You’re a busy person, and sometimes you simply can’t stay home waiting for a phone call. With the many call forwarding options offered through Ooma, you don’t have to be shackled to your home phone anymore! If you’re going to be away from home – whether for a few hours or for a vacation – you can select the call forwarding option that will let your phone calls come to you no matter where you are.

  1. What is Call Forwarding? How does it work?
  2. Can I set up call forwarding so that my external phone only rings if my Ooma device is offline?
  3. Can I answer incoming calls on my mobile app?
  4. What is the “Require key press before answering forwarded calls” option?
  5. Is Call Forwarding available to all users?
  6. How do I turn call forwarding off?
  7. Can I forward calls to an international number?
  8. Call Forwarding isn’t working for me. What’s going on?

What is Call Forwarding? How does it work?

Call Forwarding lets you choose which telephones will ring when you receive calls to your Ooma phone. You can direct incoming calls to your home telephone, to an external number, to your Ooma Home Phone app app, or to some combination of those destinations.

You can enable Call Forwarding by logging into your My Ooma account and navigating to the Call Forwarding option under the preferences tab. You should see a page that is similar to the one pictured below:

call forwarding preferences

Check the box to the left of each device that you would like to have ring when an incoming call comes in. You can choose any or all of the following devices:

  • Ring Telo: Your Ooma home phone or phones connected to your Telo Base Station or Phone Genie will ring.
  • Ring Mobile App: Calls can be received through the Ooma Home Phone app on your iOS device or Android device if you are running the latest version.
  • Ring [Number]: Calls can be forwarded to any domestic landline or cell phone. You can set up or update the forwarding number by clicking on the settings icon icon. You can also specify the circumstances under which calls will be forwarded to this number.

If you have more than one phone number then you will see these options duplicated for each number so that you can set up your preferences for each of your individual numbers.

Once you’ve followed those steps, you’ll be set up and ready to go!

Can I set up call forwarding so that my external phone only rings if my Ooma device is offline?

Yes! You can set up call forwarding if your Ooma device is offline by following these instructions:

  1. Log into your My Ooma account and navigating to the Call Forwarding option under the preferences tab.
  2. Click on the dropdown menu beneath your external number:
    edit call forwarding number
  3. Choose When my Telo is offline from the dropdown menu.

Now your incoming calls will be forwarded to your external number if your Ooma device is offline.

Can I answer incoming calls on my mobile app?

If you are using version 5.0 or later of the Ooma iOS app or version 3.0 or later of the Android app, you can have your incoming calls ring on your mobile app. Depending on your settings and your location, these calls are routed through either your phone’s mobile provider, or your cell phone’s Wi-Fi or mobile data connection.

Once you have set up the app on your mobile device, you can enable call forwarding through the Ooma Home Phone app by selecting it from the available options.

Reference: You can learn more about the free Ooma Home Phone app by visiting our FAQ.

What is the “Require key press before answering forwarded calls” option?

The “Require key press before answering forwarded calls” option gives you an added level of flexibility when ringing an external phone number like a cell. When this option is enabled and you answer a forwarded call on an external number, you won’t be connected to the caller until you answer the phone AND press “1” on your phone’s keypad. In other words, this option ensures that your other devices can still ring if your cell phone has been turned off or is out of its service area.

You can find this option by clicking on the settings icon icon.

Is Call Forwarding available to all users?

The Call Forwarding features are only available to Ooma Premier subscribers. You can check your account level by visiting this page.

If you’re interested in enabling Call Forwarding, why not consider upgrading your account to Ooma Premier? You can learn more about the benefits of upgrading by viewing our Premier overview article.

How do I turn call forwarding off?

You can turn Call Forwarding off by unchecking all of the options under “Ring these destinations” except for your Ooma device.

Can I forward calls to an international number?

Calls can be forwarded to numbers in the U.S. and Canada. You cannot forward calls to international numbers from other countries.

Call Forwarding isn’t working for me. What’s going on?

If Call Forwarding is not working properly, please check the following to make sure that you have set up the feature properly:

  • Is your external number typed in correctly?
  • Are you able to receive calls on the phone you are forwarding your calls to?
  • Is the ringer for the phone you’re forwarding calls to turned on?
  • Are your calls being sent straight to voicemail with Do Not Disturb?
  • Has your Ooma Premier membership expired? Call Forwarding is only available to Ooma Premier subscribers, so you can check your status and renew your account here.