Transfers

Cold and warm transfers to colleagues or external numbers.

Consuelo supports cold (blind) and warm (consultative) transfers. All calls run on Twilio conferences, so transfers work by adding and removing participants — no call bridging or reconnection required.

Transfer types

Type	How it works	When to use
Cold (blind)	Recipient is added to the conference. You are removed immediately.	You know the recipient is available and no briefing is needed
Warm (consultative)	Caller goes on hold. You speak with the recipient privately. Then you complete or cancel.	You need to brief the recipient or confirm they can take the call

Cold transfer

1. Open the transfer dialog

   During an active call, click the Transfer button in the call controls or press T.

2. Enter the recipient

   Type a phone number in E.164 format (e.g. [phone]) in the transfer field.

3. Select Cold Transfer

   Click the Cold toggle, then click Transfer.

4. Done

   Your line disconnects immediately. The caller and recipient are connected in the conference.

Warm transfer

1. Open the transfer dialog

   During an active call, click Transfer or press T.

2. Enter the recipient

   Type a phone number in the transfer field.

3. Select Warm Transfer

   Click the Warm toggle (selected by default), then click Transfer. The caller is placed on hold and hears hold music.

4. Consult privately

   You and the recipient speak privately. The status bar shows “Consulting” with the recipient’s number. Brief them on the call context.

5. Complete or cancel

   Click Complete Transfer to connect the caller and recipient (you drop off), or Cancel to return to the caller and end the recipient’s leg.

Transfer status values

The transfer progresses through these states:

Status	Description
initiating	Transfer request sent to the server
ringing	Recipient’s phone is ringing
consulting	Warm transfer — you’re speaking with the recipient privately
connected	Recipient answered (cold transfer completes here)
completed	Transfer finished successfully
failed	Transfer failed (see error codes below)
cancelled	You cancelled the warm transfer and returned to the caller

Transfer error codes

Error	Meaning
CALL_NOT_FOUND	The active call no longer exists on the server
CALL_NOT_ACTIVE	The call has already ended
UNAUTHORIZED	You don’t have permission to transfer this call
RECIPIENT_NOT_FOUND	The recipient contact wasn’t found
RECIPIENT_NO_PHONE	The recipient has no phone number on file
RECIPIENT_NOT_IN_ORG	The recipient isn’t in your workspace
INVALID_PHONE_NUMBER	The number you entered isn’t valid
VALIDATION_ERROR	General validation failure

How it works under the hood

Every Consuelo call is a Twilio conference with you and the other party as participants:

• Cold transfer: POST /v1/calls/{callSid}/transfer adds the recipient to the conference and removes you in one operation
• Warm transfer: the same endpoint creates a private consultation leg. The caller stays on hold in the original conference. POST /v1/calls/{callSid}/transfer/complete moves the recipient into the caller’s conference and removes you. POST /v1/calls/{callSid}/transfer/cancel ends the recipient’s leg and takes the caller off hold.

This conference-based architecture means the caller’s audio never drops during a transfer — there’s no “reconnecting” moment.

International transfers incur additional Twilio charges. Check your Twilio billing dashboard for per-minute rates to the destination country.

Next steps

• Hold, Mute & DTMF — manage the call while you’re on it
• Making Calls — the different ways to start a call