Advanced RAZR call forwarding setup?

October 4, 2005 12:21 PM

Phone experts: How do I quickly change call forwarding options on my RAZR v3? Also, how do I forward to a line with an extension?

I just got a Motorola RAZR v3 (I think it's a v3; I don't actually know what that means or how you would tell) with T-Mobile service. Unfortunately, I don't seem to get any reception inside my office building. I thought it would be nice if I could set up call forwarding to transfer my cell calls to my work phone while I'm there. I've run into two problems:
1. When I'm not at work, and I'm unavailable, I want my calls to be forwarded to my voicemail. The only way to change this appears to be to go deep into the options each time, erase the current forwarding number, and re-enter a new number. Isn't there some kind of shortcut to do this? I can't push all those buttons every time I enter & leave my office building.
2. I have an extension at work. Ideally, I would just set up the forwarding number as 555-1234p123, where 555-1234 is my work number, and 123 is my extension. Unfortunately, I get an error when I try to set up call forwarding with a number that contains a pause. Is there some other way to set this up?

posted by designbot to technology (5 comments total)

It's not possible to forward to numbers containing pauses, because when a call is forwarded it doesn't 'dial' the number like a person making a call would. If there's not a number at which your extension can be reached directly from the outside world, you're probably out of luck.

Nevertheless, dialing *62*number# should forward calls to number when your phone is unavailable, and you should be able to store it in a phonebook entry so you don't have to redial manually it every time. *#62# should tell you the current status of forwarding-when-unavailable, including the number that will be forwarded to.

Here is a list of other GSM feature codes, including codes that control call forwarding under other conditions.
posted by zztzed at 12:54 PM on October 4, 2005

Usually pauses are indicated by a comma (,) In the phones I've used. You may need to use a couple of them.
posted by blue_beetle at 1:15 PM on October 4, 2005

My kingdom for the ability to have my home voicemail work when my T-Mobile phone forwards calls there.

Right now, my mobile [phone]) forwards to my home number (555-1111) when I'm at home, where I have no service. If I don't answer at home, Sprint's voicemail picks up. Only Sprint looks at the number dialed (555-0000), recognizes that it is not, in fact, a Sprint phone number, and complains to the caller that there's no such voicemail number.
posted by waldo at 1:27 PM on October 4, 2005

That GSM codes thing is a cool tip. Without the calls being actually sent to my personal extension, though, I don't think it'll be worth the trouble. Also, it takes a minute for my phone to recognize service after I step outside, so I have to wait for that before I can send the code to turn forwarding off. Kind of a pain.
Maybe there's some way I can get an instant message at work when I have a voicemail on my cell phone?
posted by designbot at 2:25 PM on October 4, 2005

Use the Forward if Unreachable code. It will:

"Forwards calls to another location if the handset is off or outside a service area."

Try throwing some commas on there and seeing if it works.
posted by mr.dan at 8:24 PM on October 4, 2005