ResenderForward SMS to iCloud Mail from an Android phone
An iPhone cannot run an SMS forwarder — iOS keeps SMS away from apps. An Android phone with Resender can, and it can send every SMS to your iCloud Mail, where your iPhone, iPad and Mac already read it. Setup is your iCloud address plus an app-specific password from Apple.
Four steps
- Install Resender from Google Play on the Android phone with the SIM card. It can stay on a charger in a drawer, as long as it stays on and online.
- Create an app-specific password at Apple. Sign in at account.apple.com, open Sign-In and Security → App-Specific Passwords, tap +, name it and copy the password Apple shows once. Two-factor authentication must be on for the Apple Account; without it the option is not offered.
- In Resender, open Sending method, enter your iCloud address and tap Sign in with an app password. Resender recognises iCloud Mail and fills in the server by itself; paste the app-specific password and tap Save and test. Your iCloud address becomes the first recipient.
- That's it. A new install starts with Forward everything switched on, so from now on every incoming SMS is emailed to you. Send yourself a test SMS and watch it arrive on the iPhone.
What it looks like in iCloud Mail
Each SMS is one email from your own iCloud address to the recipients you chose. The subject starts with [SMS] and the sender in brackets — the number, or the name a company sends under — followed by the text of the message. The Mail app's rules on iCloud.com can file them into a folder or flag the ones from a sender that matters.
Only some senders, or only one SIM
Add a rule for a sender or for a word in the message text: the first matching rule decides where the SMS goes, and the last row, Forward the rest, takes whatever no rule took. A rule set to Do not forward keeps that sender out of your inbox. On a dual-SIM phone, each rule listens on the SIMs you choose.
If the emails stop coming
It is almost always the Android phone's battery manager stopping Resender in the background. Open the app: the main screen shows a red line when something is wrong, with a button that opens the right setting. The battery guides for each phone brand have the exact path.
Questions
Can I read the SMS on my iPhone this way?
Yes — that is the usual reason for this page. iOS does not allow apps to read SMS, so the phone running Resender has to be an Android one; its SMS arrive in iCloud Mail, which your iPhone, iPad and Mac already show.
Why an app-specific password and not my Apple Account password?
Apple's rule for mail apps: a program may send through iCloud only with a password made for it, under Sign-In and Security → App-Specific Passwords, and only when two-factor authentication is on. Your real password never leaves Apple; the app password can be revoked at any time without changing it.
Where exactly do I create it?
Sign in at account.apple.com, open Sign-In and Security → App-Specific Passwords, tap +, name it (for example Resender) and copy the password Apple shows once. Paste it into Resender.
Does it work with a me.com or mac.com address?
Yes. All three iCloud Mail domains — icloud.com, me.com, mac.com — use the same mail server, and Resender recognises them.
What does the setting look like inside Resender?
You enter your iCloud address; Resender detects iCloud Mail and fills in the server (smtp.mail.me.com, port 587, STARTTLS) by itself. You only paste the app-specific password and tap Save and test.