How to Call Forward Calls as an ATT Customer

This is far from the usual themes here at EPJ, but I suspect there may be many ATT customers who are having the same problem I experienced with call forwarding.

So I am going to stick this post in the wee hours of the night and my apologies for those of you looking for comments about the economy.

Here is the problem, There are some ATT customers that can not properly change a forwarding number from their phone. I was among them.


I recently purchased the Samsung S6, which I think is awesome, but I wanted to have calls I didn't answer transferred to my Google Voice number voicemail becasue ATT does not create transcripts of voice messages left. Google voice does this. It sends the messages in text form to my phone and to my email inbox. That way I can quickly scan the text and determine the nature of the call and what action needs to be taken, without having to go through a bunch of time consuming voicemails.

But, I just couldn't get my new S6 to accept the number I programmed in, it would always default back to the ATT voicemail number.

I visited one ATT store and the customer service agents told me it couldn't be transferred for just unanswered calls, it could only be programmed for the transferring of all calls, which, of course, I did not want.

While I was there, a customer with an iPhone also wanted her calls forwarded to Google voicemail, when she did not answer. The agents told her the same thing, "No go."

Since I am a pretty persistent guy and since as economist I know that knowledge is not spread evenly across all people on the planet., I tried a second ATT store. It was the same result, it couldn't be done they told me.

I also searched on the internet for a solution to the problem, and even on the ATT page, but no luck.

Then. one evening, after finishing an important long and detailed report, I didn't want to write anymore, so I decided to call ATT customer service to see if there was someone I could find who did have the knowledge I needed, and viola!

My phone now forwards to Google voice mail. I hit the right ATT employee who knew how to solve the problem.

Here's what you need to do if you are in the same predicament I was in. Call ATT at 800 901-9878.

You will have to go through a series of automated questions.

To the first question, answer:

"More options"

To the next question, answer:

"Technical support"

Then answer:

"It's something else"

The automated question will then be: Is this about replacing a phone, answer:

"No"

At this point the automated response will try to direct you to the ATT web site, but ignore this and just listen, at the end the automated response you will hear:

"If you need to hang on for more assistance, please hold."

Wait for a customer rep to come on the line.

When the rep comes on the line this is what you need to say, so that the rep looks things up properly on his computer:

"I need to forward my calls to a different number when I don't answer. I can't do this from my phone. You need to do it for me from your end."

The page the agent will call up on his screen will have a number of options on the page.

Tell the rep that you want the default number changed to: and give them the number you want calls forwarded to.

Then there are a series of specific options, such as,"Forward calls when there is no answer." etc.

You will want to change the number for forwarding for all the options (Make the customer service rep read them all to you) EXCEPT for the "Immediate transfer" option, If the immediate transfer option is checked all your calls will be forwarded and your phone will never ring.

Good luck.

 -RW