FIELD GUIDE · 18 OCTOBER 2026
How call forwarding to an AI receptionist works on Telstra/Optus/Vodafone
You may be able to keep the number customers already know and forward selected calls to an AI receptionist. The destination number and a tested fallback must exist first. Forwarding is not the same as porting a number.
Pilot-stage workflows, not a claim that your line is already connected. Each business needs live acceptance.
Choose which calls should leave your handset
All-call forwarding redirects incoming calls immediately. Busy forwarding applies when the service is busy, subject to call-waiting behaviour. No-answer forwarding applies after the carrier's ringing delay. After-hours routing is a separate scheduling question: a no-answer setting by itself does not know your business hours.
Carrier products, plans and devices differ. Mobile instructions are not interchangeable with NBN home-phone or hosted-PBX settings. Forwarded calls may incur charges under your plan. Check inclusions and your existing voicemail before making a change; Eva does not make carrier forwarding free.
Telstra mobile: use the mobile instructions
Telstra's official mobile guide lists no-answer, busy and immediate forwarding. Its voice-call examples use the codes below. EVA_NUMBER is a placeholder, not a dialable number. Replace it only with an approved, tested destination including the required area code.
- No answer:
**61*EVA_NUMBER*11# - Busy:
**67*EVA_NUMBER*11# - All calls:
**21*EVA_NUMBER*11#
The guide lists ##61#, ##67# and ##21# to remove the respective diversion. Removing it may not restore your previous voicemail arrangement: record the original settings and restore those deliberately. These are mobile examples, not Telstra NBN codes. Read Telstra's official mobile instructions.
Optus mobile: check the selected service in My Optus
The official My Optus path is Services → your mobile service → Settings → Voicemail and call diversions. Select the required diversion condition, choose Another number and follow the app's confirmation flow. Note your old destination and condition before saving anything.
Use the official instructions for your service rather than a code copied from another carrier. An app setting saved successfully is not proof that an unanswered call reaches the right assistant. Read Optus's current diversion guide.
Vodafone mobile: the handset path depends on the device
Vodafone publishes device-specific instructions. One official Samsung Note example uses Settings → Call settings → Call forwarding → Voice call, then the forwarding condition and destination. It is a legacy-device example, not a claim that every current handset, prepaid plan or business service has the same menus.
Find the instructions for your actual device and confirm plan support before changing it. Keep a record of the original conditions and destinations for rollback. View the official example and check device applicability.
Test a small routing plan, not your entire business at once
- Agree the approved destination, AI disclosure, business answers and colleague/callback fallback. Do not create a loop by forwarding the fallback phone back into the same route.
- Capture the original carrier configuration and decide who can restore it.
- With permission, test the selected condition from a separate phone, then test a decline, an unavailable colleague and a service failure.
- Confirm the saved request and the owner's ability to follow up. Restore the original setting if a required outcome fails.
The local Eva setup wizard contains carrier/product-specific steps and a simulation button. The simulation does not dial a number or modify a carrier account. Reading this article or applying for a trial changes no phone settings.
What happens when a caller needs a person?
The intended pilot behaviour is to offer an approved colleague handoff when available, or a callback/message with permission. That needs live acceptance for your route and is not a guaranteed connection. Eva identifies itself as AI; recording is off by default and requires separate consent. Do not use an AI receptionist as an emergency service.
Official sources were checked on 18 October 2026. Menus, plans and capabilities may change; recheck before any real routing change. No forwarding or public demo number is activated by this website.