How do I turn off call forwarding on iPhone?

Open Settings, tap Apps, then Phone, then Call Forwarding, and switch the toggle off. On a dual-SIM iPhone select the line first. That screen covers always-on forwarding only, so if calls are still redirected when you miss them, dial ##004# from the keypad.

How do I turn off call forwarding on Android?

Open Phone, tap the three-dot menu, then Settings, Calling accounts, your SIM and Call forwarding. On Samsung Galaxy phones the path is Phone, three dots, Settings, Supplementary services, Call forwarding. Turn off each rule that is switched on, one at a time, and repeat for the second SIM.

Why does my phone still say Conditional Call Forwarding Active after I cancelled?

Usually because you cancelled a different rule. The iPhone toggle and ##21# clear always-on forwarding, which is a separate setting from the conditional one; ##004# is the code that clears the conditional set. The message can also be the carrier's default voicemail routing, which is itself a conditional forwarding rule and is often restored automatically.

Why does call forwarding keep turning itself back on?

A rule that returns on its own is usually the network re-applying its default voicemail routing after the phone restarts, loses signal or re-registers. Other causes are the second SIM on a dual-SIM phone, a call-answering or virtual-number app that re-applies forwarding when it reconnects, and a cancel code dialled with no signal, which never reached the network.

Do these cancel codes work on every carrier?

They are the standard GSM supplementary-service codes and they are handled by most mobile networks in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and India. Some networks use star codes instead: Verizon cancels forwarding with *73. If a code is rejected or the reply is blank, check your carrier's own call forwarding page or ring customer service.

Does turning off call forwarding affect my text messages?

No. Call forwarding is a voice service. Text messages keep arriving on your handset whether forwarding is on or off.

How to Turn Off Call Forwarding

Q: What is the code to turn off call forwarding?

Dial ##002# from the keypad of the phone being forwarded and press call, with nothing after the code. That cancels every forwarding rule on the line at once. To cancel one type only, use ##21# for always-on forwarding, ##004# for the conditional set, or ##61#, ##67# and ##62# for unanswered, busy and unreachable calls.

Q: How do I know if call forwarding is still on?

Dial *#21# to check the always-on rule and *#004# to check the conditional ones. These ask the network a question and change nothing. Then ring the number from another phone and let it ring out unanswered. A phone that rings does not prove forwarding is off, because conditional forwarding lets the handset ring first.

Q: Will turning off call forwarding stop my voicemail?

It can. On most mobile networks the rule that sends an unanswered call to voicemail is itself a conditional forwarding rule pointing at the voicemail box, and ##002# erases that along with everything else. If voicemail stops working afterwards, ask your carrier to restore the default routing to the voicemail number.

Q: Can I cancel call forwarding from a different phone?

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

By OsmO AI Team October 16, 2026 6 min read

A phone answering an incoming call itself instead of sending it off to another number

In thirty seconds: open the keypad on the phone whose calls are being redirected, dial ##002# and press call. Nothing goes after the code. That one code cancels every forwarding rule on the line — the always-on one and the conditional ones — and the network replies on screen to confirm. Then dial *#21# and *#004# to check nothing is left. One warning before you do it: ##002# also clears the rule that sends missed calls to voicemail.

If you want to keep voicemail, or you only want to stop one kind of forwarding, use the specific code instead. All of them are below, with the iPhone and Android menus, and the three things that go wrong after you think you are done.

The codes that stop call forwarding

These are the standard GSM supplementary-service codes. They are handled by most mobile networks in the US, UK, Canada and India, and they work the same on iPhone and on Android because they talk to the network, not to the handset. Dial them from the keypad of the line that is forwarding, with nothing typed after the code.

What you want to stop	Dial	What it clears
Everything, in one go	##002#	Every forwarding rule on the line, including the voicemail routing.
Calls that never ring you	##21#	Always-on (unconditional) forwarding only.
Calls that go missing after ringing	##004#	All three conditional rules together.
Only the calls you don’t answer	##61#	The no-reply rule. Often the voicemail one.
Only when you’re on another call	##67#	The busy rule.
Only when your phone is off	##62#	The unreachable rule.

Two digits decide what a code does, so it is worth knowing which is which: ** at the front sets a rule, ## erases one, and *# only asks what is currently set. If you dial a cancel code and the reply says “registered” rather than “erased”, you almost certainly typed a destination number after it.

Phone › Keypad

##002#Cancel all forwarding — nothing after the code

Dialling…

“Erasure was successful.”

Read the reply. “Erased” is what you want, not “registered”.

No reply at all?You had no signal, or your carrier uses star codes

Settings › Apps › Phone

Call ForwardingCovers always-on forwarding only

OffNo destination number listed underneath

Forward ToGreyed out once the toggle is off

Dual SIM? Each line has its own switch.

Left: the keypad route, which reaches every forwarding rule on the line. Right: the iPhone toggle, which reaches the always-on rule only. Menu wording and the reply text differ by iOS version, region and carrier — an illustration, not a screenshot.

iPhone: Settings › Apps › Phone › Call Forwarding

Open Settings, tap Apps, then Phone, then Call Forwarding. On older iOS versions, Phone sits directly in Settings instead of under Apps.
On a dual-SIM iPhone, choose the line first. Each line keeps its own forwarding, and switching off the wrong one changes nothing you can see.
Turn the toggle off and wait for the destination number beneath it to disappear. The change is sent to your carrier, so it needs signal to take.
If the menu is missing altogether, your carrier does not expose forwarding through it. Use ##002# from the keypad, or the star code for your network.

The iPhone trap. That toggle controls always-on forwarding. It does not touch the rules that redirect calls you miss, calls that arrive while you are busy, or calls that arrive while your phone is off. So the switch can read “off” while your calls are still going somewhere. If that is what you are seeing, dial ##004#.

Step-by-step on the handset side, including the dual-SIM screens: call forwarding on iPhone.

Android: Phone › Settings › Calling accounts › SIM › Call forwarding

Open Phone, tap the three-dot menu, then Settings → Calling accounts → your SIM → Call forwarding. On a Samsung Galaxy the path is Phone → three dots → Settings → Supplementary services → Call forwarding.
Read the four rules: Always forward, Forward when busy, Forward when unanswered, Forward when unreachable. Any rule that is on shows its destination number underneath.
Open each rule that is on and tap Turn off. Wait for the confirmation before opening the next one — the phone sends each change to the network separately, and tapping through quickly can leave one unsent.
Go back and switch calling accounts to check the second SIM. A rule left on the other line is the single most common reason forwarding “won’t turn off”.

Android is the easier of the two here, because it shows all four rules on one screen instead of hiding three of them behind a code. The menu and the keypad reach the same network setting, so you can cancel one way and verify the other. More detail: call forwarding for Android.

Carriers that use star codes instead

A few networks, mostly US ones with CDMA heritage, never adopted the GSM codes. On those lines ##002# does nothing and the status codes come back blank, which reads exactly like a code that failed.

Network	To turn forwarding off
Verizon	73 on its own. The same code cancels both 72 always-on and *71 no-answer forwarding.
AT&T	##21# for always-on, ##004# for the conditional set. Standard GSM codes.
T-Mobile	The GSM codes above. If the phone still rings before calls go missing, it is the conditional set: ##004#.
UK networks	The GSM codes above, and most also expose forwarding in the handset menu.

If a code is rejected, or the reply is empty, stop guessing and ring your carrier. Ask them to read out every forwarding rule on the line and clear the ones you did not set. It takes a few minutes and it is a routine request.

How to tell whether forwarding is still active

This is the part people skip, and it is the reason the same person searches for this twice. Cancelling is one action; confirming is another, and they can disagree.

Dial	What the reply tells you
*#21#	Whether always-on forwarding is still set, and to which number.
*#004#	Whether any of the three conditional rules are still set.
#61# · #67# · *#62#	One condition at a time: unanswered, busy, unreachable.

Status codes ask a question and change nothing, so they are safe to dial as often as you like. When both come back with no destination, make the call that actually proves it:

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 the forwarding is gone. The old destination picking up means it is not.
If your phone rang but the call still went elsewhere, that is conditional forwarding — dial ##004# and test again.

A handset that rings proves nothing. Conditional forwarding is designed to let it ring first.

Why “Conditional Call Forwarding Active” survives a cancel

You switched the iPhone toggle off, or dialled ##21#, and the phone still announces that conditional forwarding is active. Nothing is broken. You cancelled a different setting.

There are two separate rules on your line, and each has its own cancel code:

Always-on sends every call away before your phone rings. Set with **21*, cleared with ##21#, shown by the iPhone toggle.
Conditional lets your phone ring first and only moves the calls you miss, the ones that arrive while you are busy, and the ones that arrive while you are unreachable. Set with **004*, cleared with ##004#, and invisible in the iPhone menu.

Before you clear the conditional rule, check where it points. Dial *#004#. On most lines the destination is your own carrier’s voicemail box, because that is how voicemail works — a conditional forwarding rule aimed at the message service. Cancel it and missed calls may simply ring out with nowhere to land. Your carrier can restore the default routing if that happens.

The longer version of this one, including what the message means when you never set anything up: “Conditional Call Forwarding Active”, explained.

When the carrier switches it back on

A rule that reappears by itself is almost always the network re-applying its own default, usually after your phone restarts, loses signal or re-registers. Work down this list before assuming something is wrong:

Check what came back. Dial *#004#. If the destination is the voicemail number, the carrier restored its default and your calls are not going anywhere unexpected.
Check the other SIM. Cancelling on one line leaves the other untouched, which looks identical to a rule that refuses to die.
Check for an app that sets it. Call-screening, virtual-number and receptionist apps re-apply forwarding whenever they reconnect. That is them working, not a fault — uninstall or disconnect the app if you want the rule gone for good.
Check you had signal. A cancel code is a request to the network. Dialled in a dead spot or in Airplane Mode it never arrives, and the reply on screen can still look inconclusive.
Still returning, to a number you don’t recognise? Ring your carrier, ask them to clear every rule on the line, and ask how it was added. That last question is the one that matters.

Key takeaways

##002# from the forwarded phone cancels every forwarding rule at once — voicemail routing included.
The iPhone Call Forwarding toggle only covers always-on forwarding. ##004# covers the rest.
Android shows all four rules on one screen, one SIM at a time. Check both SIMs.
Verizon uses *73, not the GSM codes.
Confirm with *#21#, *#004# and a real test call you let ring out.
A rule that comes back on its own is usually the carrier restoring voicemail routing.

Instead of sending calls away, screen them

Most people turn forwarding off because they discovered their calls were going somewhere they could not see. That is the real problem with forwarding: it is a blind redirect. The call leaves, and you find out later — or not at all.

Screening is the other way round. The call still reaches you, but something answers it first and tells you what it was about, so you decide with the facts in front of you rather than a missed-call notification.

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 does use a forwarding rule — the conditional one, for calls you don’t answer — but it points them at an AI assistant rather than at a number you can’t hear. You keep your own number, your phone still rings first, and anything you want to take, you take. What you don’t pick up gets answered in a natural voice: it asks who is calling and why, then texts you what was said. Automated spam tends to hang up on it instead of on you.

Worth knowing: if your phone started saying “Conditional Call Forwarding Active” after you installed OsmO, that is the app doing its job — 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 instead? See call forwarding on iPhone & Android.

Frequently asked questions

What is the code to turn off call forwarding?

##002#, dialled from the keypad of the phone being forwarded, with nothing after it. That cancels every rule at once. To stop one type only: ##21# for always-on, ##004# for the conditional set, or ##61#, ##67# and ##62# for unanswered, busy and unreachable calls.

How do I disable call forwarding on iPhone?

Settings → Apps → Phone → Call Forwarding, then switch the toggle off. Choose the line first on a dual-SIM iPhone. That screen covers always-on forwarding only, so if calls are still redirected when you miss them, dial ##004#.

How do I deactivate call forwarding on Android?

Phone → three dots → Settings → Calling accounts → your SIM → Call forwarding, or Supplementary services on a Samsung Galaxy. Turn off each rule that is on, one at a time, then repeat for the second SIM.

How do I know if call forwarding is still on?

Dial *#21# for the always-on rule and *#004# for the conditional ones; neither should name a destination. Then ring your number from another phone and let it ring out. A phone that rings is not proof — conditional forwarding lets it ring first.

Why does it still say conditional call forwarding is active?

Because you cancelled the other rule. The iPhone toggle and ##21# clear always-on forwarding; ##004# clears the conditional set. It can also be your carrier’s default voicemail routing, which is a conditional forwarding rule and is often restored automatically.

Why does call forwarding keep coming back?

Usually the network re-applying its default voicemail routing after a restart or a re-registration. The other causes are the second SIM, an app that re-applies forwarding when it reconnects, and a cancel code dialled with no signal.

Will turning off call forwarding stop my voicemail?

It can. On most networks the rule sending missed calls to voicemail is a conditional forwarding rule, and ##002# erases it along with everything else. Your carrier can restore the default routing if voicemail stops working.

Can I cancel call forwarding from a different phone?

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

Do these codes work on every carrier?

They are the standard GSM codes and most mobile networks in the US, UK, Canada and India handle them. Some use star codes instead — Verizon cancels forwarding with *73. If a code is rejected or the reply is blank, check your carrier’s own page or ring customer service.

Does turning it off affect my text messages?

No. Call forwarding is a voice service. Texts keep arriving on your handset either way.

Official sources

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