TL;DR
Yes, you can automate missed calls and keep your existing number. The quickest route is conditional call forwarding: your SIM rings first, and only unanswered, busy or unreachable calls move to a number that texts or calls the customer back. It takes about 10 minutes and Jio's forwarding service is free. Porting is the slowest route and only covers mobile numbers moving between licensed operators.
You can automate missed calls and keep your existing number: turn on conditional call forwarding so your SIM still rings first, and only unanswered, busy or unreachable calls move to a number that texts or calls the customer back. It takes about 10 minutes, Jio's forwarding service is free, and the number on your van, visiting cards and Google profile stays the same.
Two other routes exist, adding a business number and porting. Each fits a different situation, and porting fits far fewer than vendors suggest.
Which route keeps your number?
| Route | Number customers dial | Effort | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward unanswered calls | Your existing number | 10 minutes with dial codes | You want nothing to change for customers |
| Add a business number | Old number now, new one over time | App setup plus business KYC | Two or more people share the calls |
| Port the number | Same number, new operator | A porting request to a licensed operator | It's a mobile number, and the new operator offers automation |
Most small AC and appliance service businesses start with forwarding, then add a shared business number when the team grows.
Route 1: forward unanswered calls to the automation number
Your phone keeps ringing first. Only calls you miss move on, to a number where something replies.
- Pick the destination. A colleague's phone gives a human callback. A provider's number can send the SMS for you: Exotel lists "missed call services" in all its small-business plans, from ₹9,999 for 5 months (Exotel), and Knowlarity's missed-call plan is ₹5,000 a month with 2 lakh missed calls included (Knowlarity). Ask the provider to confirm that its number accepts forwarded calls and texts the original caller.
- Check the destination is allowed. Jio forwards to any mobile or landline number except BSNL numbers, your own Jio number and international numbers (Jio).
- Set a 20-second ring before forwarding, so a technician can still answer. On Vi,
**61*number*10*20#does this; the default is 30 seconds (Vi). - Turn on no-answer, busy and unreachable forwarding one at a time, and leave all-calls forwarding off. Codes and app routes for Jio, Airtel and Vi are in our conditional call forwarding guide.
- Set up the reply at the destination: the SMS text, the WhatsApp template or the callback rule. Our reply message templates are ready to paste.
- Run the six-call test below before you rely on it.
What it costs: Jio's forwarding service is free with an active plan, and Airtel charges for calls forwarded to a long-distance or toll number (Airtel). Airtel's terms also say its prepaid unlimited packs with daily data are "only meant for personal and non-commercial use" (Airtel terms), so a busy business line belongs on a postpaid or business plan.
Route 2: add a business number and phase it in
When two or three people answer calls, one shared business number fixes more than missed calls. Everyone answers the same number, and nobody's personal phone becomes the shop line.
TalkEasy by GrowEasy is one option. It gives you a cloud number that runs in an Android app alongside each person's existing SIM, so no new SIM or handset is needed, and every call is logged against the number whoever answers (TalkEasy). Calls can be routed by availability with separate office-hours and after-hours rules (team collaboration), and missed-call automation calls back customers whose calls were missed, 24x7 (missed-call automation).
TalkEasy Pro costs ₹999 a month plus GST for unlimited users, with 3 hours of talktime a day; the pricing page lists what each plan includes.
To phase a new number in without losing old callers:
- Get the number and complete the provider's KYC; in India, end-user KYC is mandatory for all business connections (DoT).
- Put the new number on your Google Business Profile, WhatsApp status, invoices and the next print run of visiting cards.
- Keep the old SIM active and answered, with its own auto-reply, for as long as regular customers still use it.
- Count calls on the old number each month. When they fall to a trickle, decide whether to keep it as a backup.
The trade-off is plain: this route changes the number new customers dial, so it takes months rather than minutes. To compare business-number apps and prices, see the best virtual number providers in India.
Route 3: port the number
Mobile number portability lets a subscriber keep a mobile number when moving from one access provider to another (TRAI MNP regulations). Access providers are licensed mobile operators, including virtual network operators with access authorisation. Three limits follow:
- Mobile numbers only. TRAI's portability rules set out no process for fixed-line numbers.
- The new home must be a licensed access provider. A cloud phone app that isn't one can only take your number through a partner operator, or by forwarding.
- A 7-day wait after a SIM swap. You cannot port until seven days after a SIM swap or replacement (TRAI, 2024).
So when a vendor offers to "port your landline", ask exactly how it will move the number. Our guide to business number portability covers switching in detail.
What can go wrong with forwarding
- Your phone stops ringing. Someone turned on all-calls forwarding. Switch it off with
##21#on Airtel (Airtel),##002#on Vi (Vi) or*413on Jio (Jio). - Calls move before anyone can answer. The ring time is too short; set 20 seconds.
- Forwarding to a BSNL number fails on Jio. Jio doesn't allow it, so pick another destination.
- Voicemail picks up instead. Vi's voicemail works by forwarding unanswered calls to a voicemail number; your own forward replaces it.
- The iPhone only offers "forward all calls". Jio notes that iPhone settings support only unconditional forwarding, so use the carrier's app or the dial codes (Jio).
The six-call test
Run it from a second phone, before you promise customers anything.
| Test | What to do | Pass if |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Let a call ring out | One reply or callback reaches the caller |
| 2 | Call while the line is busy | The call moves to the destination |
| 3 | Switch the phone off, then call | The call moves to the destination |
| 4 | Answer a call normally | Nothing automatic is sent |
| 5 | Call twice within 10 minutes | The caller gets one reply, not two |
| 6 | Call after closing time | The after-hours message or rule applies |
If a callback system dials customers automatically, note one rule. TRAI's Third Amendment, notified on 18 September 2026, treats software-placed calls as "A2P calls" that the sender must declare to its operator in advance, from 60 days after Gazette publication (TRAI PR 119/2026).
Which route should you pick?
- Solo, or two people with a few missed calls a day: Route 1. Forward to a colleague and add an auto-reply.
- Three or more people, or calls landing on personal phones: Route 2, with the old number kept alive until callers move over.
- A mobile number you must keep, and an operator that offers the automation: Route 3, after asking the provider how it ports.
TalkEasy is the wrong fit if all you want is a text reply on your current number; an auto-reply app on that phone does it, and the main ones are free to install. If you need a separate "give a missed call" number for ads, see the missed call alert service guide.
Adding a shared business number? See how TalkEasy missed-call automation calls customers back.
How we compared: prices and features from each provider's official page, checked in September 2026. Prices exclude 18% GST unless stated.
Last reviewed 24 September 2026.
