FAQs & Troubleshooting



General

In Feb 2019 we sent an in-app message to our GooglePlay customers to advise that Google were forcing us (and many other apps) to remove the auto-forward to another phone function (fwd to email was not affected). We did, but for some unknown reason (and many attempts from us to appease the mighty Google Robots), on 9 March 2019, Google removed our app.


Because Google were so maddeningly unhelpful, we decided to redo the app and sell both on Amazon and directly via THIS WEBSITE as a subscription. The new PRO app forwards SMS to email or to a URL (web address). PRO does not fwd to another number nor has the reply functions previously on the old GP app.


Existing GooglePlay customers, the app you have installed now on your phone may work for a while, but we have now shutoff any external functions. Please make sure you cancel any GooglePlay subscriptions you had.


We are sorry that Google inconvenienced you. It has cost us a lot of money and wasted time. But onwards we march.

Any app which allowed automatic forwarding of text messages to another number (SMS to SMS) was banned by Google/Android in early 2019. So we had to remove this feature from our app...many apps were affected by this change. We changed Auto Forward SMS so it now only forwards incoming SMS to email or a URL.

Yes. You also need an active SIM so you can receive SMS (text messages).


If you are off internet/wi-fi for a while then switch back on, it may take some time for the app to catchup and forward the emails. Let us know if you have issues.


If the app starts forwarding to email erratically, this usually means that your internet connection may be dodgy, or the app is in "snooze" or "doze" mode, or the app doesn't have internet access. Please check your Power, Battery and WIFI settings, or view the FORWARDING ISSUES TROUBLESHOOTING CHECKLIST further down this page. If you need more help please contact us for free testing.

No, as these messages are not "real" or "true" SMS. They are called OTT (Over The Top) apps and use the internet to deliver messages, not a telecommunications network.


SMS is Short Message Service, which is a completely different technology which does NOT need or use the internet to deliver messages. Instead SMS uses the same network as your telephone. Many would argue SMS is more reliable because of this.

This is an Android notification telling you that Auto Forward SMS wants to show you Low Battery Warnings. This is common with many apps that give notifications.

Auto Forward SMS

Here's how to stop this notivce from appearing:

  1. Tap & HOLD the notice until it shows you more options with a toggle switch. See image below
  2. Toggle the switch to OFF and the notice should go away.
Auto Forward SMS

No. Both FWD ALL and MANAGE TASKS have ON/OFF toggle switches.

No. Auto Forward SMS will only work when your phone is switched on, in a mobile/cell phone reception area, and can receive text messages. The app also needs the internet to forward incoming SMS to email.

Yes you can. But remember FWD ALL INCOMING SMS will forward your Tasks too. If you do not want your Tasks to forward with FWD ALL INCOMING SMS, here are a few tips to stop this happening, so you don't double up the forwarding:


Add the Task "from" number to the FWD ALL INCOMING SMS>DO NOT forward SMS from these numbers field.


Or if you want to forward ONLY those SMS with a certain word/s in the body of the text, use Tasks > FROM Number of Word or + . In this field add an asterisk * then in Advanced Settings add your keyword, and SAVE. So now the app will ignore incoming SMS unless it sees your keyword, then it will forward this text for you...but make sure FWD ALL INCOMING SMS is OFF.

If you want to simply use the Missed Call Alerts and/or Low Battery Warnings on their own, and you do not need to forward SMS, yes you can do this easily.


Up the top of the FWD ALL INCOMING SMS screen where you'd normally add an email address to forward SMS to, LEAVE THIS BLANK. Then add your email to address to the Fwd Missed Call Notices to field and/or Send Low Battery Alerts to field. Tap SAVE, and that's it.


Now if you miss a call and/or your battery reaches 15%, an alert will be emailed to you. SMS will not be forwarded as you have left that field up the top blank. The image below may also assist you...


missed call alerts

If you bought directly from us, simply tap the SUBSCRIBE button and Cancel Subscription button. Note that the app will stop working, but you can resubscribe at anytime.


All Amazon subscriptions are managed via your Amazon account, so login to your Amazon account and cancel your subscription. Bear in mind the app will stop working if you are not subscribed.

In Fwd All Incoming SMS, the forwarded SMS will have the original sender's details appended to the end of the fwded SMS, including their name.


In Tasks, this is an option.

Yes you can. First: set Auto Forward SMS to forward incoming SMS to your email address. Then setup your Slack account to receive your email. Instructions from Slack are here: Send emails to Slack


You should be able to do this with any apps that can receive an email.

Yes you can, but via Gmail. So firstly, setup Auto Forward SMS to forward incoming SMS to a GMail address. Then you can forward SMS to your GMail address by using Telegram "bots" and allowing Telegram access to your GMail account. This may be fiddly, but there's some instructions on this website: Forward emails to Telegram


You should be able to do this with similar OTT (Over The Top) apps, as long as you can forward an email to them.

No. But in Fwd All mode, you will receive an alert email if an MMS arrives, but it will only show any text accompanying the image. It's not perfect we know, but MMS forwarding is very tricky and unreliable, so we are unlikely to work on adding support for MMS image forwarding.


Also note that if you are in a messaging group and someone sends you a group message, this may be sent to you as an MMS therefore won't be forwarded, but you will still get an alert.

There is a Setting in your default Messages app that should change this behaviour and allow them to be SMS instead of MMS.


Try this: In your Android Messages app, tap: Settings > Advanced > Group Messaging > select Send an SMS reply to all recipients and get individual replies (mass text). This screenshot may also help:

Auto Forward SMS

Forwarding Issues

Some newer phones can 'snooze" or "doze" apps to save power. Auto Forward SMS is prone to this because you don't need the app open to work. So your phone thinks it's not in use, and puts it to sleep.


Also check if you have a Do Not Disturb time setting on your phone that is stopping SMS between certain hours. A few of our customers had this issue!


Some phones may also restrict access to the internet, so you'll need to change some phone Settings to allow smooth function. Phone Settings are located in different places, so this guide can help you locate the appropriate Settings:


Permissions

Ensure all permissions are ON


Data Usage: Background Data:

Enable usage of mobile data in the background


Unrestricted data usage:

Allow unrestricted data access when Data Saver is on


Battery optimisation: Not optimised

Background activity manager:

Ensure Auto Forward SMS is NOT blacklisted


Settings > Network & Internet > WIFI

Wi-Fi preferences OR Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep: Always


Advanced > Switch to mobile data automatically: ON

NOTE: This is for reliable forwarding to email or URL/API if you are not in WIFI range.

WARNING: Ensure your mobile data plan allows this and you are not paying high fees for roaming or excess data etc. We are not responsible for any data costs. Please check with your phone provider if you're unsure.


Still not working? Email us to do live tests.

Most issues with email forwarding delays are WRONG EMAIL ENTERED, your email provider is BLOCKING the forwarded email, or INTERNET CONNECTION issues.


The app needs the internet to forward to your email. If the first time fails, Auto Forward SMS will retry every 15 minutes for 24 hours. If there is no internet connection after 24 hours, a notification: "Unstable internet connection. Could not fwd your SMS to email. Check your WiFi or mobile data Settings" will show.


Other things to check:

  • Test with a different email address. If it works with different email, then it's likely that the forwarded SMS to your email address is being blocked. Check your Spam/Junk folder, and white-list our domain autoforwardsms.com with your email provider if it is being sent to your spam folder.

  • Make sure your Battery Saver Mode is not stopping the app from working. Whitelist the in your phone's Battery or Power Settings.

  • If you have a keyword filter and the Case Sensitive option toggled on, toggle Case Sensitive OFF , SAVE and retest. If the app now does forward, consider as to whether you really need the Case Sensitive option on or not.

  • Most functions of this app will need the internet to forward SMS, so ensure the app is allowed to access WIFI and the internet on your phone.


Contact us if you need help and we can assist you with testing.

The app offers you options to only on-forward texts containing specific word/s. This KEYWORD filtering function works in both Forward All Incoming SMS mode or Create Tasks and you have the option for Case Sensitive if you need this..

Here's an example of how the keywords filter works:

Example 1 (strict):
KEYWORDS: chocolate cake

Will only forward if both words chocolate cake are received IN THAT ORDER. Will NOT forward if single word chocolate or cake or cake chocolate.

Example 2:
KEYWORDS: chocolate, cake

This will forward if any of those words are received together or singly in ANY order.

NOTE that the app looks for keywords in the actual message (the BODY of the SMS), and not the SenderID.

Only use the Case Sensitive option if you really need to.

Remember that Tasks work independently from FWD ALL INCOMING SMS.

You can have Tasks and FWD ALL INCOMING SMS running at the same time, but remember that the FWD ALL INCOMING SMS will also fwd ALL incoming SMS from Tasks too.

If you only need to forward incoming SMS from certain numbers to certain people (in Create Tasks), then don't have FWD ALL INCOMING SMS switched on.

Make sure you have FWD ALL INCOMING SMS switched off, or it will indeed forward ALL, including Tasks, because you have told the app to do that :)


Or if you still want to use FWD ALL INCOMING SMS in addition to TASKS, go to FWD ALL INCOMING SMS screen and add the Task FROM Number into the DO NOT forward SMS from these numbers field, and SAVE.


This will prevent the TASKS also being double-forwarded!

POST to URL

Please view the dedicated page for this function here

There are many websites where you can test your Fwd To URL settings to make sure the app and your parameters are working. Our favourite testing site is: www.webhook.site.


Simply copy the test URL from WebhookSite and paste into Auto Forward SMS and/or POST to URL box and SAVE. Then send a text message to that phone, then go back to WebhookSite and you should see the test POST. When you're done, remove the test URL from Auto Forward SMS and replace with your own URL.


Let us know if you need help with this.

Still need help?

Please email us: support@autoforwardsms.com


We're in the USA so please allow for timezone delays. Thank you.