I have two different phone services – Cricket Wireless domestically and Google Fi for international travel. In this post I wrote how this combination not only saved me over $700/year but also gives me lightning fast international data speed over T-Mobile’s slooooooow 2G speed.

But the one thing I hated about this combination was that I had two different sim cards meaning I had two different phone numbers. When I take an international trip, I ‘unpause’ my Google Fi service, pop it’s SIM card in my phone and have phone service and data in 170+ countries.

This means I miss all of the calls and texts for my regular domestic Cricket Wireless phone number during my trip. After switching my SIM card back, I would have a bunch of text messages, missed calls, and voicemails.

Call Forwarding

When I first got Google Fi, I searched through my phone’s settings and couldn’t find any setting or way to automatically forward calls. Persistence paid off and I finally found a website that gives you codes that work on GSM phones (AT&T, T-Mobile, most of the world).

These codes do such things as Do Not Disturb, hide your phone number on outgoing calls, confirm text messages were delivered, and call forwarding.

While the call forwarding table looks a little daunting, I highlighted the section I now use to forward all of my calls from my domestic Cricket Wireless number to my international Google Fi number.

I simply type *21*[10 digit dest number]# and hit ‘send’ where [dest] is my Google Fi number.

Then when I return from my trip and pop my Cricket SIM card back in my phone I cancel the call forwarding by typing ##21# [or just try #21# if not working on your phone] and hitting send . A confirmation pops up to show you that it was successful.

Text Forwarding

Forwarding text messages is a bit easier. For iPhone users, go under ‘settings’ menu and scroll down to the ‘messages’ app. There is a setting where you can forward text messages to.

For Android users, there are a bunch of different apps that you can download from the Google Play store that will forward SMS text messages for you.

I found ‘SMS Forwarder L’ which had one of the highest ratings, is free, and very easy to use. Simply type in the number you would like your texts forwarded to and click on the lemon icon.

Need To Knows

I kind of feel dumb for not knowing about the call forwarding codes sooner but am thrilled now that I won’t miss any calls or texts while I’m traveling.

The call forwarding feature definitely reinforces my stance on keeping both Cricket Wireless domestically and Google Fi for international travel over T-Mobile to not only save money but have faster international data speeds.

• Type *21*[destination number]# and hit ‘send’ to forward calls to another number
• Type ##21# and hit send to cancel the automatic forward
• iPhone users have a setting in the messages app to automatically forward texts
• Android users have multiple free app options in the Google Play Store that will automatically forward texts for you.

Thinking of signing up for Google Fi or Cricket Wireless?

Please consider using my referral link to receive a $20 credit when you join Google Fi.

And here is my Cricket Wireless referral link that gives you a $25 account credit– thanks in advance if you use!

Did you know about these codes to automatically forward your calls?

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