Call forwarding to an AI agent on Malaysian networks

Why forwarding, not a new number

Your number is on your signboard, your Google listing, your delivery van and years of customers' phones. Changing it costs more than any phone system. Call forwarding keeps that number and sends the calls on to the agent's number instead. Your customers dial the same digits; the agent picks up.

It is also reversible. If you want calls back on your own phone for the afternoon, you cancel the forward with one code and switch it back on later.

The codes, and what each one does

Every Malaysian mobile network uses GSM, so the forwarding codes are the international standard and the same on every mobile carrier. In each code below, replace the number with the one your AI agent gives you, written in international form starting with +60.

• Forward every call: **21*+60XXXXXXXXX# then press call. Your phone stops ringing; every call goes to the agent.
• Only when you are busy: **67*+60XXXXXXXXX#. You keep answering, and the agent catches calls that arrive while you are on the line.
• Only when you do not answer: **61*+60XXXXXXXXX#. Your phone rings first; unanswered calls go to the agent.
• Only when your phone is off or has no signal: **62*+60XXXXXXXXX#.
• Check what is on: *#21#
• Turn off forward-every-call: ##21# (and ##67#, ##61# or ##62# for the others).

Which option to choose

For a business that wants the agent to take everything, use forward-every-call. For an owner who still wants to pick up when they can, "only when you do not answer" is usually the best fit: you answer the calls you are free for and the agent takes the rest. "Only when busy" suits a shop with one line where two customers ring at once. For after-hours cover, switch forward-every-call on when you close and off when you open, or use your phone's settings menu to do the same thing.

Using the phone menu instead of codes

If you prefer menus: on an iPhone, open Settings, then Phone, then Call Forwarding, turn it on and enter the number. On most Android phones, open the Phone app, tap the three-dot menu, then Settings, then Calls (or Supplementary services), then Call forwarding, then Voice call, and set "Always forward". The names vary a little between brands.

The mistakes that trip people up

• Dual-SIM phones. Dial the code from the SIM that holds your business number, or you forward the wrong line.
• Testing from your own phone. Calling your number from itself goes to voicemail, not the agent. Test from a different phone.
• Prepaid lines. A prepaid SIM may need credit before forwarding works.
• Charges. Your carrier may bill forwarded minutes at your usual call rate. Check your plan.
• "Connection problem or invalid MMI code". Common on Samsung phones with VoLTE, because the phone changes forwarding over mobile data. Switch mobile data to the business SIM, turn off Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Calling, and dial again. If it still fails, turn VoLTE off for that SIM for a minute, dial the code, then turn VoLTE back on.
• A greyed-out forwarding menu. Your phone cannot reach the carrier's forwarding service. Codes will fail too until that is fixed; call your carrier's customer line and ask them to set the forward for you.
• Trusting the notification. To confirm forwarding is off, ask someone to ring your number. If your phone rings, it is off.

Landlines and office phone systems

Fixed lines and PBX systems do not use the mobile codes above. Ask your fixed-line provider or whoever manages your PBX to forward the line to the agent's number. Most can do it in one call.

Doing this with Floee

In Floee, "Use my own number" walks you through linking your business number to a voice agent, with the codes pre-filled with your agent's number and one-tap links on your phone. You can also show your own number as caller ID when the agent calls customers back. The same steps are on a public page you can send to whoever holds the phone: the call forwarding guide.

If you are still deciding whether an agent should answer at all, read Voice AI vs IVR, or see how workshops use it in the automotive use case.