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*61 vs **61: what's the difference?
Both codes set the same thing — a divert for calls you do not answer. The difference is what the network does with the destination afterwards. *61*number# activates the divert. **61*number# registers the destination and activates it. Registration is why the double-asterisk form is the one that survives a handset reboot or a SIM being moved between phones.
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Register, activate, interrogate, erase
GSM supplementary services distinguish four operations, and the leading characters of the code say which one you are performing.
** registers and activates: it stores the destination number against the condition and switches the rule on. * activates only: it switches on a rule using a destination the network has already got stored. *# interrogates: it asks what is set. ## erases the registration and deactivates.
So *61*number# is slightly unusual — it is an activation carrying a number. Most networks treat it as a registration anyway, which is why in practice the two forms usually behave identically and both are documented by operators. The difference only shows up at the edges.
Where the difference actually shows up
The common case is a reboot. If the destination was never registered, some handset and network combinations lose the rule when the phone restarts or the SIM is reseated, and unanswered calls quietly go back to voicemail. Someone who set it with the single-asterisk form finds it has "stopped working" a week later with no explanation.
The other case is moving a SIM into a different handset. A registered destination lives on the network side against your line, so it comes with the SIM. An activation that relied on handset state may not.
None of this is a reason to panic if you used *61*. Check it with *#61#, and if the destination is there, it is set. If it keeps disappearing, re-set it with ** and it will usually stay.
Which one should you use?
Use **61*number#. There is no downside — it does everything the single-asterisk form does and stores the destination as well — and operators' own help pages are inconsistent about which one they document, so following any single network's wording is not a reliable guide.
If **61* is rejected on your line, try *61* before assuming the divert is unavailable. A rejected code is more often a handset or plan quirk than a missing feature.
Common questions
They set the same rule — a divert for unanswered calls — but not in the same way. ** registers the destination with the network as well as activating the divert, while * activates it. In practice most UK networks treat both as a registration, so the two behave identically most of the time.
Most often because the destination was activated rather than registered, so the rule did not persist. Re-set it with the double-asterisk form, **61*number#, and check it with *#61#.
It varies, and the same operator often uses both across different help pages and handset guides. That inconsistency is exactly why the double-asterisk form is the safer default — it is the superset of the two.
Yes. It is a property of GSM supplementary services rather than of the no-answer condition, so **21*, **67* and **62* register and activate in the same way that **61* does.
Related guides
Setting it up on your network
The codes above are the standard GSM ones and work the same way everywhere. Where networks differ is in what they accept, what their handset menus are called, and what they do after a SIM swap.
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