Why can't RingDesk put a caller through to my forwarded number?

## Why can't RingDesk call my forwarded number back?

Short version: if a number forwards to RingDesk, RingDesk can't ring that number back. Every "put the caller through to me" feature - transfer to staff, VIP direct-connect, out-of-hours bypass, emergency fallback, an IVR "press 1 to be put through" - needs to dial a phone that isn't the line diverting to us.

This trips people up because it feels like it should just work. It can't, and it's worth understanding why - because once you do, the fix is obvious.

The one-number loop

Say your only number is 07700 900123, and you've forwarded it to RingDesk so we answer your calls.

Now a caller asks to be put through to you. RingDesk dials 07700 900123 to reach you - but *your forwarding applies to every* call to that number, including ours.** So your network immediately diverts our call straight back to RingDesk. We'd be ringing ourselves. Your phone never rings once.

That's not a setting we can override. Call diversion happens at your phone network, before the call ever reaches your handset. There's no way for us to say "divert everyone else, but let this one call through" - the network doesn't offer that, on any UK carrier.

A divert is a property of the line, not of the call. The moment your number sends calls to us, it sends our calls to us too.

"But it rings when I test it on divert-on-no-answer"

If you use divert on no answer (not divert-all), there's a subtle version of the same trap.

Your phone does ring first on a normal call - that's the point of no-answer forwarding. But by the time a caller has reached RingDesk and asked to be put through, they've already waited through that ring and you didn't answer. If we dial you again, your phone rings, you don't answer again (you're not there - that's why it forwarded), and the call diverts back to us a second time. The caller waits through two full ring cycles to end up back where they started.

So even on no-answer forwarding, dialling your own line back is nearly always pointless. RingDesk detects this and skips it rather than loop.

The three ways to get "put me through" working

1. Give out your RingDesk number, and don't forward your own line.

Publish your RingDesk number to customers. Leave your own phone with no forwarding at all. Now calls arrive at RingDesk, and when someone wants you, we ring your phone - which rings normally, because nothing is diverting it. Transfers, VIP, ring-through, schedules, the lot all work.

This is the setup we recommend for most businesses, and it costs nothing. The one trade-off: customers who already have your old number reach you directly (RingDesk never sees those calls) - which is usually exactly what you want anyway. See Ring your own phone before the agent answers to set that up.

*2. Reach a different* phone.**

Point your transfers, fallback and menu options at a second phone that isn't forwarded to us - a landline, a second mobile, a colleague's phone, a shared office line. That phone rings fine, because it doesn't divert to RingDesk. Most businesses have a second number somewhere.

3. Use a PBX or VoIP number with conditional forwarding.

This is the only way to keep one advertised number, forward it to RingDesk, and still have us put callers through to you.

A normal mobile or landline can only do one thing with an incoming call: ring, or divert. A PBX / hosted VoIP number (the kind of business phone system from providers like 3CX, RingCentral, 8x8, or your telecoms provider's hosted service) is smarter. It can send unanswered calls to RingDesk and give you a separate internal extension that RingDesk can dial directly - one that isn't subject to the same divert. The advertised number and the extension we ring back are two different endpoints on the same system, so there's no loop.

If keeping a single public number matters to you (years of reviews, signage, printed cards) and you also need live transfers, a hosted PBX is the clean answer. Your telecoms provider can set this up; tell them you want "unanswered calls forwarded to an external number, with an internal extension reachable directly." The VoIP / hosted-system section of Setting up call forwarding covers where to point the forward.

What still works even on a single forwarded number

Don't worry - forwarding your one number to RingDesk isn't a dead end. With just that, you still get:

• The AI answering every call your line forwards to us.
• Messages and call summaries by email and text, so you know who called and why.
• Callbacks: the agent takes the caller's number, and you call them back directly. Your outbound call is never diverted, so this always works - it's how most sole traders operate anyway.
• Bookings, FAQs, order-taking and everything else the agent does on the call itself.

The only thing a single forwarded number can't do is hand a live caller back to you mid-call. For that, pick one of the three options above.

The rule, one more time

If a number forwards to RingDesk, RingDesk can't ring it back. To be put through to a human, we need a line that isn't diverted to us - a different phone, your un-forwarded own line, or a PBX extension.

Related help

- Setting up call forwarding - the dial codes, and which forwarding type to choose. - Ring your own phone before the agent answers - the ring-through setup, and the same loop explained for that feature. - Transferring calls to the right person (departments) - transfers need a line that isn't forwarded to us. - Porting your number to RingDesk - hand the number to us entirely, so there's no forwarding to loop.