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For O2 customers
Missed call text service for O2
If you run a business on an O2 number, every unanswered call currently ends at O2's voicemail. That is fine for personal calls and terrible for business ones: the overwhelming majority of people who ring a trade or a small business will simply hang up and call the next result on Google rather than leave a message. TextTheCaller sends those callers a text from your business name instead, so they know who you are and that you will call back.
What changes on an O2 line
Nothing about your number, your tariff or your handset changes. You keep the O2 number that is on your van and in your customers' phones. The only thing that changes is the destination for calls you do not pick up: instead of routing to O2 voicemail, they route to TextTheCaller, which rejects the call immediately and sends your text. Because the call is rejected rather than answered, there is no answering service sitting in the middle of your customer relationships.
Setup
Setting it up on O2
O2 routes voicemail and unanswered-call forwarding through the handset's call forwarding menu.
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1
Open the Phone app or your handset settings and find Call forwarding or Call divert.
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2
Choose the rule for When unanswered or No answer only. Do not turn on Always forward.
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3
Enter your TextTheCaller forwarding number. You get it the moment you sign up, together with the exact dial code for your network.
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4
If your phone asks for a delay before forwarding, use 20 seconds.
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5
Save the change and place a quick test call from another number.
You'll get the exact forwarding number and the dial code for your line when you sign up — the placeholders above are filled in for you.
If O2 restores voicemail after a SIM swap, reopen the same menu and point unanswered calls back to the TextTheCaller number.
O2's own documentation: O2 voicemail help
What your O2 caller receives
An SMS from your business name — not a number they don't recognise — with whatever message you've written, delivered within seconds of the call going unanswered. We never answer the call itself: your network forwards it to us, we reject it immediately, and the text goes out. There is no receptionist, phone menu or hold music between you and your customer.
Because it sends from your business name rather than a phone number, the message is one-way — the caller can't reply to it. That's why a good text-back gives them something they can act on instead: a booking link, an email address, or simply when you'll ring them back.
Mobile numbers only
Landlines, withheld and international callers are skipped, so you never burn a text on a number that can't receive one.
One text per caller
The same person calling repeatedly gets one message every 7 days, not one per call.
50 texts a month
Included in the £6.49/month price. No per-text charges and no surprise bills.
Missed call texts on O2: common questions
Unanswered-call forwarding is a standard network feature on O2 lines, so it is generally available across plan types. Pay as you go lines occasionally have forwarding restricted; if the setting will not save, O2 support can confirm whether it is enabled on your line.
O2 can re-provision voicemail settings after a SIM swap or a tariff change, which resets the unanswered-call destination back to voicemail. Reopen your call forwarding settings and point unanswered calls back at TextTheCaller.
Forwarded calls are treated by the network like an outbound call and may use inclusive minutes depending on your tariff. Because TextTheCaller rejects the call the moment it arrives rather than answering it, the forwarded leg is momentary.
Other UK networks
Never lose another O2 call to voicemail
Keep your number. Two minutes to set up. Cancel whenever you like.
7 days free, then £6.49/mo. Cancel any time.
TextTheCaller is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or otherwise connected to O2, or any other mobile network. O2 and all other network names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to describe which networks this service works with. Setup instructions are provided in good faith and may change if the network changes its own settings — always check the operator's official guidance, linked above, if something doesn't match what you see on your phone.