Learn about calling features
Note: All calling features are subject to availability and compatibility restrictions.
Anonymous Call Block rejects most phone calls from callers who have blocked the display of their telephone numbers from a Caller ID device. Anonymous Call Block will not block calls made to you from outside your local calling area or through operator assistance.
When Anonymous Call Block is activated and there is a call to your number from a caller who has blocked the display of their number, your telephone will not ring and nothing will appear on your Caller ID display unit. The caller will hear an announcement telling them that you are not accepting blocked calls. They will be instructed to hang up, unblock their number and dial again if they want to reach you.
You can use Call Block to automatically block incoming calls using a screening list that you create. Call Block will reject calls from phone numbers that match those on your Call Block list. Your Call Block list is limited to either 6 or 12 numbers, depending on your region.
When a blocked caller reaches your telephone number, they will hear a recording saying you are not presently accepting calls. You can temporarily deactivate Call Block or change your Call Block list at any time.
Calls made to you from outside your local calling area, through operator assistance, or from cell phones and some business phones cannot be blocked.
Before you use Call Block, you must first set up the list of numbers you want to block and then activate Call Block. You can change your Call Block list at any time.
To set up and activate Call Block:
- Lift the receiver and listen for the dial tone
- Press *60
- On rotary or pulse-dialing phones, dial 1160
- In some areas, you must press 3 to turn on Call Block
- Listen to the voice-recorded instructions for Call Block options
The phone numbers you enter on your Call Block list will be repeated to you.
By following the voice-recorded instructions, you can add the number of the last person who called you, add a new number or change an existing number on your list. The voice-recorded instructions will also tell you how to add to your list if your list is full.
To temporarily deactivate Call Block:
- Lift the receiver and listen for the dial tone
- Press *80
- Dial 1180 on rotary or pulse-dialing phones
- In some areas, you must press 3 to turn call block off
You can turn off Call Block at any time. When Call Block is off, the phone numbers on your Call Block list will be able to telephone you.
Note: This service is subject to availability for new customers based on location. If you currently subscribe to this service, you will continue to receive the service.
Call Intercept answers incoming calls that do not provide a valid phone number. Callers must then identify themselves before Call Intercept rings your phone and plays the recorded name of the caller. You must have Caller ID to use Call Intercept.
The first time you use Call Intercept:
- Call toll-free 1-800-527-7070 from the phone that has Call Intercept
- Follow the voice prompts to set your security PIN
- After you set your security PIN, you can call into the system from any phone to make changes to your Call Intercept settings
Call Intercept is no longer available to new customers. Customers in CT, DC, DE, MA, NJ, NY, PA, RI and VA who currently subscribe to the product and remove it will not be able to reorder. Call Intercept is not available for business or rotary-dial service. Call Intercept is not available in California, Florida or Texas.
Call Trace automatically initiates a trace of the last call you received. You can use this feature to trace unlawful or threatening calls that alarm, frighten or harass you.
Your phone is already equipped for Call Trace. To activate it, simply press *57. There is no charge for the connection, but charges and fees for using Call Trace may vary.
The records of all traced calls will be released to a law enforcement agency only. The action taken by law enforcement may vary by area. Please contact the Verizon Security Department at
Do Not Disturb prevents some or all of your incoming calls from ringing on your phone. You can activate Do Not Disturb for a set period of time within a 24-hour period or you can leave it on indefinitely. Incoming calls can be moved to a voice mailbox (if available) or receive an announcement stating that you are not available.
Calls received from outside your local calling area or through operator assistance cannot be screened and will ring through. Do Not Disturb does not affect your outgoing calls.
Charges may vary.
Do Not Disturb is no longer available to new customers. Customers in DC and VA who currently subscribe to the product and remove it will not be able to reorder
On a per-call basis, Selective Call Blocking prevents your name and phone number from appearing on another person's display unit when you make a call. When Selective Call Blocking is on, your call is identified as Private or P on a display unit. When you hang up, Selective Call Blocking is automatically turned off.
When you make your next call, your name and phone number will display again on a display unit until you turn Selective Call Blocking on again.
Calls to 911, toll-free (800 or 877) and 900 services cannot be blocked. Calls to some wireless customers may not be blocked. Calls made to numbers equipped with Anonymous Call Block will not be completed when Selective Call Blocking is on.
*69 helps you identify your last incoming call. For example, iIf you missed your last call and want to know who it was, you can dial *69. You will hear the telephone number associated with your last incoming call. In some areas it will also let you know the date and time the call was received. You may also be able to use *69 to return the call automatically with the touch of a button.
*69 can only announce the telephone number associated with the last incoming call if it is available from the network and the calling party has not blocked the calling information. The announced telephone number does not always identify the calling party and, in some cases, cannot be used to return the call automatically or by manual dial-back.
*69 cannot announce or return calls marked private by the caller. Additionally, *69 cannot return all calls. For example, calls placed from cell phones or lines equipped with ISDN or PBX service cannot be returned. In some cases, however, you can return the call manually using the announced number.
This product is no longer available to new customers. Customers in CT, DC, DE, MA, NJ, NY, PA, RI and VA who currently subscribe to the product and remove it will not be able to reorder.
Caller ID shows the name and number of incoming calls. The caller information appears between the first and second rings on a customer-provided display device or display telephone to give you the opportunity to screen your calls before you answer. Caller ID will also store names, numbers, dates and times of incoming calls (storage capacity varies with your display device model).
The name or number of the caller may not be displayed for every incoming call. In some cases, you will see a message on your Caller ID display unit instead of the name and number of the caller. The exact wording of the message may vary depending on the display unit you use. "Out of Area" or "Unavailable" messages may appear for calls made outside specially equipped areas, calls made through an operator and for certain telephone numbers for which Verizon does not purchase Caller ID information. "Private" or "Anonymous" messages may appear for calls made by people who have blocked the display of their telephone information.
Caller ID works automatically. You do not have to activate or deactivate this calling feature.
If your display unit shows the wrong name, please contact Verizon to have one of our agents correct the name that appears on the Caller ID display units of those you call.
If you have Call Waiting, the phone numbers of the waiting calls are not displayed because the Caller ID unit must detect one ring before it can display a number.
If you have Per-Line Blocking, your name and number will be prevented from showing on the Caller ID unit. You can deactivate Per-Line Blocking by pressing *82 before you make your call. After you complete your call, your line will revert to its previous privacy status.
Call Waiting ID works in conjunction with Caller ID and alerts you to an incoming call while you are talking on your telephone. Call Waiting ID may also show you the name or the number of the person calling you. You can then choose to continue your call or answer the new call.
Call Waiting ID requires Caller ID and Call Waiting, as well as a special display device (purchased separately) that supports Caller ID and Call Waiting.
Priority Call automatically sounds a special ring—short-long-short—when you receive a call from any of the selected phone numbers you have entered on your Priority Call screening list. You can store up to 6 or 12 different numbers on your screening call list, depending on availability in your calling region.
Calls not on your screening list or from outside your regional calling area or through operator assistance will ring normally at your phone. You can change the numbers on your screening list or turn Priority Call off at any time.
This service is no longer available to new customers. If you currently subscribe to this service, you will continue to receive the service, but you will not be permitted to resubscribe to it if you remove it or transfer it to another customer at your current location or to a new location.
You can activate Call Forwarding whenever you want your calls to be sent to a local, long-distance or mobile phone. Once activated, all your calls will be sent to the forwarding number you request. Each time a call is forwarded, you will hear one short reminder tone on your home phone, but you will not be able to answer the call from your home number. You can make outgoing calls while Call Forwarding is activated.
To activate Call Forwarding:
- Lift your telephone's receiver and listen for a dial tone
- Press *72 or dial 1172 on rotary or pulse-dialing phones
- When you hear the tone, set or change the Call Forwarding number by dialing the telephone number where you want your calls transferred
- The number you entered will ring
- When the number is answered, Call Forwarding will be activated
- If the call is not answered or the line is busy, hang up and call the number again within two minutes
- You will hear two short tones telling you that Call Forwarding has been activated
- Hang up the receiver
To deactivate Call Forwarding:
- Lift your telephone's receiver and listen for a dial tone
- Press *73 or dial 1173 on rotary or pulse-dialing phones
- Listen for two short tones
- Call Forwarding is now off and you will receive your calls at your home number
If your line is busy or if you do not answer an incoming call within a preset number of rings, Call Forwarding—Busy Line/Don't Answer will send your calls to a forwarding number. Available products vary by area.
If you are in an area where the Variable option is available, you can change the forwarding number at any time. If you have the Fixed option, the forwarding number will be fixed by your local business office. To change the number, you must submit a service order request to Verizon.
If you forward your calls to a long-distance number, long-distance charges will apply.
Ultra Forward/Call Ability service lets you forward your calls or change your forwarding number from virtually any touch-tone phone. To ensure an incoming call doesn't interrupt your activation or deactivation of the Ultra Forward/Call Ability service, temporarily deactivate the following feature first:
- Line Blocking: Press *82 to deactivate Line Blocking before you activate Ultra Forward/Call Ability
You must initialize your service from your subscribing telephone before you activate Ultra Forward/Call Ability by doing the following
- Lift the receiver from your subscribing telephone and listen for a dial tone
- Dial 1-888-294-1618
- Listen to the prompts and then enter your 10-digit telephone number
- Listen to the prompts to establish your PIN
- Your PIN can be 4 to 10 digits, but it cannot be the last four, seven or 10 digits of your telephone number
- Listen for the system to indicate that you have successfully initialized your Ultra Forward/Call Ability service
If you forget your PIN, call 1-888-294-1618 from your subscribing telephone to reestablish your PIN.
To activate this feature from your subscribing telephone:
- Lift your telephone's receiver and listen for the dial tone
- Press 72#
- Dial the number where you want your calls forwarded
- Hang up the receiver
To deactivate this feature from your subscribing telephone:
- Lift your telephone's receiver and listen for the dial tone
- Press 73#
- Listen for a confirmation tone
- Hang up the receiver
This product is no longer available to new customers. Customers in DC, VA, DE, NJ, PA, MA and NY who currently subscribe to the product and remove it will not be able to reorder.
The first time you dial into voice messaging, you will be asked to set up your mailbox. You will need the following information:
- Voicemail access number
- Your telephone number that has the voice messaging service
- Your temporary passcode (the last four digits of the telephone number that has the voice messaging service)
To set up voice messaging from your business telephone line:
- Call your voicemail access number or your telephone number and press the asterisk (*) when you hear the greeting
- Enter your temporary passcode and press the hashtag/pound sign (#)
- Follow the voice prompts to:
- Set up a new four- to eight-digit passcode
- Set up your mailboxes
- Record your greetings
- Record your name
Voice Mail answers when you can’t answer the phone or are on another call. You can retrieve your voice messages at any time, from any touch-tone phone, whether at your home or a remote location, without the need of additional equipment.
With Voice Mail:
- Your mailbox can answer calls simultaneously
- You will hear an interrupted dial tone when there are new messages in your mailbox
- You can record a personalized greeting or use the automatic default system greeting at any time
- You can add optional features (depending on your area), such as paging notification, special delivery, personal receptionist, wireless notification and individual mailboxes
For more information, read our Voice Mail Quick-Start Guide or our more detailed Voice Mail User Guide.
Note: For most areas, the Fios Digital Voice Mail access number is 1-888-234-6786. For Fios Digital Voice Customers in CA, FL and TX, your access number is
OnePointSM Voice Mail enables you to retrieve all of your voice mail messages from a single voice mailbox, whether they are from your home, an additional line, a vacation home or your Verizon Wireless phone. Additionally, OnePoint Voice Mail lets you:
- Forward up to four alternate telephone numbers and your main telephone line to your OnePoint Voice Mail
- Store up to 50 messages or 60 minutes of messages for 30 days, depending on your area
- Receive notifications you on your pager or Verizon Wireless phone when someone leaves a new voice mail message in your mailbox
- Create separate, private mailboxes for family members or roommates to receive messages
- Change the number of times the phone rings before the voice mail service picks up (not available in all areas)
Toll rates apply for calls made to your Voice Mail system from outside your local calling area. Measured local-service, local-usage or message-unit charges apply for calls forwarded to your voice mailbox and calls to check your messages.
Call Forwarding—No Answer/Busy Transfer is required on all numbers that forward to OnePoint Voice Mail. All calling features are subject to availability and compatibility restrictions.
Note: For most areas, the Fios Digital Voice Mail access number is 1-888-234-6786. For Fios Digital Voice Customers in CA, FL and TX, your access number is 1-844-387-5200
Select Call Forwarding lets you program your phone to forward incoming calls from a preselected list of numbers to a different number of your choice. The number you choose can be a cellular phone, a pager or another phone number. Normal local or toll charges may apply to forwarded calls.
Your Select Call Forwarding list is limited to either 6 or 12 numbers, depending on your region. Only calls from your list of numbers will be forwarded. All other calls will ring at your regular number.
You can change, add or delete the numbers on your list at any time. Also, you can turn your Select Call Forwarding service temporarily off without changing your list.
If the number you are calling is busy, Busy Redial will redial the last local telephone number you called for up to 30 minutes. If the number is not available after 30 minutes, the redial will stop. You can cancel the redial with a code if you do not want to wait for the number to become available.
Depending on your calling area, Busy Redial is activated when you dial a code or, with Enhanced Busy Redial, after you respond to a vocal prompt asking if you want to use Busy Redial to reach the busy number.
You can use Busy Redial to call back more than one busy number at a time. Also, you can make other calls while Busy Redial is active. When your line and the one you are trying to reach are both available, your phone will signal you with a special ring.
Normal local or toll charges apply to calls connected using Busy Redial.
This product is no longer available to new customers. Customers in DC, DE, MA, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA and CT who currently subscribe to the product and remove it will not be able to reorder.
Speed Dialing places a call to either 8 or 30 local or long-distance numbers (depending on your service) by dialing just one or two digits.
You assign a one-digit code for two to nine of your most frequently dialed numbers and a two-digit code for 10 to 30 of your most frequently dialed numbers. You can store phone numbers that are up to 28 digits long, enabling you to include a long-distance carrier access code and the call recipient's area code and phone number. Once programmed, the codes will work from any phone in your home.
This product is no longer available to new customers. Customers in MA, RI, CT, DC, DE, NJ, NY, PA and VA who currently subscribe to the product and remove it will not be able to reorder.
Distinctive Ring lets you assign one or, in some areas, two additional telephone numbers to your single telephone line. Each number will have its own special ring so you can determine who the call is for before you answer it.
A free listing in your local Verizon Directory is available for each Distinctive Ring number at no additional cost. Distinctive Ring is always on. You do not have to activate or deactivate it.
This product is no longer available to new customers in CT, DC, DE, MA, NJ, NY, PA, RI and VA. Customers who currently subscribe to the product and remove it will not be able to reorder.
Whether you made or received the initial call, you can use three-way calling to add a third person to your call at any time.
- After calling the first party, put that person on hold by pressing your phone's recall feature (flash, hookswitch or recall button, depending on the type of phone you have)
- After you hear three short tones followed by a dial tone, enter the number for the third party you want to bring into the call
- Press your phone's recall feature for one second to bring the first party back into the conversation and complete the three way call*
*Note: After the third party answers, only you and that person are connected. The first party is on hold and cannot hear your conversation until you complete the procedure. If the third party's line is busy or there is no answer, you can return to the first party by pressing the recall feature twice.
To leave a three-way call, any of the parties you added can leave the conversation by hanging up. You will still be connected to the other person. A person who hangs up can return to the conversation by picking up their receiver again. You can disconnect the third person at any time by pressing the recall feature (flash key, hookswitch or hang-up button). If you hang up, it will end the three-way call and all other parties will be disconnected automatically.
Additional three-way calling information
- When trying to add the third party, if the line is busy or there is no answer, you can return to the first caller by pressing the recall feature twice
- Either of your connections can be local or long distance (all local, regional toll and long-distance charges apply)
- Three-way calling is offered in some areas on a pay-per-use basis (rates vary by state)
- This service is not available to pay phone and Centrex customers
Warning: To avoid placing a three-way call accidentally, hang up your phone for at least three seconds between every call, whether it is a three-way call or not, to reset your phone line. If you have a fax machine or modem that allows simultaneous dialing, make sure you reprogram it to allow at least three seconds between transmissions.
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