Conditional Call Forwarding Is Blocking Take a Message? Here’s the Complete Fix.

You set up Take a Message on your Pixel, toggled it on, and declined a test call. But instead of seeing “Taking a Message,” the call went straight to your carrier voicemail. You’ve tried restarting your phone. You’ve cleared the Phone app cache. Nothing works.

Why Conditional Call Forwarding Blocks Take a Message?

To understand the fix, you need to understand call routing priority. When you miss or decline a call on your Pixel, Android checks for instructions in this order:

1. Take a Message (if enabled) → HIGHEST PRIORITY
2. Conditional call forwarding (if active) → INTERCEPTS HERE
3. Carrier voicemail (default) → LOWEST PRIORITY

Conditional call forwarding is a carrier feature that forwards calls when:

• Your line is busy (you’re on another call)
• You don’t answer after a certain number of rings
• Your phone is unreachable (no signal)

Here’s the problem: Conditional forwarding activates before Take a Message gets a chance to answer. The call is rerouted to your carrier’s voicemail (or another number you’ve set) immediately after the ring cycle completes, “Take a Message” never sees it.

Bottom line: For Take a Message to work, conditional call forwarding must be disabled. There’s no way to make them coexist means one or the other gets priority.

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Quick Check: Is Conditional Call Forwarding Active on Your Pixel?

Before making changes, confirm that conditional forwarding is actually your problem.

Step 1: Dial the MMI Code.

1. Open your phone’s dialer (phone app).
2. Type *#61# and press the call button.
   
3. A message will pop up showing the status.
   

Step 2: Read the Results.

What you see	What it means
Forwarded to: [phone number]	Conditional forwarding is ACTIVE — this is your problem. The number shown is where calls are being forwarded (usually your carrier voicemail).
Forwarded to: Not forwarded	Conditional forwarding is INACTIVE — your problem is something else. Skip to the FAQ section.
Forwarded to: +1XXXXXXXXXX (a different number)	You’ve set up forwarding to another phone (e.g., business line or Google Voice).

Step 3: Also Check Unconditional Forwarding.

Dial *#21# to check if unconditional forwarding (all calls, no conditions) is active. This also blocks Take a Message. If active, you’ll see a forwarded number.

Screenshot reference: [Image of dialer with *#61# entered and results showing “Forwarded to: +1 (555) 123-4567”]

#1. Conditional Call Forwarding Is Blocking Take a Message: Universal Fix.

This erases all call forwarding settings, conditional and unconditional, in one command.

1. Open your phone’s dialer (phone app).
2. Type ##002#. No need to press “Call”, it executes automatically.

What happens: Your phone sends a reset command to your carrier. All forwarding rules are removed. Your carrier voicemail remains active, but calls will no longer be forwarded before Take a Message can answer.

After Applying:

1. Toggle Take a Message OFF then ON (Phone app → Settings → Take a Message)
2. Restart your phone
3. Test by declining an incoming call

Warning: This removes all forwarding rules. If you had calls forwarding to a business line or assistant, they will stop. Use Method 3 (Temporary Disable) if you need to preserve forwarding settings.

Verification:

Dial *#61# again. You should now see Forwarded to: Not forwarded.

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#2. Carrier-Specific Conditional Forwarding Disable.

If ##002# didn’t work (some carriers block it), use your carrier’s specific method.

Carrier Command Center Table(2026)

Carrier	Conditional Forwarding Check Code	Disable Code	Carrier App Method	Support Script
AT&T	*#61#	21# (unconditional) or ##002	AT&T Visual Voicemail app → Menu → Call Forwarding → Disable	“Disable conditional call forwarding on my line”
Verizon	*#61#	*73 (dials, then hang up)	My Verizon app → Services → Call Forwarding → Off	“Reset my call forwarding to default”
T-Mobile	*#61#	002#	T-Mobile app → Profile → Call Forwarding → Disable	“Remove all conditional forwarding from my line”
Google Fi	*#61#	002#	Google Fi app → Settings → Calls → Call Forwarding → Off	“Reset forwarding via Fi support chat”
Cricket	*#61#	002#	Cricket Visual Voicemail app → Settings → Forwarding → Disable	“Turn off call forwarding on my account”
Metro	*#61#	002#	Metro app → Account → Services → Forwarding → Off	“Disable conditional forwarding”
Mint Mobile	*#61#	002#	Mint app → Account → Call Settings → Forwarding → Off	“Reset my forwarding to default”

Carrier-Specific Notes:

AT&T users: AT&T is the most aggressive with conditional forwarding. If codes fail, log into your AT&T account online → Manage features → Call Forwarding → Disable all.

Verizon users: The *73 code is a dial-and-hang-up code. Dial *73, wait for the dialer to show “Call Forwarding Deactivated,” then hang up. This disables conditional forwarding without erasing unconditional forwarding.

T-Mobile users: ##002# works reliably. If not, use the T-Mobile app (Profile → Call Forwarding → Toggle off).

Google Fi users: Fi is the most Take a Message-friendly. If codes fail, Fi support chat can reset IMS registration in 2 minutes.

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#3. The “Temporary Disable” Workaround (Keep Conditional Forwarding Settings).

For business users who need conditional forwarding (e.g., calls forward to assistant after 4 rings) but want to use Take a Message temporarily.

How It Works

Instead of erasing conditional forwarding (Method 1), you override it with unconditional forwarding, then remove the override.

Step-by-Step:

Step 1: Enable unconditional forwarding temporarily.

• Dial *21*[voicemail number]# (replace [voicemail number] with your carrier’s voicemail access number)
• For most carriers, the voicemail number is your own phone number or *86

What this does: All calls now forward unconditionally. Conditional forwarding rules are ignored but NOT erased.

Step 2: Use Take a Message.

• Conditional forwarding is now bypassed.
• Take a Message should work normally.

Step 3: Disable unconditional forwarding when done.

• Dial ##21# to remove unconditional forwarding.
• Your original conditional forwarding rules are restored.

Verification: Dial *#61# and your conditional forwarding number should reappear.

When to use this: 

You need conditional forwarding for business hours (9-5) but want Take a Message after hours. Set up automation using Tasker or IFTTT to enable/disable unconditional forwarding on a schedule.

Check If Conditional Forwarding Is Really Gone

After applying any fix, follow this 5-step verification:

Step 1: Dialer Code Check

Dial *#61#. You should see: Forwarded to: Not forwarded

If you see a number: Repeat Method 1(Disable Carrier-Specific Conditional Forwarding ) or Method 2(erases all call forwarding).

Step 2: Toggle Take a Message

1. Open your phone App.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Open Take a Message.
4. Toggle OFF → Wait 10 seconds → Toggle ON.

Step 3: Force Stop Phone App

1. Open Settings on your Pixel phone.
2. Go to Apps.
3. Tap on Phone → Force Stop.

This clears any cached forwarding state.

Step 4: Restart Your Phone

Critical: some carrier settings only apply after reboot.

Step 5: Live Test

Have a friend call you. Decline the call. You should see a silent notification: “Taking a Message” within 2 seconds.

Success indicator: Open Phone app → Home tab. The call appears with the Take a Message icon and a partial transcript preview.

If you still see carrier voicemail: Conditional forwarding isn’t your problem kindly proceed to the FAQ section.

Advanced Carrier Backend Fix: If What If Nothing Works.

If dialer codes and app settings fail, the problem is on your carrier’s backend IMS registration not your phone.

When to escalate:

• ##002# shows success but conditional forwarding still active.
• Carrier app shows forwarding disabled, but *#61# shows a number.
• You’ve restarted twice and toggled Take a Message multiple times.

Tier 2 Support Escalation Script

Call your carrier’s support line. When you reach an agent, say this exact script:

“I need to escalate to Tier 2 technical support. I’m trying to use Google Pixel’s Take a Message feature, but conditional call forwarding on my line is blocking it. Dialer codes like ##002# are not permanently disabling forwarding. Please check my IMS registration status and reset my conditional forwarding profile on the backend. I do NOT want to disable unconditional forwarding — only conditional.”

Why this works: “IMS registration” and “backend” tell Tier 1 you need Tier 2. Tier 2 can see your carrier’s internal forwarding table and manually reset it.

What Tier 2 will ask:

• Your phone model and Android version (Pixel 6-10, Android 14-16)
• Whether you’ve tried ##002# (say yes)
• Confirmation that Take a Message is toggled on (say yes)

After escalation: The agent will send a reset signal to your line. Restart your phone. Test again.

Hybrid Solution: Use Take a Message With Conditional Forwarding

Concept: Use conditional forwarding for your carrier number (business) and Google Voice for personal calls that use Take a Message.

Step 1: Keep conditional forwarding active on your carrier number

• Do NOT disable it
• Business calls continue forwarding as needed

Step 2: Set up Google Voice

• Download Google Voice on your Pixel.
• Get a free Google Voice number.
• Do NOT forward your carrier number to Google Voice.

Step 3: Use Google Voice’s voicemail for personal calls

• Give your Google Voice number to friends and family.
• Google Voice has its own voicemail with transcription (similar to Take a Message).
• It works alongside conditional forwarding because it’s a separate number.

Read Here: Take a Message vs Google Voice: Which Voicemail System Wins?

Step 4: Disable conditional forwarding ONLY for calls to your Google Voice number

• Google Voice calls don’t use your carrier’s forwarding. This happens automatically,

Result:

• Business calls to carrier number → Conditional forwarding active → forwards to assistant
• Personal calls to Google Voice number → No conditional forwarding → Google Voice voicemail with transcription

Limitation: You need to share two numbers. Use a single contact card with both numbers labeled “Business” and “Personal.”

Frequently Asked Questions.

Final Words:

Conditional call forwarding, blocking Take a Message is frustrating because it’s invisible. You toggle the feature on, you see it in settings, but calls never route to it. No error message. No warning. Just a silent failure.