) to your Voxworks number.
- Save and place a test call to your main number to confirm your receptionist answers.
Only when unanswered (overflow)
- Log in to your phone system’s admin portal (or ask whoever manages it).
- Set the “Forward on no answer” / overflow destination of your main number, ring group, or hunt group to your Voxworks number.
- Choose how long calls ring internally before overflowing (15–20 seconds works well), then save.
- Place a test call and let it ring out to confirm your receptionist picks up.
Turning forwarding off
When you no longer want calls diverting to Voxworks:- Mobile — dial
#21#to remove forward-all,#61#to remove the no-answer diversion, or##002#to cancel every diversion on the service at once. - Landline — pick up the handset and dial
#21#or#61#. - PBX / VoIP — remove or disable the forwarding destination in your system’s admin portal.
Testing and troubleshooting
After setting up forwarding, call your existing business number from another phone:- In Forward all calls mode, your receptionist should answer immediately with her greeting.
- In Only when unanswered mode, let it ring out — the call should divert after the ring time and your receptionist should pick up.
- The call then appears in your Call Log and on the receptionist’s Calls tab like any other inbound call.
Next Steps
- Receptionist Number & Call Forwarding — assign a Voxworks number to your receptionist and use the in-app instruction generator.
- Phone Numbers — claim a Voxworks number, name it, and assign the script that answers it.
- Service Addresses & Regulatory Verification — the service address every assigned number needs.
- AI Receptionist Overview & Quickstart — set up a receptionist from zero to Ready.