Call forwarding codes for every Canadian carrier (2026)
Every missed-call recovery setup in Canada comes down to one dial code typed correctly once. This is the reference we wish existed when we started wiring up contractors' phones: the conditional call-forwarding codes for every major Canadian carrier, what the codes actually do, and the traps that make owners think "it doesn't work on my phone."
The codes below are the GSM standard family that Canadian mobile networks run on, cross-checked against carrier documentation — Rogers' call-forwarding support page, TELUS' mobile call-forward article, Freedom Mobile's support docs — and against what actually works on customer phones we've set up. Carriers occasionally change behavior without updating their docs, so if a code errors, the troubleshooting section at the bottom is for you.
Conditional vs. unconditional — use the right kind
Unconditional forwarding (*21*number#, or *72 on many landlines) sends every call away immediately. Your phone never rings. For a service business this is almost never what you want — you lose the chance to answer at all.
Conditional forwarding only redirects the calls you didn't take:
| Condition | Activate | Deactivate | Check status |
|---|---|---|---|
| No answer | *61*<number># | #61# | *#61# |
| Line busy | *67*<number># | #67# | *#67# |
| Unreachable (phone off / no signal) | *62*<number># | #62# | *#62# |
| All three at once | *004*<number># | ##004# | — |
Dial the code like a phone call — enter it in the dialer and press call. A confirmation banner or message appears when the network accepts it. Your phone still rings first on every call; the forward only fires when the ring goes unanswered, the line is busy, or the phone is off. That's the behavior missed-call text-back is built on.
Codes by carrier
The Canadian networks are all GSM-standard, so *61*number# is the near-universal answer. The differences are in ring-timer syntax and which flanker brands share which network.