ResenderHow to forward text messages to email on Android
Install Resender on the Android phone that receives the texts and sign in to your mailbox once. From then on every new SMS is emailed to you within seconds, automatically, through your own mailbox — no sign-up, no server in between, no carrier setting.
What you need
- An Android phone with the SIM in it, Android 8.0 or newer. It can be the phone you carry or a spare one that stays at home on a charger.
- A mailbox to send from: a Google or Microsoft account for the one-tap sign-in, or any other mailbox that gives out app passwords (SMTP).
- An internet connection on that phone — Wi-Fi or mobile data. The SMS themselves arrive over the carrier network as usual.
Step by step
- Install Resender from Google Play on the phone with the SIM. Android asks for permission to receive SMS; the dialog names the whole SMS group (“send and view SMS messages”), but Resender only reads new incoming messages and never sends any.
- Connect your mailbox. Open Sending method and tap Google or Microsoft, or type any address and sign in with an app password. The address you connect becomes the first recipient.
- Done. A new install starts with Forward everything switched on, so every text from now on goes to your inbox. Send the phone a test SMS and watch the email arrive.
The first screen shows everything in one place: the sending method marked Working, your recipients, and the list of rules with Forward everything at the bottom. If something stops forwarding — a lost sign-in, a battery restriction — a red line appears there with a button that opens the right setting. Each email comes from your own address; the subject starts with [SMS] and the sender, and the body holds the text of the message.
Provider-specific notes are in the guides for Gmail, Outlook and any mailbox with an app password.
Forward only some texts
Rules decide which texts go where. A rule checks the Sender or the Message text, with equals or contains, ignoring upper and lower case. The list is read from the top, and the first matching rule wins; the last row, Forward the rest, takes whatever no rule took and can send it to all recipients, to the selected ones, or to nobody. A few examples:
- One sender only. A rule Sender equals the number (or the name a company sends under), and Forward the rest set to no recipients.
- A word in the text. A rule Message text contains “delivery” sends parcel notices to the address of the person who collects them.
- Keep something out. A rule set to Do not forward above the others stops a noisy sender from reaching your inbox, while everything else still goes through.
Several recipients and dual SIM
Add as many recipient addresses as you need — yours, a partner's, a shared work inbox. Each rule sends to all of them, to the ones you select, or to none. On a dual-SIM phone a rule can listen on one SIM only, so texts to a work number can go to the office and texts to the personal number stay with you. The dual-SIM guide shows the setup.
Keep it running with the screen off
Resender runs as an always-on service, but many phones stop background apps to save battery. That is the most common reason texts stop arriving in the mailbox. Switch battery optimisation off for Resender and, on phones that have them, the manufacturer's extra switches. The battery guides give the exact path for Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO, vivo, OnePlus, realme and Pixel. If the phone goes offline, Resender keeps retrying for 24 hours, and the Sending journal shows the delivery status for each recipient.
Forward one text by hand
For a single message you do not need any app. In your messaging app, open the conversation, press and hold the message, choose Share (on some phones it sits behind More), pick your mail app, enter the address and send. It works for the occasional text; it does not happen by itself, and it does not catch messages that arrive while you are not looking.
What it cannot do
- Forward to another phone number. Resender sends to email only; SMS to another number needs a different kind of app.
- Forward to messengers. No WhatsApp, Telegram or similar.
- Forward chat messages (RCS). Messages that arrive as a chat are not SMS and are not forwarded.
- Run on an iPhone. iOS does not let apps read SMS, so there is no iPhone version. The emails can of course be read on an iPhone, a Mac or anything with a mailbox.
Comparing options first? The guide to SMS forwarding apps lists what to check in any of them. For ideas on how people use forwarding, see the use cases.
Questions
Can Android forward text messages to email without an app?
Not automatically. Android has no built-in setting for it, and carriers forward calls, not SMS to email. By hand, you can share one message at a time to your mail app; for every message as it arrives, an app on the phone has to do it.
Do I need to change anything at my mobile carrier?
No. Resender works on the phone itself: it reads each SMS as the phone receives it and emails it through your mailbox. Nothing is set up or changed at your carrier.
Which email addresses can receive the texts?
Any address. The mailbox you sign in with sends the emails; the recipients can be at Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Proton, a company domain or anywhere else.
Are old messages forwarded too?
No. Resender forwards new incoming SMS from the moment it is set up; it does not read the messages already on the phone.
Does the app have to stay open?
No. Resender runs as an always-on service. What matters is that Android's battery manager lets it run in the background — the battery guides show the exact switches for each brand.
Is it free?
Every feature is free for up to 3 forwarded SMS a day. Pro removes the daily limit, as a monthly or yearly subscription on Google Play, and the first 7 days are Pro at no charge.