Every extension has settings that decide where its calls go when the person is busy, away or out of the office. Owners and admins set them in Admin → Settings → Settings → People & Phones → Extensions, by expanding the extension.
| Setting | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Forward if no answer | Unanswered calls should go to a colleague, team, queue or menu instead of voicemail |
| Follow-me | The person should also get calls on their mobile when they don't answer at their desk |
| Forward ALL calls | Every call should go somewhere else, such as while someone's on leave |
| Do not disturb | The person needs to stop calls to their extension for a while |
How a call to an extension is handled
A call to an extension works through these steps in order:
- Forward ALL calls, if set, sends the call away immediately. Nothing else happens.
- The extension's phones ring, unless Do not disturb is on.
- Follow-me rings the mobile number, if set.
- Forward if no answer sends the call to its destination, if set.
- Voicemail answers.
Forward if no answer
Send calls that aren't answered, including calls that arrive while the person is busy, to another internal destination instead of voicemail.
- In Forward if no answer →, type an extension, ring group, queue or menu number, or start typing a name and pick from the results. The box hints "ext / group / queue / IVR (blank = voicemail)".
- The setting saves when you pick a result, press Enter or leave the box. The row then shows "forwards to … on no answer".
- Select Apply Configuration.
- This replaces voicemail for the extension. Callers go to the destination instead.
- Only internal numbers of 2 to 6 digits are kept. To send calls to an outside phone, use Follow-me or Forward ALL calls.
- Leave the box empty to send unanswered calls to voicemail again.
- A destination that would loop back to the extension is rejected.
Example: Reception, extension 101, forwards to the Office ring group, so a call the receptionist misses rings the rest of the office.
Follow-me
Also ring a mobile phone when the extension isn't answered, so people never miss a call when they step away. If you'd rather have your business line on the mobile phone itself, intSignal also offers business cellular on eSIM or SIM.
- In Follow-me (also ring my cell) →, enter a US or Canadian mobile number, such as
+1 555 123 4567. - The row shows "rings … after the desk".
- Select Apply Configuration.
After the extension's own phones ring, the mobile rings for about 45 seconds. If nobody answers there either, the call continues to Forward if no answer or voicemail. The mobile shows the extension's outgoing number as the caller ID, so the person recognizes it as a work call.
- Follow-me only works once the extension's emergency address is confirmed. See Emergency calling.
- Leave the box empty to turn follow-me off.
| Error | Fix |
|---|---|
| "Enter a valid US/Canada mobile number (e.g. +1 555 123 4567)" | Enter a complete 10-digit US or Canadian number. |
| "Premium-rate numbers are not allowed" | Use an ordinary mobile number. |
Forward ALL calls
Send every call for the extension somewhere else, without ringing the extension. Use it for someone on leave, a role that's temporarily covered by another person, or an extension that should always reach a team.
Choose the destination
In Forward ALL calls →, enter an internal extension, ring group or queue, or an outside number in
international format, such as +15551234567 or +442079460000.
Choose the caller ID (outside numbers)
For an outside number, pick Show my number, so the phone shows your business number, or Show original caller, so it shows who's really calling.
Save and apply
Select Save. The warning "⚠ Every call goes straight to … — the desk phones never ring." confirms it's on. Then select Apply Configuration.
To stop forwarding, clear the box, save and apply.
Forwarding to an outside number:
- needs the extension's emergency address to be confirmed,
- to an international or high-cost Caribbean number, needs international calling turned on for your workspace,
- never works to premium-rate or satellite numbers.
Forwarded calls ring the outside number for up to 90 seconds.
| Error | Fix |
|---|---|
| "Enter an internal extension, or an external number in +E.164 (e.g. …)" | Start outside numbers with + and the country code. |
| "That does not look like a valid phone number" | Check the number. |
| "Premium-rate and satellite numbers are not allowed" | Choose another number. |
Forward ALL comes before everything else
While Forward ALL calls is on, the extension's phones, Do not disturb, follow-me and voicemail are all skipped. Remember to turn it off when the person is back.
Do not disturb
Do not disturb stops calls made directly to the extension from ringing its phones. Callers go to Forward if no answer, if set, or to voicemail.
There are three ways to turn it on and off, and they all take effect immediately:
- Admins: the Do Not Disturb switch on the extension, On — calls go to voicemail or Off. A DND badge shows on the extension's row while it's on.
- The person, in the app: choose Do not disturb in their status menu. See Your status.
- The person, from a phone: dial
*78to turn it on, and*79to turn it off.
Ring groups still ring a person on Do not disturb. To stop someone receiving a team's calls, remove them from the ring group.
On the Visual Flow map
The Visual Flow builder draws each extension's forward all, follow-me, forward and no answer links, so you can see where every call ends up. Selecting an extension there lets you set Forward ALL calls (before ringing). Choose the outside-number caller ID here, on the Extensions page.