On a Verizon line, *73 dialled on its own turns call forwarding off. It cancels both *72 unconditional forwarding and *71 no-answer forwarding, so you do not need to know which was set. It is a carrier star code rather than a GSM code, so it is handled by Verizon and by carriers using its network, and is usually rejected elsewhere.

Why did *73 not work on my phone?

The most common reason is that your carrier does not use star codes. On AT&T, T-Mobile and most networks in the United Kingdom, Canada and India, forwarding is controlled by GSM codes, and *73 is not one of them, so the dialler tries to place a call and the attempt fails. Use ##002# on those lines instead. The other causes are dialling from a phone other than the forwarded line, typing digits after the code, picking the wrong SIM on a dual-SIM phone, having no signal, and calls that were going to voicemail rather than being forwarded.

What does ##004# mean?

##004# is an erase instruction. The ## prefix means erase, and 004 is the code for the conditional forwarding set, so ##004# removes all three conditional rules at once: forward when unanswered, forward when busy and forward when unreachable. It does not touch always-on forwarding, which is cleared with ##21#.

Why does my phone say Conditional Call Forwarding Active?

It means at least one conditional rule is set on the line. On most lines the destination is the carrier's own voicemail box, because that routing is how voicemail works on a mobile network, and the carrier set it when the line was activated. The message is a routing status, not a security warning.

On a Verizon line, *71 followed immediately by a 10-digit destination number forwards only the calls you do not answer. Your handset rings first. *72 followed by a destination forwards every call, and *73 on its own cancels either of them.

What is the call forwarding code for US Cellular?

US Cellular is one of the United States carriers with CDMA heritage, so forwarding on those lines is set with the carrier's own star codes rather than the GSM codes, and the GSM status codes may return nothing. The codes a specific line and plan support are the carrier's to publish, so check the US Cellular support site or ask their customer service rather than copying a star code from a page about a different network.

Is there one code that cancels every forwarding rule?

On networks that use the GSM codes, ##002# erases every forwarding rule on the line at once, both the always-on rule and the conditional set. It also erases the rule that sends unanswered calls to voicemail, so voicemail may stop working until the carrier restores the default routing.

Are the status codes safe to dial?

Yes. A code starting with *# asks the network a question and sets nothing, so *#21#, *#004#, *#61#, *#67# and *#62# can be dialled as often as you like. The codes that change the line start with **, *, # or ##.

Why did the reply say registered when I was trying to cancel?

Because digits after a cancel code turn it into a request to set a rule rather than remove one. A cancel code stands alone: nothing after it, no destination number, no spaces. If the reply says registered rather than erased or deactivated, dial the cancel code again on its own.

Call Forwarding Codes: What You Dialled, and How to Undo It

Q: What is the difference between ##004# and *#004#?

Two characters change what the code does. *#004# interrogates: it asks the network which conditional rules are set and names the destination, and changes nothing. ##004# erases those rules. If your phone replied Conditional Call Forwarding Active, that was the answer to the question, not the result of an erase.

By OsmO AI Team October 16, 2026 7 min read

Find your code below. Column one is what you typed, column two is what it did to your line, column three is the code that reverses it. Two characters at the front decide everything: ** sets a rule, ## erases one, and *# only asks — so a code starting *# has changed nothing at all.

The codes that change something

You dialled	What it did	To undo it
*73	Verizon-style star code. Turned call forwarding off on the line — both the always-on kind and the no-answer kind.	Nothing to undo. To forward again, dial 72 or 71 plus the destination.
*72 + number	Verizon-style. Sent every incoming call to that number. Your handset may not ring at all.	*73 on its own
*71 + number	Verizon-style. Sent only the calls you don’t answer to that number. Your handset rings first.	*73 on its own
##002#	Erased every forwarding rule on the line, the always-on one and all three conditional ones — including the rule that sends missed calls to voicemail.	Set back what you wanted, or ask your carrier to restore the default voicemail routing.
##004#	Erased the three conditional rules together: unanswered, busy, unreachable. Left always-on forwarding alone.	**004*number#, or ask your carrier to restore voicemail routing.
##21#	Erased always-on forwarding only. Conditional rules untouched.	**21*number#
##61# · ##67# · ##62#	Erased one condition each: unanswered, busy, unreachable.	**61* · **67* · **62* plus number and #
**21*number#	Set always-on forwarding to that number.	##21#
**004*number#	Set all three conditional rules to that number in one go.	##004#
#21# · #004# (one hash)	Switched the rule off but kept it stored, destination and all. Not the same as erasing it.	Switch it back on with 21# or 004#; erase it for good with ##21# or ##004#.

The codes that only ask

These are safe. A code beginning *# interrogates the network: it reports what is currently set and changes nothing, so you can dial it as often as you like while you work out what happened.

You dialled	What the reply tells you
*#21#	Whether always-on forwarding is set, and the destination number.
*#004#	Whether any of the three conditional rules are set, and where they point. This is the code whose reply reads “Conditional Call Forwarding Active”.
*#61#	The unanswered-calls rule on its own.
*#67#	The busy rule on its own.
*#62#	The unreachable rule — phone off, Airplane Mode, no signal.
*#002#	All of the above in one reply, where the network supports it.

If you only came here to check: dial *#21#, then *#004#, and read both replies. Between them they cover every forwarding rule on the line, and neither one sets or removes anything.

Phone › Keypad

*#004#Asks only — sets nothing, erases nothing

Dialling…

“Conditional call forwarding active. Forward to voicemail.”

That is the answer to your question, not a warning.

Phone › Keypad

##004#Erases all three conditional rules

Dialling…

“Erasure was successful.”

Reply said “registered”?You typed digits after the code, so it set a rule instead

The same three digits, two characters apart. Left asks and reports; right erases. Reply wording differs by network, handset and region — an illustration, not a screenshot.

How to read any code you find

You do not have to memorise a list. A forwarding code is a prefix plus a service number, and the prefix is the verb.

Starts with	It means	Example
**	Register — set this rule to this destination.	**21*number#
*	Activate a rule that is already stored.	*21#
#	Deactivate, but keep the destination stored.	#21#
##	Erase — remove the rule and its destination.	##21#
*#	Interrogate — ask, change nothing.	*#21#
* + two digits, no hash	Not a GSM code at all. It is a carrier’s own star code, and only that carrier answers it.	*73

And the service numbers are just as short: 21 is always-on forwarding, 61 unanswered, 67 busy, 62 unreachable, 004 all three conditional rules together, and 002 everything. So ##62# reads as erase the unreachable rule, and nothing more needs looking up.

*73Verizon’s cancel code. Cancels both *72 and *71.Verizon call forwarding FAQs

##002#Erases every forwarding rule on a line that uses the GSM codes.AT&T call forwarding support

*#004#Asks the network which conditional rules are set, and where they point.Apple and carrier support pages

“I dialled the code and nothing happened”

This is why people end up searching the same code twice. A failed code rarely tells you it failed — you get a blank reply, an instant “call ended”, or a message so brief it reads like success. Work down this list in order; the first two are the ones worth ruling out before you try anything else.

Your carrier does not use that family of codes. This is the whole story behind *73 not working. *73 is a carrier star code with CDMA heritage, not a GSM supplementary-service code. On AT&T, T-Mobile and most networks in the UK, Canada and India, the dialler treats *73 as a number to call, the call fails, and nothing on your line changes. Use ##002# there. The reverse is true too: on a Verizon line the GSM status codes often return nothing readable, which looks identical to a code that was ignored.
You dialled it on the wrong phone, or the wrong SIM. A forwarding code is a request sent from the line it affects. Dialling it on a spare handset changes nothing on yours, and on a dual-SIM phone the rule on the other line is untouched — which looks exactly like a rule that refuses to die.
You typed something after a cancel code. Cancel and status codes stand alone: no destination, no spaces, no extra digits. Digits after ##004# turn an erase into a register, which is why the reply sometimes says “registered” when you were trying to remove something. Likewise a stray digit before the star — the kind of thing that happens when a code is pasted into the keypad — makes it an ordinary phone number.
You had no signal. The code is a message to the network, not a setting on the handset. Dialled in a dead spot or in Airplane Mode it never arrives, and the on-screen reply can still look inconclusive.
Nothing was forwarding in the first place. If unanswered calls were going to your voicemail, that is voicemail doing its job. Depending on the network it may or may not be a forwarding rule, and a cancel code may leave it exactly as it was.
It is a managed line. On a business line administered by an employer, forwarding can be set centrally, where a code dialled on the handset will not override it. That is a question for whoever runs the account.

A blank reply is information. If both *#21# and *#004# come back empty or unreadable on your line, you are almost certainly on a carrier that uses its own star codes. Stop trying codes from forums and open your carrier’s own page instead.

What ##004# means, and what “conditional call forwarding active” is telling you

Read the code in two halves. ## is erase. 004 is the shorthand for the three conditional rules as a set. So ##004# means: remove the rules that redirect my calls when I don’t answer, when I’m busy, and when I’m unreachable. It leaves always-on forwarding alone — that one is ##21#.

The phrase “Conditional Call Forwarding Active” is something different: it is the network’s answer. You see it as the reply to *#004#, or as a status banner your phone puts up after a restart, a SIM swap or a settings reset. It means one of those three rules exists on your line. It is not a warning, and it is not a sign that anybody has access to your phone.

On most lines, conditional forwarding is how voicemail works. Every phone with working voicemail has one.

That matters before you erase anything, because the destination is usually your own voicemail box. Your carrier pointed your unanswered, busy and unreachable calls there when the line was activated.

Check the destination first. Dial *#004# and read the number in the reply. If it is your carrier’s voicemail number, ##004# will take your voicemail with it and missed calls may ring out with nowhere to land. Your carrier can restore the default routing, but it is a phone call you would rather not make. If the destination is a number you don’t recognise, that is the one worth erasing — and worth asking the carrier how it got there.

The longer version, including why the banner turns up on a phone that has never shown it before: “Conditional Call Forwarding Active”, explained. If you simply want all of it gone, how to turn off call forwarding has the one-code route and the handset menus.

Which codes your carrier uses

There are two families, and a line answers one of them. Before you try a third code, find your network in this table and follow the link — a star code copied from a page about a different carrier usually just returns an error.

Network	Family	Where to look
Verizon (and Spectrum Mobile, which runs on it)	Star codes: 72, 71, *73	Verizon call forwarding guide
AT&T	GSM codes: **21, ##21#, ##004#*	AT&T call forwarding guide
T-Mobile	GSM codes	T-Mobile: Call forwarding
US Cellular	The carrier’s own star codes; GSM status codes may return nothing	US Cellular support
UK networks	GSM codes, and most also show forwarding in the handset menu	Divert calls in the UK
Any iPhone	Settings toggle for always-on; keypad codes for the rest	Call forwarding on iPhone
Any Android	All four rules listed in the Phone app, one SIM at a time	Call forwarding for Android

The two families exist because US networks with CDMA heritage never adopted the GSM supplementary-service codes. Which options a specific line and plan carry is the carrier’s to answer, so treat their own support page as the authority and ask customer service if a code is rejected twice. Codes and menu wording were checked in October 2026.

How to see what is set on your line right now

Cancelling is one action and confirming is another, and they can disagree. Three minutes:

On the keypad of the line in question, dial *#21#. Read whether always-on forwarding is set, and to what.
Dial *#004#. Read whether any conditional rule is set, and to what. Between these two you have seen everything.
On a dual-SIM phone, switch SIM and repeat both. Each line keeps its own rules.
Ring your number from another phone and let it ring out without answering. Check where it landed. Your own voicemail, or nothing at all, means nothing unexpected is in the way.
If the status code and the test call disagree, believe the test call.

Key takeaways

The prefix is the verb: ** sets, # switches off, ## erases, *# only asks.
*73 is Verizon’s cancel code, not a GSM one. On AT&T, T-Mobile and most UK, Canadian and Indian networks it just fails.
##004# erases the three conditional rules. *#004# asks about them and is the code whose reply says “conditional call forwarding active”.
##002# clears everything — including the rule that sends missed calls to voicemail.
Dial from the line being forwarded, on the right SIM, with nothing typed after the code.
Read the destination with *#004# before you erase. On most lines it is your own voicemail.

Where the calls could go instead

Most people end up on a page like this for one of two reasons: a code did something they did not expect, or they wanted their missed calls to go somewhere more useful than a voicemail box they will never open. The second one is a routing question, not a code question.

Forwarding is a blind redirect: the call leaves, and you find out later, or not at all. Screening is the other way round — something answers first and tells you what the call was about, so you decide with the facts in front of you.

OsmO call-screening settings with options for off, unknown callers, or all callers and a Skip AI list exception. — OsmO’s screening settings: choose who gets questioned before your phone rings, and keep an exception list for the people who should always get straight through.

OsmO uses one of the rules on this page on purpose — the conditional one, for calls you don’t answer — but it points them at an AI assistant instead of a number you can’t hear. You keep your own number, your phone still rings first, and whatever you don’t pick up gets answered in a natural voice that asks who is calling and why, then texts you what was said. Automated spam tends to hang up on it rather than on you.

Worth knowing: if your phone started saying “Conditional Call Forwarding Active” shortly after you installed OsmO, that is the app’s forwarding rule, and ##004# or ##002# will stop calls reaching your assistant. OsmO won’t catch every spam call, and it is a separate app rather than a carrier setting. Setting forwarding up deliberately? See call forwarding on iPhone & Android.

Frequently asked questions

What does *73 do?

On a Verizon line, *73 dialled on its own turns call forwarding off, cancelling both *72 always-on forwarding and *71 no-answer forwarding. It is a carrier star code, so it is answered by Verizon and by carriers running on its network, and is usually rejected elsewhere.

Why didn’t *73 work?

Most often because your carrier uses the GSM codes instead, where *73 is not a code at all — the phone tries to call it and the attempt fails. Dial ##002# on those lines. The other causes: the wrong handset or SIM, digits typed after the code, no signal, and calls that were going to voicemail rather than being forwarded.

What does ##004# do?

It erases the three conditional forwarding rules at once — unanswered, busy and unreachable. It does not touch always-on forwarding, which is ##21#. On most lines the conditional rules point at your voicemail box, so check *#004# first.

What is the difference between ##004# and *#004#?

*#004# asks and changes nothing. ##004# erases. If your phone replied “Conditional Call Forwarding Active”, you dialled the question, not the eraser.

What does *71 mean?

On a Verizon line, *71 followed immediately by a 10-digit destination forwards only the calls you don’t answer; your handset rings first. *72 plus a destination forwards every call. *73 cancels either.

Is there a code that cancels everything?

On networks using the GSM codes, ##002# erases every forwarding rule on the line at once. It also erases the voicemail routing, so voicemail can stop working until the carrier restores the default.

What is the US Cellular call forwarding code?

US Cellular is one of the US carriers with CDMA heritage, so forwarding there is set with the carrier’s own star codes rather than the GSM ones, and the GSM status codes may come back blank. Check their support site or ask their customer service for the codes on your plan.

Why did the reply say “registered” when I was cancelling?

Because digits after a cancel code turn it into a request to set a rule. Cancel codes stand alone: nothing after them. Dial it again on its own and look for “erased” or “deactivated”.

Can a forwarding code read my messages or my calls?

No. These codes do one thing: they tell your mobile network where to send incoming voice calls, or ask it where they are going now. They are a voice-routing setting, and text messages keep arriving on your handset either way.

Can I cancel forwarding from a different phone?

No. A code is a request sent from the line it affects, so it has to be dialled on that handset. If the phone is lost, broken or dead, ring your carrier and ask them to clear the forwarding on the line.

Official sources

Checked October 2026. Carrier codes, plan features and menu wording change, and a few networks handle these codes differently.