ResenderA spare Android phone that emails you its SMS
A number you need to keep but do not want to carry — an old number, a second line, a SIM from another country — can live in a spare Android phone at home. With Resender on it, every SMS that number receives is in your email within seconds, wherever you are.
Set it up once
- Put the SIM in the spare phone, connect it to Wi-Fi and leave it on a charger. It does not need a data plan, a screen you look at or a good battery.
- Install Resender and sign in to your mailbox — Google or Microsoft in one tap, or any mailbox with an app password. Your address becomes the first recipient; add more if others should get the messages too.
- Leave Forward everything on. A new install starts that way: every SMS goes to every recipient you have switched on, with the sender in the subject.
- Make Android let it run. Take Resender off battery optimisation — the app opens the list for you — and, on a Xiaomi, Samsung, Huawei or similar phone, set the manufacturer's switches from the battery guides. This is the step people skip, and the reason forwarders "stop after a few days".
Keeping it running for months
- Charger and Wi-Fi are the only two things the phone needs. If the Wi-Fi drops, Resender retries for 24 hours and the journal shows what happened.
- Restarts. After a power cut most phones come back on their own when the charger is plugged in, and Resender starts with them. A phone that waits for an unlock after a restart is better with no lock at all when its only job is this.
- Keep the SIM alive. A prepaid SIM that only receives may expire; send one SMS or make one call every few months if the carrier asks for it.
- Updates. After a system update, open Resender once: it tells you on the main screen if the battery setting was reset.
What it does not do
Resender forwards SMS only — not calls, not chat messages (RCS), not messengers — and to email only. The phone must be on and connected; if it is off, the SMS wait at the carrier and arrive when it is back, and Resender forwards them then.
Questions
What kind of phone do I need?
Any Android phone from Android 8 up that still turns on, with a working SIM slot and Wi-Fi. An old phone from a drawer is the usual choice; it does not need a good battery because it stays on a charger.
Does the phone need a data plan?
No. Receiving SMS costs nothing on most plans, and the email goes out over Wi-Fi. Keep the SIM active with whatever the carrier requires — some expire a prepaid SIM that receives but never sends.
What happens when the Wi-Fi drops?
Resender keeps the SMS and retries sending for 24 hours; when the connection returns, the emails go out. The journal in the app shows each attempt.
Will it survive a power cut?
If the phone restarts when power returns — most do when the charger is plugged in — Resender starts with it and continues. Some phones stay off after a restart until the screen is unlocked once; set a simple unlock or none on a phone that only does this job.
Can I check that it is still working without going to the phone?
Send the number an SMS from your own phone: it should be in your inbox within seconds. Resender also shows the last successful send on its main screen when you do get to it.