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Setting up call forwarding to your CallEquip AI voice agent is straightforward, but the exact steps depend on your phone system and how you want your agent to handle calls. This guide covers the three main configuration options and provides step-by-step instructions for popular phone systems.

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Choosing Your Call Handling Strategy

Before configuring call forwarding, decide how you want your AI agent to work with your existing phone setup. CallEquip supports three primary configurations:

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Option 1: Answer Every Call (Primary Line)

Best for: Businesses that want consistent, professional call handling for all incoming calls. With this setup, your CallEquip phone number becomes your primary business line. All calls go directly to your AI agent, which can:
  • Answer immediately with your custom greeting
  • Provide information about your equipment and pricing
  • Schedule callbacks when customers need to speak with a person
  • Collect customer information and rental requests
How to set it up:
  1. Use your CallEquip phone number as your main business number
  2. Update your website, business cards, and marketing materials with the new number
  3. Optionally, set up your old number to forward to CallEquip as a backup

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Option 2: Replace Voicemail (Unanswered Call Forwarding)

Best for: Businesses that want to answer calls personally when available, but have AI handle missed calls instead of voicemail. This configuration forwards calls to your AI agent only when you can’t answer. Instead of going to a generic voicemail, customers get a helpful AI assistant that can:
  • Answer questions about your business
  • Take detailed messages with context
  • Provide pricing and availability information
  • Schedule callbacks for specific times
How to set it up: Configure your phone system to forward calls to your CallEquip number when:
  • The line is busy
  • There’s no answer after a set number of rings
  • The phone is unreachable (no signal/turned off)

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Option 3: After-Hours Only

Best for: Businesses with set operating hours that want 24/7 coverage without the cost of after-hours staff. Your AI agent only handles calls outside your business hours. During operating hours, calls go to your team as usual. How to set it up: Configure time-based call forwarding in your phone system to route calls to CallEquip outside your business hours.

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Phone System Setup Instructions

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Unanswered Call Forwarding (Voicemail Replacement)

  1. Pick up your phone and dial *92
  2. Enter your CallEquip phone number (include area code)
  3. Press #
  4. Hang up when you hear confirmation tone
To deactivate: Dial *93

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All Call Forwarding

  1. Pick up your phone and dial *72
  2. Enter your CallEquip phone number
  3. Wait for confirmation tone or the call to connect
  4. Hang up
To deactivate: Dial *73

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Busy/No Answer Forwarding

  1. Dial *71
  2. Enter your CallEquip phone number
  3. Press #
  4. Listen for confirmation tone
To deactivate: Dial *73

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All Call Forwarding

  1. Dial *72
  2. Enter your CallEquip phone number
  3. Wait for confirmation
  4. Hang up
To deactivate: Dial *73

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Conditional Forwarding (No Answer/Busy/Unreachable)

No Answer:
  1. Dial **61* followed by your CallEquip number
  2. Add # at the end
  3. Press call
Busy:
  1. Dial **67* followed by your CallEquip number
  2. Add # at the end
  3. Press call
Unreachable:
  1. Dial **62* followed by your CallEquip number
  2. Add # at the end
  3. Press call
  1. Log in to your RingCentral admin portal
  2. Go to Phone System > Call Handling
  3. Select the user or extension to configure
  4. Under Unanswered Calls, select “Forward to external number”
  5. Enter your CallEquip phone number
  6. Set the number of rings before forwarding (we recommend 4-5 rings)
  7. Save changes
  1. Log in to your 8x8 admin console
  2. Navigate to Users and select the user
  3. Click on Call Forwarding
  4. Enable “Forward calls when busy” and/or “Forward calls when unanswered”
  5. Enter your CallEquip phone number
  6. Save settings
  1. Access your Vonage admin portal
  2. Go to Phone Numbers > Call Handling
  3. Select “Forward to external number” for unanswered calls
  4. Enter your CallEquip phone number
  5. Configure ring duration before forwarding
  6. Save changes
  1. Log in to Cisco Unified CM Administration
  2. Navigate to Call Routing > Call Forward
  3. Configure the following as needed:
    • Forward No Answer: Enter CallEquip number
    • Forward Busy: Enter CallEquip number
    • Forward All: Enter CallEquip number (for after-hours via schedule)
  4. Set the No Answer Ring Duration (15-20 seconds recommended)
  5. Apply changes
  1. Access IP Office Manager
  2. Select the extension to configure
  3. Go to the Forwarding tab
  4. Configure:
    • Forward On Busy: Check and enter CallEquip number
    • Forward On No Answer: Check and enter CallEquip number
    • Forward Hunt Group Calls: Enable if using hunt groups
  5. Set the No Answer Time (4-5 rings)
  6. Save configuration
  1. Open Microsoft Teams Admin Center
  2. Go to Voice > Calling Policies
  3. Edit or create a policy for your users
  4. Under Call Forwarding and Simultaneous Ring, enable external forwarding
  5. For individual users:
    • Have them go to Settings > Calls
    • Select “Forward my calls”
    • Choose “If unanswered” or “Always”
    • Enter your CallEquip phone number
  6. Save settings
  1. Log in to your Grasshopper account
  2. Go to Settings > Extensions
  3. Select the extension to configure
  4. Under Call Forwarding, add your CallEquip number
  5. Configure:
    • Ring Time: 20-25 seconds before forwarding
    • Forward Mode: Sequential (try other numbers first) or direct
  6. Save changes
  1. Open Google Voice settings at voice.google.com
  2. Click the gear icon for Settings
  3. Select Calls tab
  4. Under “Forward calls to linked numbers,” add your CallEquip number
  5. Configure voicemail settings to forward to CallEquip instead
  6. Save changes

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Setting Up Time-Based (After-Hours) Forwarding

Many phone systems support scheduling different call handling based on time of day. Here’s how to set it up for after-hours AI coverage:

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General Approach

  1. Define your business hours in your phone system
  2. Create two call handling rules:
    • During business hours: Ring your main lines
    • Outside business hours: Forward to CallEquip
  3. Test the configuration by calling during and outside business hours

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RingCentral Time-Based Rules

  1. Go to Phone System > Call Handling > Custom Rules
  2. Click “Add Rule”
  3. Set schedule (e.g., “After 6 PM and before 8 AM, and weekends”)
  4. Set action: “Forward to external number”
  5. Enter your CallEquip phone number
  6. Save and activate the rule

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8x8 Business Hours Forwarding

  1. In admin console, go to Auto Attendant
  2. Create separate greetings for business hours and after hours
  3. Configure after-hours routing to forward to CallEquip
  4. Set your business hours schedule
  5. Save configuration

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Tips for Success

Test Your Setup

After configuring, test thoroughly:
  • Call from a different phone during business hours
  • Let it ring until it forwards (for unanswered forwarding)
  • Call after hours (for time-based forwarding)
  • Verify the AI agent answers with your custom greeting

Configure Your Agent

Make sure your CallEquip agent is properly configured:
  • Set up a clear, professional welcome message
  • Upload your equipment catalog for accurate pricing
  • Configure your website URL for business info lookups
  • Set up email notifications for callback requests

Monitor and Optimize

Use your CallEquip dashboard to:
  • Review call transcripts for quality
  • Track common customer questions
  • Identify opportunities to improve your agent
  • Monitor callback request volume

Inform Your Team

Let your staff know about the new setup:
  • Explain which calls the AI agent will handle
  • Show them how to access call transcripts
  • Provide training on following up with AI-handled inquiries

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Need Help?

If you’re having trouble setting up call forwarding, our support team is here to help: We can also schedule a call to walk you through the setup process for your specific phone system.