How to Forward Calls from Landline to Ringing.io
Use the classic *72 (activate) and *73 (deactivate) star codes to forward your traditional copper landline to your Ringing.io number. Works on most residential and small-business landlines in the US and Canada.
This guide covers traditional POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) copper landlines — the kind you still find with AT&T Home Phone, CenturyLink, Frontier, Consolidated, Windstream, Bell Canada, Telus, and similar legacy providers. If your "landline" is actually a cable / fibre / VoIP service from Comcast Xfinity Voice, Spectrum, Verizon Fios Digital Voice, AT&T U-verse Voice, Cox, Optimum, or similar, the *72 code usually works from the handset BUT advanced features (busy / no-answer / time-of-day) are configured through that provider's web portal — check the provider's dedicated page.
Forward every call to Ringing.io
Send 100% of incoming landline calls to your Ringing.io number — your landline phone never rings.
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Lift the receiver and wait for a clear dial tone
Pick up the handset on any phone connected to the landline. You should hear a steady dial tone — if you hear a "stutter" tone, that usually means voicemail has new messages, but you can still activate forwarding.
- 2
Dial *72
On a touch-tone phone, press *72 (star-seven-two). On a rotary phone (rare), the equivalent is 1172.
*72 - 3
Dial your full 10-digit Ringing.io number
Immediately after the *72, dial your Ringing.io number including area code (no spaces, no dashes). Some carriers require a leading 1 — if 10 digits fails, try 1 + 10 digits.
*72 + [10-digit Ringing.io number] - 4
Wait for the confirmation
Most carriers (AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink) require that the forwarded number actually answer at least once for forwarding to be considered "armed". If Ringing.io picks up and you hear the AI greeting, forwarding is set. Hang up. On some carriers you instead get two short beeps and forwarding is active without a test call.
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Test it
Call your landline from another phone (mobile is fine). It should ring through to Ringing.io. Your landline phone should not ring at all.
How to undo: Lift the receiver, listen for dial tone, and dial *73 (star-seven-three). You should hear two short confirmation tones. Forwarding stops immediately and your landline rings normally again.
Note: On many traditional landlines, call forwarding must be a feature included in your service plan. If *72 does nothing or returns a fast busy / "service not subscribed" message, call your provider and ask them to add Call Forwarding to your line — it is typically a few dollars per month or free with a bundle.
Forward only when you miss the call (busy or no-answer)
Your landline rings first. If nobody answers or the line is busy, the call is forwarded to Ringing.io instead of going to voicemail.
- 1
Lift the receiver and listen for dial tone
Pick up the handset on any phone connected to the landline.
- 2
Dial *71 and your Ringing.io number
Press *71 followed by your full 10-digit Ringing.io number. *71 is the traditional landline code for "remote access call forwarding" or conditional forwarding (busy / no-answer) on most providers including Verizon, CenturyLink, and Bell.
*71 + [10-digit Ringing.io number] - 3
Wait for confirmation
You should hear two short confirmation tones, or the call may briefly ring through to Ringing.io to confirm. Hang up.
How to undo: Dial *73 from the landline. *73 clears most forwarding rules on traditional POTS lines, including both *72 (unconditional) and *71 (conditional). Some providers use a separate code such as *83 or *87 for clearing only conditional forwarding — check your bill or call your provider if *73 does not clear it.
Note: *71 is not universal — AT&T traditional landline uses *71 for "Three-Way Calling" rather than conditional forwarding, and instead uses *68 or *40 for "Call Forwarding Busy" / "Call Forwarding No Answer" on some plans. If *71 does not behave as expected on your line, look at your provider's feature-access code sheet (most providers publish one as a PDF) or call customer service and ask for "the conditional call forwarding code".
After-hours only (recommended approach)
Traditional landlines almost never support time-of-day scheduling natively. Here is the practical approach.
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Recommended — publish your Ringing.io number
Put your Ringing.io number on your website, Google Business Profile, business cards, and signage. Configure your business hours inside Ringing.io. The AI will route in-hours calls to your landline (Ringing.io can transfer to the landline number) and handle after-hours calls itself. This requires zero changes to your landline and gives you a proper schedule that you can edit on the fly.
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Manual alternative — toggle *72 at end of day
If your landline number is already widely published and you can't change it quickly, manually dial *72 + your Ringing.io number at end-of-day, and *73 in the morning. Some landline phones with programmable buttons can store the *72-plus-number string for one-touch activation.
- 3
Premium option — ask your provider about Selective Call Forwarding
A handful of providers (CenturyLink, some Bell Canada packages, business-tier AT&T POTS) offer a "Selective Call Forwarding" or "Time-of-Day routing" add-on for $5-15/month. If you only need a simple in-hours / out-of-hours split, the Ringing.io-as-published-number approach is simpler and free, but the carrier feature is worth knowing about.
How to undo: For the manual approach, *73 turns forwarding off at any time. For the Ringing.io-as-published-number approach, edit your business hours in the Ringing.io dashboard — no landline action needed.
Official Landline documentation
Provider settings change over time. If something on this page does not match what you see on Landline, the official sources below are the source of truth.
Related forwarding guides
Switching providers, or just configuring more than one line? These are the most common neighbours of Landline.
Spectrum Business
Forward your Spectrum Business Voice line to Ringing.io with *72 or from the Spectrum Business Voice Manager. Setup takes about a minute.
Comcast Business
Forward your Comcast Business Voice or VoiceEdge line to Ringing.io with star codes or from the My Account / VoiceEdge portal.
Cox Business
Forward your Cox Business VoiceManager or IP Centrex line to Ringing.io with *72 or from the Cox Business MyAccount portal.
Android
Forward calls from any Android phone to Ringing.io — either through the Phone app settings (Google Phone / Samsung Phone) or with universal GSM star codes.
Frequently asked questions
Does my landline plan include call forwarding?
Most modern landline plans include basic *72 / *73 forwarding by default, but a small number of legacy / "metered" plans treat it as a paid add-on at $3-7/month. Try dialling *72 followed by a 10-digit number — if you get a fast busy or a "this feature is not subscribed" message, call your provider and ask to add Call Forwarding to your line.
Will my forwarded calls use minutes or cost extra?
Yes — the call from your landline to Ringing.io is treated as an outgoing call from the landline. On most flat-rate residential landlines this is free (unlimited US calling is standard). On a few "measured" or pay-per-minute landlines, forwarded calls will add to your usage charges. Since Ringing.io provides a US number, it counts as a domestic call on every plan.
Why do I need the forwarded number to answer the first time?
It's a fraud-prevention feature on most copper landline networks (AT&T, CenturyLink, Verizon traditional). Forwarding only "arms" once the destination number actually answers a call from your landline. Ringing.io always answers, so this is automatic — just place the *72 call and let the AI pick up.
Can I forward my landline to an international number?
Most traditional landline carriers restrict call forwarding to numbers within the same country (US-to-US or Canada-to-Canada). Your Ringing.io number is a North American number so this is not an issue, but it means you cannot use *72 to forward overseas. Some providers also restrict forwarding to numbers within the same local calling area on legacy plans.
I have Comcast Xfinity Voice / Spectrum Voice / Verizon Fios — does *72 work?
For basic unconditional forwarding, yes — *72 and *73 work from the handset on most cable / fibre VoIP services. For anything more advanced (busy / no-answer rules, scheduled forwarding) you should use the provider's web portal or mobile app, which gives you a proper UI and time-of-day rules. Check the dedicated guide for your specific provider if available.
Will my landline still ring when *72 forwarding is active?
No. Unconditional *72 forwarding sends every call straight to the forward destination without ringing your landline. On some providers, the landline may give a single brief "courtesy ring" to alert you that a call is being forwarded — but you cannot pick up that call from the landline. To take calls locally again, dial *73.
How do I check if call forwarding is currently active on my landline?
There is no universal status code on traditional landlines. The reliable test is to call your landline from another phone — if your landline does not ring and the call reaches Ringing.io instead, forwarding is on. As a safe default, you can always dial *73 to deactivate — it is harmless if nothing was active.
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Last verified against Landline's official documentation: 2026-05-20. Provider procedures change over time — if this guide is out of date, email support@ringing.io and we will refresh it.