Who is on the landline: the caller, or you?
People who search this usually mean one of two things. Either a caller rang from a landline and you want to know what the text back does with them, or your own business number is a landline and you want to know if text back can work at all. Short answers first.
The caller is on a landline: nothing is texted, because a wired line can't take one. The agent checks the line type before it writes anything, drops the call without spending a credit on drafting, and logs it so you can phone the person back.
Your line is a landline: it can still work. Your carrier forwards the calls you don't pick up to the toll-free number behind the agent, and the text goes out from that number. There is also a way to make the landline number itself send texts, covered further down.
One lookup decides whether a caller can be texted.
After the free checks (withheld numbers, your own lines, premium-rate numbers, caller IDs that failed carrier attestation), the agent makes a single line-type lookup through Twilio. It costs a fraction of a cent and is cached. The result decides the call's fate:
| Line type | What it is | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile | An ordinary cell number | Texted |
| Non-fixed VoIP | A virtual number with no physical line, such as Google Voice | Texted |
| Personal | A number designated for personal use | Texted |
| Unknown | A valid number the lookup can't classify | Texted |
| Landline | A wired line that generally can't receive a text | Screened, logged |
| Fixed VoIP | Internet phone service tied to a device, such as a cable company's home phone | Screened, logged |
| Toll-free | An 800-style number, free for the caller | Screened, logged |
| Premium, pager, voicemail, shared-cost | Special-purpose lines | Screened, logged |
Definitions follow Twilio's line type documentation, checked September 2026. The texted set is the agent's default configuration.
Note the fixed-VoIP row. A customer whose home phone comes bundled with their internet service is, for this purpose, on a landline, even though the call travels over the internet. A customer on Google Voice is not, and gets the text.
Every screened call that came with a number is written to your log, whether that's HubSpot or a tool fed by webhook, as “Missed call not texted” followed by the reason. Calls with no caller ID at all have nothing to log against and nothing to call back.
The screened calls are a list. Call it.
A landline caller hears the spoken apology, which tells them a text is on its way, and then no text arrives. That broken promise is a known gap. Whether you get the job depends on you phoning back while they're still looking. A routine that fits in a coffee break:
- 01Open the log each afternoon and filter for calls marked as not texted.
- 02Skip the ones screened as spoofed or premium-rate; those aren't customers.
- 03Call the landline and desk-phone numbers back before you close up, oldest first.
- 04If one turns out to be a regular, note it in your contact list so you recognize the number next time.
- 05If the list is longer than the texted calls most weeks, reread the last section of this page.
What it costs you, with example numbers: say 30 calls ring out in a month and 7 of them come back as landlines. At 4 minutes a call-back, that's 28 minutes of your month. If one of the 7 books a $220 job, those minutes paid well. The other 23 callers got a text without you lifting a finger.
Forward the calls you miss. The codes, by carrier.
The cell-phone codes you may have seen elsewhere don't work on a wired line. Landlines use their own star codes, and the one you want (forward only when nobody answers) is often an add-on the carrier sets up. What each carrier documents, as of September 2026:
| Carrier | Forward every call | Forward only busy or unanswered |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T home phone | *72 or 72# on, *73 or 73# off | Call Forwarding Don't Answer and Busy Line are separate features; AT&T's page sends you to an agent at 800.288.2020 |
| Verizon traditional home phone | *72 on (the forward-to number must answer), *73 off | Busy Line/Don't Answer: *90 on, *91 off where you can toggle it; variable option *41 on, *43 off |
| Frontier copper line | *72 on, *73 off | Busy: *90 on, *91 off. Don't Answer: *92 on, *93 off, where toggling is allowed; variable option *41 on, *43 off. Not offered in Florida |
| CenturyLink | *72 on, *73 off (steps vary by region) | The page documents forward-all only; ask CenturyLink whether your line offers busy or no-answer forwarding |
That gives you two ways to run it. The simple one: dial *72 and the agent's number when you leave the shop, and *73 when you're back at the desk. While forwarding is on, the desk phone stays silent and the agent's number calls your cell for 20 seconds before anything else happens, so you can still pick up from the truck. The other: order the don't-answer forwarding from your carrier, so the desk phone rings first and only unanswered calls move on.
Four things to know before you choose. With don't-answer forwarding the caller hears the desk ring, then your cell, so the wait before the apology is longer. Anyone who loses patience and hangs up during that wait is never texted, and the agent doesn't log them; the only sign they called sits in the missed-call history on your own phone. The text reaches the caller from the toll-free number, not your landline, which is why the first text opens with your business name. And carriers note that forwarded calls can carry local or toll charges, so check your plan. Whatever you set, finish with a test call from another phone.
Can the landline number send texts itself?
Yes, through what Twilio calls a hosted number. Your carrier keeps the voice calls; Twilio handles texts sent to and from the same number. Per Twilio's hosted numbers documentation, checked September 2026, it covers US and Canadian landline and toll-free numbers, not mobile or VoIP numbers, and not numbers already set up for texting somewhere else. You prove ownership by answering a verification call and signing a letter of authorization; a landline can take up to one business day to enable.
Be clear on what that does and doesn't buy. A local number used for business texting still has to be registered with the carriers under the 10DLC rules, which takes longer than toll-free verification. And hosting your landline isn't part of the standard setup I sell, which is a verified toll-free number behind the line you already have.
Mostly landline callers? Then this isn't your tool.
At $249 a month plus $850 setup, the agent earns its keep on callers it can text. If your log shows most missed calls coming from office desks, other businesses, or older customers on home phones, the bulk are screened and you are paying for a call-back list you could keep by hand.
That customer base needs a voice: an answering service or a person on the phones for the busy hours. The same goes if your carrier can't forward unanswered calls and someone has to be at the desk phone anyway. The other ways a text back falls short are in does it work.
Every route to an automatic text, including the free ones, is laid out in the setup guide. If your callers are mostly on cells, the Missed-Call Text Back page has the service and its terms.