Call diverts: codes and guide

1. 1Open the Phone app and switch to the keypad you use to dial ordinary numbers.
2. 2Dial a code from the table on this page and replace NUMBER with the number your calls should go to: a 0 and ten digits, with no spaces.
3. 3Press call, as you would for an ordinary number. Dial the other codes from the table you want to turn on the same way.
4. 4Wait for the network's answer, then test the divert with a call, as described in "How to tell that a divert works".

On pay as you go it depends on the network: Vodafone says pay as you go customers can only divert calls to voicemail, so a divert to another number may not work. For O2, EE and Three we could not confirm it, so dial the code and test it.

The codes above are the standard ones. Vodafone prints them on its own help page; O2 customers and third-party guides confirm them. EE and Three publish no star codes, so on those networks the codes are the standard ones and not something the network itself documents: if one is refused, use the call divert menu in your phone's settings.

Vodafone writes the number you divert to with +44 in place of the first 0. The codes here use the national form, a 0 and ten digits, which is the same number. If your phone refuses the national form, dial the code again with the +44 form.

An unconditional divert (the code **21*NUMBER#) sends absolutely everything somewhere else at once - your phone doesn't even ring. It suits a holiday or a lost phone, not everyday use.

A conditional divert only kicks in when the situation actually happens: you don't answer, your phone is off, or you're already on a call. Your phone still rings first and you answer normally - only what would otherwise be lost gets diverted. That is exactly what you want when customers call.

The ring time can usually be set from 5 to 30 seconds, in steps of five (7 seconds is not possible). Vodafone documents it as *10* followed by the seconds; the table here uses the standard form, which is not proved on every UK network yet, so test it.

When a live person or an assistant takes over the call, the opposite of voicemail applies: the shorter the ring, the sooner the caller gets an answer. So Lorela recommends 5 or 10 seconds - a call you can't get to is handled before the caller gives up.

On an iPhone you dial the code from the keypad in the Phone app, like an ordinary number. The Call Forwarding switch in Settings > Apps > Phone (iOS 18 and later) sends all calls elsewhere and the phone doesn't ring at all, so use the codes for missed calls.

On Android it is the same: you dial the code from the keypad of the Phone app, and the phone usually shows a message from the network. Only a test call gives you certainty. The divert menu is usually in the settings of the Phone app, but the path depends on the manufacturer.

Without an app it is simple: call your number from another phone and don't answer. After the ring time the call should end up where you divert it.

The surest way is the forwarding test in Lorela - it calls your number for real and tells you within a minute whether the call was diverted.

Dial ##002# to turn off every divert at once. Vodafone documents it, and O2 customers and guides confirm it. It also turns off the divert to voicemail, because voicemail is just a divert to a mailbox number.

This turns off diverts only. It doesn't cancel your network's voicemail service or your Lorela subscription. Whatever should keep running, set up again afterwards. If the code is refused, use the call divert menu in your phone's settings or ask your network.