Auto-reply to missed calls on your own phone
Your phone can send a ready-made text when you can’t pick up, as long as you see it ringing. Here are the settings from Apple, Samsung and Google, where each one stops, and a few texts worth pinching.
The short answer
Partly. An iPhone, a Samsung or Google’s Phone app can send a ready-made text when you tap to decline a call. An iPhone can also auto-reply while its Driving Focus is on.
We read Apple’s, Samsung’s and Google’s own help pages, and none of them shows a setting that texts every missed call by itself. If the phone rings out while you’re under a house, nothing gets sent.
That gap is what a missed-call text back service fills. It texts every caller you miss, and an assistant answers when they reply.
iPhone: a quick text when you decline
Apple calls it Respond with Text. Set your replies up once, then pick one while the phone is ringing.
Write your replies
Open Settings, then Apps, Phone, Respond with Text. Tap a field under Respond With and type your own.
When a call comes in
Tap the call banner for more options, then tap Message.
Pick one
Tap one of your replies to send it, or tap Custom and type something new.
iPhone: the Driving Focus auto-reply
Of all the Focus settings, Apple’s pages only give Driving an auto-reply. Go to Settings, Focus, Driving. If Driving isn’t there, tap the add button, then Driving. Tap Auto-Reply, choose who gets it, and change the message to your own words.
Under Turn On Automatically, tap While Driving and pick when it starts. You can have it come on when the phone thinks you’re driving, when it joins the car’s Bluetooth, with CarPlay, or only when you switch it on.
Apple lists who can get the reply as No One, Recents, Favourites or All Contacts. Its support article describes the reply going to people who message you, and neither page says it texts people who ring.
It changes your calls too. With Driving on, Apple says calls only come through when the phone is connected to CarPlay, the car’s Bluetooth or a hands-free accessory. Switch it on at a job and, unless you’re connected to one of those, your calls go quiet as well, which rather defeats the point.
Can an iPhone shortcut do it?
Not going by Apple’s Shortcuts guide. It lists the triggers an automation can start from, like a time of day, arriving somewhere, a text or email coming in, or an app opening. A phone call, answered or missed, isn’t one of them.
Samsung: Quick decline messages
Samsung’s Australian help page covers this. The same list works from a Samsung Watch: swipe up on the call and pick a message.
Write your messages
Open the Phone app, tap the three dots, then Settings, then Quick decline messages. Tap Write new message, type it, then tap the plus to add it to the list.
When a call comes in
Swipe up on the screen to see your Quick decline messages.
Tap one to send it
The caller gets it as an ordinary text.
Samsung Routines and Google’s Phone app
Samsung’s Routines run actions on your phone when set conditions are met, under Settings, Modes and Routines. Samsung’s Australian guide shows how to build one. It doesn’t list the conditions or actions, though, so it doesn’t say whether a routine can text a missed call. Check on your own phone before you count on it.
Google’s Phone app, the one on Pixel phones, has quick responses. When a call comes in, tap Message to reject it and send one. To change the wording, open the Phone app and tap More, Settings, then Quick responses. Google calls these automatic texts, but in its own steps you still tap Message.
Pixel 6 and later phones also have Take a Message, which answers missed and declined calls with a greeting and records the caller’s message. Call Screen asks unknown callers who they are and why they’re ringing. Neither one sends the caller a text.
Where the free settings stop
| When it sends | Who gets it | When they reply | |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone Respond with Text | Only when you tap Message on a ringing call | That caller | You answer it yourself |
| iPhone Driving Focus | Only while Driving is on, and Apple describes it for messages | No One, Recents, Favourites or All Contacts | You answer it yourself |
| Samsung Quick decline | Only when you swipe up on a ringing call and tap one | That caller | You answer it yourself |
| Google Phone app quick responses | Only when you tap Message on a ringing call | That caller | You answer it yourself |
| OffsiteMate missed-call text back | A few seconds after any call goes unanswered | Every caller you miss | The text assistant answers and can book the job |
From Apple’s iPhone User Guide and Driving Focus support article, Samsung Australia’s help pages and Google’s Phone app help, all read 12 October 2026. Menus move around between models and software versions, so yours may look a little different.
Missed-call texts you can copy
Examples only. Dave’s Plumbing is made up, so swap in your own name, business and hours. Keep the business name in, because the text comes from your mobile and a new customer may not have you saved.
On the tools
“Hi, it’s Dave from Dave’s Plumbing. Sorry I missed you, I’m on a job. What do you need done, and what suburb are you in? I’ll ring you back when I’m off the tools.”
Driving
“Dave’s Plumbing here. I’m driving, so I can’t pick up. Text me what you need and your suburb, and I’ll ring you back once I’ve pulled over.”
After knock-off
“Thanks for ringing Dave’s Plumbing. We’re done for the day. Text us what you need and your suburb, and we’ll get back to you in the morning.”
If it’s urgent
“Sorry I missed you, it’s Dave from Dave’s Plumbing. If it’s urgent, reply URGENT with your address and I’ll ring you as soon as I can.”
Keep it about their call
Thinking of adding a special or a sale? Read the ACMA’s spam rules first. The ACMA says marketing texts need the person’s consent, and that a message can still break the rules when it’s mostly factual.
What a missed-call text back service adds
Apart from the Driving auto-reply, every phone setting above needs you to see the call and tap. With a missed-call text back service, the text goes out on its own whenever a call goes unanswered, at any hour. Ours sends it a few seconds after the missed call.
It’s part of Core. The text comes from your business name and asks what they need and which suburb. When they reply, the text assistant says it’s your assistant, answers their questions, offers times you’re free and books the job. Anything urgent gets texted straight to you.
Core also includes the AI receptionist, which can pick up the calls you don’t, so fewer callers need a text at all. It’s A$299 a month for a sole trader with 150 texts included, then A$0.25 for each text over that, plus A$299 once for setup.
Your phone’s own settings are free. If you only miss a call or two a week and you always see them ringing, start there.
Missed call auto-reply questions
Can I automatically text back a missed call?
Not fully with your phone’s own settings, going by Apple’s, Samsung’s and Google’s help pages. They send a ready-made text when you tap to decline, and an iPhone can auto-reply while Driving Focus is on. To text every missed call without touching the phone, you need a missed-call text back service.
What should I text back after a missed call?
Your name and business, a quick sorry, and one question they can answer in one go: what they need done and which suburb. Leave the specials out.
How do I text “Sorry I missed your call”?
On an iPhone, save it under Settings, Apps, Phone, Respond with Text, then tap Message on the ringing call. On a Samsung, add it under Phone, the three dots, Settings, Quick decline messages, then swipe up on the call. Or just text it once the call rings out.
Does the iPhone Driving Focus reply to phone calls?
Apple’s pages describe the auto-reply going to people who message you, and they don’t say it texts callers. Apple also says calls only come through in Driving when you’re connected to CarPlay, the car’s Bluetooth or a hands-free accessory.
Is there a missed call auto reply on Android?
Samsung has Quick decline messages and Google’s Phone app has quick responses. Both need you to tap on the ringing call. Samsung’s Routines guide doesn’t say whether a routine can text a missed call.
Keep reading
- Missed-call text back: a text from your business when you can’t pick up
- The texts your customers get
- Replying to customers by text
- Forward your calls to your assistant
- What OffsiteMate costs
- Voicemail greetings for tradies
- Best AI receptionists for tradies in Australia (2026)
- What a missed call costs a tradie
- AI receptionist prices in Australia, compared
- Answering service prices in Australia, compared
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