FreePBX call forwarding and Follow Me

Name the forwarding mechanism

Unconditional forwarding, busy or unavailable forwarding, Follow Me and a ring-group external member are distinct call paths. Identify which one the user enabled before diagnosing unexpected ringing. More than one mechanism can be active at the same time.

For an employee who answers at a desk first and then on a mobile, Follow Me provides a deliberate sequence. Document which mailbox should answer if nobody accepts the call. The mobile carrier’s voicemail can otherwise capture it first.

Configure one test destination

Set the initial ring interval, follow-me list, strategy and no-answer destination through the supported controls for the installed module. The documented external-number syntax uses a trailing # in the relevant list; do not copy that suffix into unrelated dial fields.

Validate outbound permissions and trunk capacity for the added leg. Forwarding an incoming call externally may consume additional channels and incur another charge. Do not assume the displayed incoming caller ID is authorized for outbound presentation.

Test human answer and voicemail

Call from outside, answer at the desk, then repeat and answer on the mobile. Let both go unanswered and confirm the intended mailbox. Test any call-confirmation prompt using real DTMF through the carrier path.

If the mobile rings but the caller never connects, distinguish confirmation failure from one-way RTP. If only the caller ID is wrong, inspect the forwarded leg and the carrier’s identity rules before changing NAT.

Avoid loops and stale destinations

Remove obsolete forwarding numbers when staff leave and inspect carrier-side forwarding too. Two systems forwarding back to each other can create repeated billable legs. Keep a simple direct-to-mailbox fallback and explain how the user resets the feature.

Diagnose the external leg as an outbound call

When an external Follow Me destination does not ring, use the focused Follow Me investigation. It preserves the external marker, generated branch, outbound-route digits, trunk response, caller-ID authorization, timers, confirmation and no-answer destination as separate evidence.

Use the dedicated Follow Me acceptance model

The Follow Me guide calculates initial and list timing, keeps external entries on their outbound route and treats mobile answer, confirmation and the caller bridge as separate states. Use it when the extension requires a sequence rather than a single forwarding rule.