Connect your existing number

Three ways to use the number you already have — forward the calls you miss, forward all of them, or port the number to Hey Quad for good.

You don't have to move your phone number to use Hey Quad. Your carrier can forward calls to your hosted Hey Quad number, where your AI receptionist answers. Your existing service, phones, and bills stay exactly as they are.

If you'd rather the number itself lived here — one bill, texting on it, outbound calls that show it as your caller ID — you can port it instead. That's Option 3 at the bottom, and it's never required.

There are three ways to set it up:

Option 1 — Catch the calls you miss (conditional forwarding)

Your phone rings first, like it always has. Only when you're busy or don't answer does the call forward to your AI receptionist. This is the lowest-risk way to start: nothing about how you answer changes, and missed calls stop going to voicemail-nobody-checks.

Option 2 — The AI answers everything (forward all)

Every call to your business number goes straight to the AI receptionist. It greets callers, answers questions from your knowledge base, takes messages, books appointments, and hands genuinely urgent callers to a human.

Set your escalation number to a cell phone. With forward-all active, every call to your business line comes to the AI — including calls the AI itself transfers to that line. If your AI's transfer/escalation target is the same number that's forwarding, escalated callers loop right back to the AI. Point escalation at a different number (your cell, or any line that doesn't forward). Conditional forwarding doesn't have this problem — your phone still rings first.

Where to find your forward target

Open Settings → Connect your number in your dashboard. It shows the Hey Quad number to forward to, carrier-by-carrier dialing instructions, and a live Test it button.

Turning forwarding on

Dial these from the phone line you're forwarding. Replace <number> with your Hey Quad number (11 digits, e.g. 18135550100). Codes occasionally vary by carrier and plan — if one fails, check your carrier's support page.

Most carriers (generic star codes)

Verizon Wireless

AT&T Wireless

T-Mobile

Spectrum (landline)

Test it

On Settings → Connect your number, press Start test, then call your business number from a different phone (if you set up conditional forwarding, let it ring — the forward only triggers once you don't answer). The page watches your incoming calls and turns green the moment the forwarded call reaches your AI.

What your callers (and your reports) see

• Callers notice nothing. They dial the number they've always dialed.
• Caller ID is preserved. Your AI greets the real caller, and your call history shows the caller's number — not your forwarding line.
• Forwarded calls are tagged. When your carrier attaches forwarding information (most do, via a SIP Diversion header), the call's detail page shows "Forwarded from" with your business line, so you can tell forwarded traffic from direct calls to your Hey Quad number. Some carriers omit it; the call still works normally either way.

Common gotchas

• Testing from the forwarding phone itself. Many carriers won't forward a call you place to your own line from that line. Test from a different phone.
• Voicemail races the forward. With conditional forwarding, your carrier's no-answer timer must be shorter than your voicemail pickup — if your old voicemail keeps grabbing calls, ask your carrier to lengthen the no-answer delay or shorten the forward timer.
• Forwarding fees. A few landline plans bill forwarded legs per minute. Worth a quick check with your carrier.
• 911 and texting stay on your carrier. Forwarding only affects incoming voice calls. Outbound calls, emergency calling, and SMS on your existing line are untouched.

Option 3 — Move the number to us for good (porting)

Forwarding keeps your number with your current carrier. Porting moves the number itself to Hey Quad, permanently: one bill, texting on the number, outbound calls that show it as your caller ID, and 911 registered to your real address. Your current service keeps working the whole time — the number switches over on a date the two carriers agree, and nothing goes dark.

It usually takes one to four weeks. Most of that is your current carrier's review, not ours.

Before you start: check the number can move

Open Phone numbers → Port in and press Check these can be ported. We ask the carrier network directly and answer in a couple of seconds. It is worth doing first: a number that cannot be ported is far cheaper to learn about now than three weeks after you have signed paperwork.

Toll-free numbers (800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, 888) move by a different process called a RespOrg change. We file those for you — contact support.

What you will need

Have your latest bill from your current carrier in front of you. Every field below has to match their records exactly, not what you would like it to say. A mismatch is the single most common reason a port is rejected.

You will also upload two documents:

• A Letter of Authorization (LOA) — signed permission to move the number. We generate one for you to sign.
• A recent bill from the last 30 days, showing the numbers and the account details above.

Your carrier will not accept the port without both, so we ask for them before letting you file.

What happens after you file

The page shows exactly where the port is:

1. Filed — your request is with your current carrier.
2. Carrier review — they check your details against their records. Most of the wait is here.
3. Date confirmed — the carriers have agreed a switch-over date. It shows on the request.
4. Live on Hey Quad — the numbers are yours here. Calls, texts and caller ID all work, and you can cancel your old service.

We email and notify you at each step, so you do not need to watch the page.

If your carrier pushes back

A rejection is normal and almost always a paperwork mismatch. The request will say Needs a correction and name the problem in plain language — "the business name does not match your current carrier's records", for instance. Fix the field, press Resubmit with the corrected details, and the same request goes back to the carrier. Nothing is lost and you do not start over.

The one thing that reliably kills a port

Do not cancel your current service before the port completes. A cancelled line is not portable, so the request is rejected and you have to start again with a number you may no longer be able to get back. Keep paying your current carrier until the request reads Live on Hey Quad.

Forwarding first, porting later

These are not exclusive. Plenty of businesses forward for a few weeks to see how the AI receptionist handles their calls, then port the number once they are sure. Nothing about forwarding makes a later port harder.