Cisco IP Phone: Call Forwarding

Call forwarding is a feature you can request that redirects your inbound calls to another telephone number. This can be done by DoTS or by you, depending on privileges assigned to a phone.

Instructions

Using the Self-Care Portal

If you have a Falcon Account, you can manage your phone using the Cisco self-care portal. Click on Call Forwarding on the left. Lines that have been associated to your username will appear. Choose the forward all option or the individual scenarios for internal vs. external.  

Using a Cisco 8811 or 8841 Display Phone

Easier than the self-care portal is just accessing the line on your phone and following these instructions. This applies only to the 8811 and 8841 display phones.

To enable the feature

1. Find the Forward all button among the four buttons on the bottom of your screen. It may appear under the "dot dot" menu option. Not all phones are configured with this feature. Contact DoTS for assistance if you cannot find it there.
2. Press the Forward all button and then dial the number you wish to forward the call to using the appropriate dialing codes (i.e., 7 then number) for that telephone number.
3. Once you have successfully dialed the number, you will see a confirmation window appear and then disappear. The upper left indicator near your extension number shows a forwarding icon while it is enabled.

To disable the feature

1. To remove the call forwarding, go to the same button and it is now Forward off instead of Forward all. 
2. Press the Forward off button to disable the setting.
3. A confirmation dialog will appear briefly to tell you that the feature is disabled. The forwarding icon will disappear from the upper left portion of the screen.

Gotchas

Call forwarding will introduce an additional delay in the call. This may or may not be noticeable depending on network conditions at that time. When there is a delay you will keep "talking over" each other and feel an uncomfortable amount of silence. To avoid the delay you should ask the caller to call you at your final number, not the originating number.

General phone numbers like department main lines, courtesy phones, student work phones, etc. require DoTS to review and forward those numbers. Please submit a service request for that to be completed.

Call forwarding does not by default work in a disaster situation. If the university phone system is down, then call forwarding may also be down. There are features that can be enabled through our providers for disaster situations. This is a feature you can submit as a service request be evaluated by the DoTS phone team.

Restrictions

Call forwarding is enabled for campus to campus and campus to local area numbers by default. If you wish to forward your phone to an off-campus long-distance number, it needs to be set up by DoTS through a service request. Due to potential fraud, the ability to forward calls to off campus long-distance phone numbers is restricted. A common toll-fraud scheme is for someone to impersonate DoTS and ask you to test your phone by dialing a special code. That code actually enables call forwarding to an 900 number or other pay service. They then keep calling your number which then calls the 900/pay number racking up the $$$$.