Google Voice call forwarding and missed calls
Google Voice can ring your other phones, but it handles missed calls differently from a mobile carrier. Here is what Google's help pages say it can and can't do, so you don't set up something that won't work.
How Google Voice forwarding works
Google Voice forwards calls to linked numbers: phones you add and verify with a code. Calls to your Google Voice number ring your linked phones.
- Go to voice.google.com and click Settings at the top right.
- Under Account, find Linked numbers and click New linked number.
- Enter the number. Google Voice sends a code by text to a mobile number, or calls a landline and reads the code.
- Enter the code and click Verify.
To turn forwarding to a linked number on or off, go to Settings, then Calls, then Incoming calls. Google says you can link up to 6 numbers, and you can't link a number that's already linked to another Google Voice number. On the Android app the same option is under Settings, Account, Devices and numbers.
What happens to calls you don't answer
Google's help page says that when people call your Google Voice number and you don't answer, the calls go to voicemail. Google's help pages don't describe a setting that sends only unanswered calls to another number, the way a mobile carrier's no-answer forwarding does.
Google Voice's custom forwarding rules (on a computer: Settings, Calls, Custom call forwarding) match who is calling, not whether you answered, and send calls to your linked numbers or to voicemail.
Forwarding to an automated system
Google's linked numbers page says forwarding calls from your Google Voice number to an automated system is unsupported, and suggests Google Workspace with an auto attendant if you need that. An AI receptionist counts as an automated system, so a personal Google Voice number is not a good way to reach one.
What to do instead
- If customers call your mobile number, set up no-answer forwarding with your carrier instead. See the Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile guides.
- If customers call a business phone system such as RingCentral or Grasshopper, set the missed-call rule there.
- If you use Google Voice through Google Workspace, ask your Workspace admin about the auto attendant and ring group options Google mentions.
Sources: Google Voice Help, Make and receive calls with linked numbers, Set up custom call forwarding, Send Google Voice calls to voicemail. Checked November 1, 2026. Providers change their menus and codes; if a step doesn't match what you see, check the provider's help page or contact them.
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