How to forward your business calls to PhoneBot

Forwarding your calls to PhoneBot takes about a minute, and you don't change your number or your phone to do it. You simply tell your network to divert calls you can't take to your PhoneBot number, and from then on the bot answers, captures the lead, and sends it straight to you.

Step 1: keep your own number

Nothing about your existing number changes. Customers still ring the same number on your van, your website and your Google listing. All you're doing is setting up a divert so that calls you don't pick up roll over to a dedicated PhoneBot number instead of going dead or to voicemail.

When you sign up, you're given that PhoneBot number. Have it to hand before you start — you'll type it into the divert in place of YOURNUMBER below. If you're not sure where to find it, see how it works.

Choose how calls roll over

There are three ways to send calls to PhoneBot. Pick the one that suits how you work:

After hours / when you don't answer. The call rings your phone first (about 30 seconds), and only diverts if you don't pick up or your phone is off. You catch the calls you can; PhoneBot catches the rest. This is the most popular setup.
Always. Every call goes straight to PhoneBot. Handy to switch on at the end of the day, over the weekend, or when you're on a job and can't take calls at all.
A menu option. If you have a phone system with a menu ("press 1 for sales…"), you can point one option at your PhoneBot number.

The codes (mobile)

On any mobile, you set up a divert with short dial codes. These are a network standard, so they work the same on iPhone and Android and on every Irish network — Vodafone, Three, eir, and resellers like Tesco Mobile, Lyca, Virgin, 48 and GoMo.

Open your phone keypad, type the code with your PhoneBot number in the middle, and press call. You'll see a confirmation message.

Forward when you don't answer (rings ~30s first): dial **61*YOURNUMBER**30#
Forward when your line is busy: dial **67*YOURNUMBER#
Forward every call: dial **21*YOURNUMBER#

Replace YOURNUMBER with your PhoneBot number (no spaces). For the "no answer" and "busy" diverts, set up both so calls roll over whether you're already on a call or just can't get to the phone.

On Three, you can also dial 1913 to manage diverts if you prefer.

Landlines & phone systems

The mobile codes above don't apply to landlines, VoIP lines or office phone systems — common in clinics, salons and offices. Instead, you set the divert in your provider's settings or your phone system:

VoIP or hosted line: log into your provider's portal and add a forward (or "failover" / "no answer") rule pointing to your PhoneBot number.
Phone system / PBX (e.g. 3CX, RingCentral): edit your call-flow or after-hours rule and route unanswered or out-of-hours calls to PhoneBot.
Traditional landline: many eir and other landline plans support call divert — check your plan or ask your provider to enable it.

Turning it off

Switching a divert off is just as quick. On mobile, dial the matching cancel code:

Turn off "no answer" divert: dial ##61#
Turn off "busy" divert: dial ##67#
Turn off "forward every call": dial ##21#

This is the one to remember if you use the Always divert at end of day — dial ##21# in the morning and your phone rings as normal again. On a landline or phone system, just remove the rule you added in your provider's settings.

Not sure? We'll do it with you

If you'd rather not poke around with codes, you don't have to. PhoneBot will set the divert up with you over the phone — we'll tell you the exact code for your number or walk through your provider's settings together. It takes a couple of minutes and you only do it once.

That's the whole job: keep your number, pick how calls roll over, and dial one short code. From that moment, no missed call goes to waste — every one is answered, logged and sent to you. See pricing to get started, with your first 3 hours free.