(I posted a much more detailed version of this note earlier describing
exactly what I want to accomplish, why I want to do it, what I had
already tried, etc., but apparently it was too much information and
thus it was rejected. Clarifications will have to come in the form of
replies.)
I have "simultaneous ring" call forwarding at home. I want to use
this feature to forward to my cell phone which does not have
voicemail. If I don't answer my home phone or my cell while it's on,
then it goes to my home voicemail. However, if my cell phone is off
or out of range, then my cell phone company "answers" the "simulring"
call with a message stating that I am not available. This happens
before my home voicemail has a chance to kick in.
What's the best way to avoid the latter situation so that if my cell
phone is off, my home voicemail gets the call? My cellular provider
is willing to work with me and entertain suggestions from me, so if
anyone has any creative solution, I'm all ears. Apparently, they
cannot turn off the message on an account-by-account basis (or so they
think).
Thanks,
Nathan Anderson <mailto:nathan@anderson-net.com>
<xri:=nathan.anderson> <http://www.anderson-net.com/>
"You can't appreciate Shakespeare until you've read him in
the original Klingon."
-- General Chang, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I will tell you how I handle the same
problem here: Instead of simultaneous ring, my home phone is set
up for 'transfer on busy/no answer' to my cell phone. If I do not
answer my home phone (or am already on a conversation) then the
incoming call forwards (after 3-4 rings) to my cellular phone, then
the cellular phone 'transfers on busy/no answer' to voicemail. That
way, if I am out, or not in the area, my home phone rings 3-4 times,
switches to the cellular which rings 4-5 times, _then_ it goes to
voicemail. In other words, your voicemail has to be at the end of
the line (after the cell phone) and not in the middle (attached to
Inland) as you have it now. Do not let anything 'get in the way' of
the voicemail (such as the phone is out of area/not turned on' message
people are getting now).
And I would not do it on simultaneous ring simply because there is too
great a risk of callers getting the inappropriate response they are
getting now. I would say do it on 'transfer on busy/no answer' so the
only time the cell phone gets the call is if the landline goes
unanswered, which is what you would want anyway. And if your voicemail
is on the Inland line, it is always going to jump in and intercept
calls whether you want to or not. Have the voicemail on the cell phone
line, so you in effect get 'two chances' to answer the call (once on
home line, and once on cellular) before the call is lost. And if you
are out of the area, or the cell phone is unable to get the call, then
voicemail will get it rather than the messages people are getting now
from it. In your original message which I have here, I think you said
the cell phone was timing out with inappropriate responses, busy
signals, etc after a certain period of time. Unless you have some
objection to the voicemail from your cellular carrier, I would use
that one to insure there was always some appropriate response if you
did not get the call for some reason. PAT]
Nathan Anderson (nathan@anderson-net.com)