Call Forwarding is a telephony capability that dynamically routes incoming calls to alternate destinations based on user availability and presence status.
By configuring forwarding rules, administrators establish call coverage policies that ensure calls to extensions and dedicated PSTN lines reach a configured destination, whether users are unavailable due to physical absence, explicitly marked as busy, logged out, offline, or handling other interactions.
Call Forwarding responds to multiple availability conditions: when users are on vacation or in meetings (Call Forward All), when they are already on a call or have declined an incoming call (Call Forward Busy), or when they don’t answer within a configurable timeout (Call Forward No Answer).
This multi-layered approach ensures that calls are routed to appropriate destinations, such as a mobile number, a colleague, a team queue, or voicemail. It prevents calls from failing regardless of the reason for user unavailability.
Understanding Call Forwarding
Call Forwarding applies exclusively to calls arriving on extensions or dedicated PSTN lines—not to calls distributed through the contact center assignment system. The voice platform evaluates incoming calls against a hierarchy of forwarding rules, determining when to redirect to a backup destination or forward directly based on user availability and configuration.
The objective of this guide is to provide administrators with the foundational knowledge to configure and manage call forwarding behaviors within the Talkdesk Voice Platform, supporting various organizational scenarios where call coverage and availability are critical.
Key Features
- Call Forward All (CFA): Automatically directs all incoming calls to a designated destination without ringing the user’s devices. Ideal for planned absences, vacation coverage, or when users are offline or explicitly marked unavailable.
- Call Forward Busy (CFB): Routes calls to an alternate destination when the user is unavailable, has declined an incoming call, is already on another call, or has reached the maximum concurrent call threshold.
- Call Forward No Answer (CFNA): Redirects calls to a backup destination after a configurable ringing timeout, accommodating brief absences or periods of unavailability without manual intervention.
- Flexible Destinations: Forward to extensions, inter-site extensions, external PSTN numbers, or voicemail.
- Redirecting Number Options: Control whether the original caller’s number or the forwarding user’s number is presented to the destination.
- Forward Chaining Prevention: Automatic safeguards prevent infinite call loops by limiting consecutive forwards to a maximum of 5 per call.
Use Cases
- Planned Coverage: A user is attending training or on vacation. CFA is configured to route their calls to a manager or backup team member.
- After-Hours Service: Configure CFNA with extended ring timeouts to capture calls during business hours, then forward them to voicemail after hours.
- Shared Reception Line Coverage: A dedicated PSTN line assigned to a shared reception device is configured with CFB to route busy calls to a backup receptionist, and CFNA to route unanswered calls to voicemail.
- Hybrid Work Flexibility: A remote worker can forward calls to their mobile PSTN number, maintaining responsiveness regardless of physical location.
Important Considerations
- Scope Limitation: Call Forwarding applies only to calls arriving on user extensions and dedicated PSTN lines. It does not apply to calls delivered by the contact center assignment system; the contact center routing engine exclusively manages redistribution for queue-delivered calls.
- Presence-Based Activation: Call Forwarding policies are triggered based on user presence and availability status—including when users are busy, logged out, explicitly marked as busy, or when they don’t answer within configured timeouts.
- Forward Chaining Limits: Consecutive forwards are limited to a maximum of 5 per call. Exceeding this limit results in a fast busy signal to the originating caller.
- Call Waiting Interaction: Call Forwarding and Call Waiting interact based on configuration: CFB is triggered when a user is on an active call (if Call Waiting is disabled); if Call Waiting is enabled, the incoming call alerts the user, who can choose to accept, hold, or decline. Ringing Preference settings also influence how devices ring when a second call arrives.
Enabling Call Forwarding for a User
To configure Call Forwarding settings for a user, follow these steps:
- Log in to Workspace -> Admin [1] > Users [2].
- Select the specified user [3].
Click on the Telephony [4] tab > Click on the Edit [5] button.
- Under the Call forwarding section, select the Enabled [1] radio button. This reveals the settings menu where you can choose the forwarding type and configure its associated options.
- Select All [2] as the forwarding type to route every incoming call unconditionally. Choose one of the following destinations:
- Voicemail [3]: Sends the call directly to the user's voicemail (if enabled).
- Number [4]: Routes the call to a specified internal extension or an external phone number (PSTN).
- Choose the Redirecting Number [5], the Caller ID that will be displayed to the recipient at the forwarding destination.
Call Forward - Conditional
- Select Conditional [1] as the forwarding type to route incoming calls to an alternate destination only when specific criteria (such as Busy or No Answer) are met.
- Configure the Busy settings to route calls when the user is already on another call:
- Select Busy [2].
- Choose the Forward Destination [3].
- Select the Redirecting Number [4] to determine the Caller ID that will be displayed to the recipient.
- Configure the No Answer settings to route calls when the user does not answer:
- Select No Answer [5].
- Set the Ringing Timeout [6] to define how long the call should ring before forwarding.
- Choose the Forward Destination [7] where the call will be routed.
- Select the Redirecting Number [8] to determine the Caller ID that will be displayed to the recipient.
Note: When a user has multiple devices registered to their extension, the ringing timeout is controlled by their Ringing Preference settings. Ringing Preference coordinates all devices and takes precedence in determining device-level ringing behavior. Refer to the Ringing Preference documentation for more information.
Troubleshooting: "Voicemail is not configured" Error
If you encounter a "Voicemail is not configured" [1] error when selecting Voicemail as your forwarding destination, ensure that Personal voicemail [2] is enabled for the user.