Day 8: Schedule text messages to send at just the right time

Focus modes let you customize different Do Not Disturb settings when you don't want to be bothered by notifications and messages. So what happens when you turn on Focus for your iPhone, but you still get notifications on your iPad? We'll show you how to turn on Share Across Devices in Focus mode with this quick setting.

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Editor's Note Claim an extra 10% off with our senior discount Dear Reader, Congrats! You’ve mastered a week’s worth of our best iPhone tips. We have more coming your way. To kick off week two, I wanted to take a moment to tell you about our senior discount. We built iPhone Life Insider to be the best tech education membership out there—and an affordable one, too. That’s why when our readers told us they wanted a senior discount, we listened.  Today, we proudly offer a 10% discount for seniors (60+), medical professionals, and service personnel (military, veterans, fire, police, and EMT) as our special thank you. And that’s on top of our 50% first-time subscriber offer. Just mark the senior discount box at checkout for a total of 60% off! David Averbach, CEO and Publisher at iPhone Life   Tip of the Day     Schedule Messages to Send Later on Your iPhone   Scheduling a message on iOS used to be a hassle that could only be done by creating a special shortcut. However, the latest software from Apple now allows you to schedule a message on the iPhone. Read on to find out how to schedule a text on your iPhone! Why You’ll Love This Tip Avoid texting at strange times by scheduling your texts for later. Schedule a text to send important information so you don’t forget later. How to Schedule Messages on iPhone System Requirements This tip was tested on an iPhone 16 running iOS 26, and works on iPhones running iOS 18 or later. Find out how to update to the latest version of iOS. With iOS 18 and later, you can schedule an iMessage to send out at a later date. I’ve used this feature late at night when I remembered I needed to tell a friend something but it wasn’t important enough to wake them in the middle of the night. Instead, I just set a scheduled message to go out the next morning, with the relevant information, ensuring I would not forget to text them. Here’s how to schedule messages on your iPhone: Note This only works when sending iMessage texts. If you are sending RCS/SMS messages, you will not be able to use the Send Later feature. Open an iMessage conversation, and tap the plus icon next to the text box. Tap Send Later. Note: You may have to tap More to find your Send Later button, as the options in this menu may be arranged differently for different users. Depending on the time of day, the date and time will be set automatically. Tap it to change when your text will be sent. Use the scroll wheel to select the date and time you want the text to be sent. Tap the text box when you've chosen the date, type out your message, and then tap the Send icon. The text will be in a dashed outline bubble to indicate that the text will be sent later. Select Edit to make changes. Send Message will send the message immediately, Edit Time will change the time that the text will be sent out, and Delete Message will delete it. That’s how to schedule messages on iPhone. Your message will automatically send at the scheduled time. If you are running an iOS version earlier than iOS 18 or you are sending an RCS/SMS text message, you will need to use the Shortcuts method. Check out our article on how to schedule a text on an iPhone using Shortcuts if your device is running iOS 17 or earlier. Be sure to check out our free Tip of the Day for more great texting tutorials. More On: Texting Auto-Reply to Texts in iPhone Focus Mode How to Text Yourself on iPhone Master How to Text on Your Apple Watch       Share This Tip   Have a Tip You’d Like to Share? Let Us Know. More to Discover Is Insider right for you? Deciding if Insider is right for you is a question everyone has to ask—and answer—for themselves. Our subscribers join Insider for different reasons. Lynne wanted an easy way to master her phone without getting frustrated: “I am 67 and the one in our family who actually tries to keep up with technology. If a phone is going to cost me this much I want to know how to use it. Insider has reduced some of the frustration I used to feel by teaching me a lot of helpful things.” Jon wanted an easier way to learn: “Insider gave me insights into my phone’s capabilities I was not even aware of. I used to learn through trial and error and by asking my kids, but now Insider gives me a really easy way for learning.” Shelly wanted to find it all in one place: “My favorite thing about Insider is that everything is in one place and it’s easy to find. And the daily video tips save me so much time! And many of your peers join because: All content is split into easy-to-consume pieces. Even our in-depth guide videos are only a few minutes long. We’ve been in the business for 30+ years. We help millions of people every month with our tried-and-true tutorials that cut through the clutter. Everything you need is in one place. Access live courses, in-depth video guides, our complete iPhone Life magazine archive, one-on-one help with our experts, the premium ad-free podcast, and our full archive of 3,500+ video tips. The 60-day money back, no-questions-asked guarantee removes risk. If Insider isn’t for you, just let us know and we will give you a full reimbursement. Access to our experts anytime you get stuck. We’ll always be just a message away. Ready to discover if Insider is right for you? Join today and save up to 60%.

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