How to Schedule Text Messages on Android and iOS

You know what they say: timing is everything, even when it comes to an SMS. After all, the last thing you want is texting your boss late at night lest you forget him tomorrow. Well, you can save yourself some trouble by scheduling the message instead.

Whether you have an Android or an iPhone, you can send delayed text messages and forget about them. This article will explain how to schedule messages on iPhone, Samsung, and other Android devices. So let’s get started.

How to schedule text messages on Android

If you’re using Android, you probably have Google Messages as the default messaging app on your phone. And if so, here’s how you can schedule a text message using the Google Messages app on Android.

Step 1: Open the Messages app on your phone. Use the Start Conversation button to create a new conversation or open an existing conversation to enter your message.

2nd step: Now press and hold the Send button until a “Schedule Send” window appears. Choose from the hours available to send a message.

To note: If pressing and holding the send button doesn’t display the scheduled sending window, try updating the Messages app from the Google Play Store first.

You can also use the date and time picker to set a scheduled time for the message.

Step 3: Once done, a small clock will appear on the Send button, indicating that this is a scheduled message. Click this Send button and the message will be scheduled.

Once sent, the message will have a clock icon next to it. You can use it to make changes to the scheduled message. For example, you choose to update the message text or change its schedule by selecting the Update message option.

Additionally, you can also choose to send the message immediately or delete it completely.

That’s all there is to schedule messages in the Messages app on Android. Note that your phone must be connected to the Internet for SMS programming to work.

How to schedule text messages on Samsung

If you have a Samsung phone, it comes with the Samsung Messages app preinstalled instead of Google Messages. Fortunately, you won’t have to change as Samsung Messages can schedule messages for quite some time now. This is how it works.

Step 1: Open the Samsung Messages app on your phone. Tap the compose message button or open any existing conversation.

2nd step: Tap the + icon to the left of the text field and select the Schedule Message option.

Step 3: Enter the preferred time and date, then tap Done. Now type the message into the text field before pressing the Send button.

That’s it. Your message is now programmed. Like Google Messages, if you want to make changes to the message before it’s sent, tap the message and choose from the options available to send it now, delete, or edit the message.

How to Schedule Text Messages on iPhone

While scheduling messages on iPhone isn’t as straightforward as it is on Android, it is still possible. The iPhone’s default messaging app has no function to schedule SMS, but you can take advantage of the Shortcut app on your iPhone to send a delayed SMS from your iPhone. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Launch the Shortcuts app on your iPhone. While the Shortcut app is preinstalled on devices running iOS 13 or later. If your device is running on an older version, you will need to download the Shortcuts app from the App Store.

Download shortcuts

2nd step: Switch to the Automation tab and press the Create personal automation button. Then select the “Time of day” option from the next screen and choose a preferred time to send the message.

Step 3: Under Repeat, select the Monthly option and choose a date you want to send the message. Then tap Next in the top right corner.

Step 4: On the next screen, tap the Add Action button and tap the Apps option from the menu that appears.

Step 5: Scroll down to find and tap the Messages app. Here, tap on Send Message option.

Step 6: Now modify the Message and Recipient fields before clicking Next. Check the details of the message and click Done.

Later, you can edit the details of the messages by tapping on it.

Once done, the iPhone will send the message at the scheduled time. However, a big caveat with this method is that it is about automation. Thus, the message will be sent to the person on the selected date each month.

So, be sure to remove the automation after the message is sent. To remove automation, swipe right to left on automation.

Other than that, the method seems to work fine while sending scheduled messages from your iPhone.

On time every time

As we just saw, almost all phones today support delayed messages one way or the other. Besides the methods mentioned above, there are plenty of dedicated third-party apps like Do it Later, Pulse SMS, Textra, and more that claim to get the job done efficiently. With these apps, you also get additional benefits like scheduling emails, tweets, fake phone calls, etc.