Do you find yourself wanting to schedule text messages to friends or family members living far away? Or perhaps you need to message someone when you know they’re not working and can respond promptly. Maybe you want to send a daily message to your partner letting them know you’re on the way home and asking if they need anything. If any of these scenarios resonate with you, you might be interested in scheduling text messages on your iPhone for added convenience.
Now, can you schedule text messages on your iPhone? The short answer is no, but also yes. Let’s delve into this topic further to clarify.
Can you schedule a text on an iPhone?
Unfortunately, the Messages app on an iPhone doesn’t natively support message scheduling. Despite all the enhancements Apple has made to iMessage, this feature is still missing even in the latest iPhone 15 lineup. However, there is hope for the future. Apple has announced RCS support coming to the Messages app later in 2024, possibly with iOS 18, which could bring message scheduling capabilities.
Apple is also heavily investing in AI research and development, which could lead to scheduling messages becoming a reality in the future with AI-powered tools. But for now, direct message scheduling is not possible in the Messages app. However, there is a workaround using the Shortcuts app.
How to schedule a text message on iPhone with Shortcuts
If you truly need to schedule texts on your iPhone, you can use the Shortcuts app workaround. This workaround sets up an automation to send the same recurring message based on your specified frequency.
The Shortcuts app should already be on your iPhone if it’s running iOS 13 or later. If not, you can download the Shortcuts app for free from the App Store.
Step 1: Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone.
Step 2: Select the Automation tab from the bottom toolbar.
Step 3: If you haven’t created an automation before, select Create Personal Automation on the screen.
Step 4: If you’ve made automations before, select the Plus sign button in the upper-right corner.
Step 5: Select the Time of Day option.
Step 6: Set the time for when you want your message to send, choose the frequency, and confirm these settings by selecting Next.
Step 7: From the Actions menu, select Send Message.
Step 8: Type in the message you want to send.
Step 9: Add the recipients you want to send the message to.
Step 10: Save your automation by selecting Done.
Once saved, your automation will run at the specified time and frequency. If you wish to remove the automation, swipe left on it in the list and select Delete.
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