Set up First Line

Five quiet minutes, once. No new phone, no app to install, and nobody has to learn anything new — the phone keeps working exactly the way it always has.

Before you start, have these handy

Your First Line screening number — the number we assigned your line. It is in your welcome email and at the top of your family dashboard. (If you are following along before signup, that number arrives the moment your account opens.)
The phone you are protecting, in your hand.
A second phone — your own cell is perfect — to make one test call at the end.

Step 1 Tell us who always gets through

Family, doctors, the pharmacy — the people whose calls should ring straight through, untouched. Add them in your family dashboard, or give the list to us and we will add them with you. You can change this list any time, in seconds.

Step 2 Point the phone at First Line

This is the one technical step, and it is just call forwarding: the phone company sends incoming calls to your First Line screening number first. Approved callers are connected onward to the real phone and it rings as usual. Follow the short path for your kind of phone.

A home phone (landline)

Pick up the home phone and listen for a dial tone.
Dial *72, then your full 10-digit First Line screening number. Example: *72 304 555 0123 (use your screening number).
Wait for two short beeps or a confirmation tone, then hang up. On some systems a recorded voice confirms instead.
That is it — forwarding is on. Calls now meet First Line first.

To turn forwarding off, dial *73 and hang up after the tone. Your number then works exactly as it did before. *72 / *73 work on most landlines; if you hear a fast busy signal or an error, your carrier may use a different code or need to enable forwarding — call them, or email us and we will walk it through with you.

A cell phone

iPhone

Open Settings, tap Phone, then Call Forwarding.
Turn Call Forwarding on and enter your 10-digit First Line screening number.
Tap back to save. Done.

If you do not see Call Forwarding (common on some carriers), use the dial method below instead.

Android

Open the Phone app, tap the ⋮ menu, then Settings.
Tap Calls (on Samsung: Supplementary services), then Call forwarding.
Choose Always forward and enter your 10-digit First Line screening number, then tap Turn on.

Works on any cell phone — the dial method

Most carriers: dial *72 followed by your 10-digit First Line screening number, then press Call. Wait for the confirmation tone, then hang up.
On AT&T and T-Mobile, you can also dial **21* + the screening number + #.
To turn it off: *73 (most carriers) or ##21# (AT&T / T-Mobile).

Setting this up for a parent? Their phone gets one simple confirmation — a one-time code they read back on the welcome call or text. That confirmation is what turns screening on, and it means nobody can put screening on someone else’s phone without them knowing. Nothing changes about how they use the phone.

Step 3 Make one test call

From your second phone — one that is not on the always-through list — call the protected number.
You should meet the First Line assistant, which politely asks who is calling and what it is about. That is exactly what an unknown caller hears.
Check your dashboard or phone: the call, the transcript, and the decision are already there.
Now call from a number on your always-through list. It should ring straight through, untouched.

Turning it off, any time

Nobody is ever trapped. Dial *73 on a landline (or switch Call Forwarding off in your cell phone’s settings) and calls come straight to the phone again — no questions, no delay. You can also pause screening or cancel from your dashboard or by emailing us; cancelling never leaves a line dark.

Stuck on a step?

Email support@firstlineanswers.com and tell us the kind of phone and carrier. We will give you the exact step for your setup — or walk it with you on the phone. That is part of what you are paying for.