Auto Reply to Text Messages on iPhone: 4 Methods to Teach You How

iPhones do not have an auto reply feature by default. Unlike the Android ecosystem, the iOS is restrictive of its messaging system due to security and privacy purposes. However, there are workarounds to allow iPhones to reply to text messages. This article will help you auto reply to text messages on your iPhone.

Method 1: Auto Reply to Text Messages on Your iPhone When Receiving a Call

When you receive an incoming call, you have an option to accept or reject it. What most of the users do not know is that there is a way to auto reply to text messages on your iPhone to notify the caller that you cannot take the call at the moment. Here’s how you can auto reply to text messages on your iPhone:

Step 1:

When a call is incoming, tap on Message located in the middle-right part of the screen.

Tapping on the Message icon won’t accept or reject the call. Instead, you are shown with a list of pre-set auto reply messages which you can conveniently tap to automatically reply to the incoming caller.

Step 2:

From the list of available responses, tap on any pre-set response to automatically send that message to the caller.

Alternatively, you can tap on the Custom option to compose a custom message that you can send to the caller.

Step 3:

The iPhone automatically declines the call and sends the selected message.

You can check in the Messages to see the sent auto-reply message.

Method 2: Customize Auto Reply to Text Messages on Your iPhone

The pre-set messages in the previous method are the default replies on the iPhone. It’s a good thing that Apple allows you to change these message templates. If you want to customize the auto-reply templates on your device, do these steps:

Step 1:

Go to your iPhone’s Home screen.

You can directly go to the Home screen by tapping on the Home button.

Step 2:

Open your iPhone’s Settings.

Tap on the Gear icon to open the Settings menu of your iPhone.

Step 3:

Open your Phone menu.

The Phone menu is on the lower part of the Settings. Scroll down to get to the Touch ID & Passcode option.

Step 4:

Tap on the Respond with Text option.

You can edit pre-made message templates from the Phone app menu. Respond with Text option is on the Calls Menu.

Step 5:

Edit the template responses to your preferred messages.

Tap on the Return button on the lower-right part of the keyboard to save your customized responses.

Method 3: iPhone Auto Text Reply While Driving

The iPhone has a Do Not Disturb feature that allows you to silence calls and notifications on specific schedule. After the introduction of iOS 11, Apple has upped the game by offering a feature called Do Not Disturb While Driving.

Do Not Disturb While Driving helps users to have lesser distractions while driving a vehicle. The feature has an auto-reply feature that allows a user to notify those who send messages while the user is driving. Do Not Disturb While Driving works like an iMessage auto reply app. Here’s how you can auto reply to text messages on iPhone X and other older iPhone models while driving:

Step 1:

Go to your iPhone’s Home screen.

You can directly go to the Home screen by tapping on the Home button.

Step 2:

Open your iPhone’s Settings.

Tap on the Gear icon to open the Settings menu of your iPhone.

Step 3:

Open the Do Not Disturb option from the Settings.

The Do Not Disturb menu uses a white moon icon over a purple background.

Step 4:

Activate Do Not Disturb While Driving by tapping on Activate.

When the Do Not Disturb While Driving mode is enabled, notifications are set to a minimum to help you keep your focus on the road.

Step 5:

Select how you want to activate the Do Not Disturb While Driving mode.

You have three choices – Automatically, When Connected to Car Bluetooth, and Manually. After choosing your preferred activation method, you can press the Home button or the Back button on the upper-left part of the screen to leave the screen. When you receive a call or message, the caller or sender gets notified that you are still driving and can’t personally respond yet.

Method 4: Use Do Not Disturb to Send Out of Office Text Messages on iPhone

Though Apple does not offer any iMessage auto reply app nor have a feature to send out-of-office text messages on iPhone, there is a way for iPhones running on iOS 11 to auto reply to text messages. Here’s how you can use the Do Not Disturb feature to send out of office text messages on iPhone:

Step 1:

Go to your iPhone’s Home screen.

You can directly go to the Home screen by tapping on the Home button.

Step 2:

Open your iPhone’s Settings.

Tap on the Gear icon to open the Settings menu of your iPhone.

Step 3:

Open the Do Not Disturb option from the Settings.

The Do Not Disturb menu uses a white moon icon over a purple background.

Step 4:

Activate Do Not Disturb.

Enable Do Not Disturb mode by tapping on the toggle switch. A green switch means that the feature is enabled while a grey switch means that the feature is turned OFF.

Step 5:

Choose the daily schedule to activate Do Not Disturb.

Tap on the toggle switch to choose a starting and ending time to enable the Do Not Disturb feature. If the Schedule button is turned OFF then Do Not Disturb is enabled throughout the day.

Step 6:

Select your recipients by tapping on the Auto Reply To menu.

Choose the recipients of your out of office text message on iPhone. On the next screen, you can choose between No One, Recents, Favorites, and All Contacts.

Step 7:

Create the out of office text message on iPhone.

Create a custom message to let people know you cannot tend to them yet. This is the auto reply text message that the selected contacts get (on Step 7) whenever they try to call or message you.

FAQs

1. Can you send automatic text messages on iPhone?
Though Apple does not normally allow users to send automatic text message on iPhone, you can still auto reply to text messages on your iPhone by following the steps in the above section.

2. How do you set up automatic replies on your iPhone X?
Auto reply to text messages on iPhone X is similar to other iPhones. You can choose from the four methods above to be able to auto reply to text messages on your iPhone.

3. How can I set out of office on iPhone?
You can set out of office on iPhone by going to the Do Not Disturb option on your phone’s Settings. Method 4 of this article shows the details how you can set up out of office reply on your iPhone.

4. How do you schedule a text message on iPhone?
There is not a way to schedule a text message on iPhone yet. Apple is protective of their basic apps to keep devices secured, safe, and private.

5. How to set up auto reply to text messages on iPhone?
You can set up auto reply to text messages on iPhone through the Do Not Disturb Mode feature. Method 4 on this article discussed setting up out of office reply on your iPhone. The same process needs to set up auto reply to text messages on iPhone.

6. Why do I see a moon icon on my iPhone’s status bar?
The moon icon means that the Do Not Disturb Mode is enabled. If you have enabled the feature at will, then there is no need for action to take. If the feature was enabled accidentally, you could disable it by doing the steps in Method 4.

Final Thoughts

You just learned how to auto reply to text messages on your iPhone. If you have questions about any of the methods stated above, let us know in the comment section.

Do you have other methods to auto reply to text messages on iPhone? Do you have other techniques for setting up out of office text message on iPhone? We would love to hear from you through the comment section below.