You're halfway up a ladder, your Samsung is in your back pocket, and it starts ringing. You can't answer, and by the time you're down, the call has rung out. Whoever it was is now wondering whether you saw it, whether you'll call back, or whether to try someone else. All you wanted was for your phone to send them a quick text:
Sorry, I can't pick up right now. Text me what you need and I'll get back to you today.
Why can't Android phones auto reply to missed calls?
Sending an automatic text message to a caller you missed sounds like the most obvious feature a phone could have. Like voicemail, but by SMS.
You're in for a surprise.
Android phones don't usually come with one. Even a cool Samsung Galaxy or one of Google's own Pixel phones doesn't have a built-in feature that does this.
If you're looking for a solution, you're not alone. People ask for this feature all over the internet, in Samsung's community forums and Android help threads, and the answer keeps coming back the same: there isn't one. Samsung users have even asked for a send-a-text action in Modes and Routines, the phone's own automation tool (Samsung Community).
Samsung's "reject call with message" comes closest
Samsung has the nearest thing: Quick decline messages, which many guides call "reject call with message". When a call comes in, you swipe up, tap a ready text, and the call is declined while the caller gets your message. It's useful, and worth setting up.
How to set up quick decline messages on a Samsung phone
- Open the Phone app.
- Tap the three-dot menu in the top corner, then Settings.
- Tap Quick decline messages.
- Type a new message under Write new message and tap the plus icon to add it. Tap the minus icon next to a message to remove it.
When a call comes in, swipe up on the incoming call screen and tap the message you want to send. If you wear a Galaxy Watch, you can do the same from your wrist: swipe up on the incoming call and choose Send a Message (Samsung support).
Why it isn't an auto reply
Quick decline messages only work on a call you decline, with your hand on the phone while it rings. A missed call is one you didn't get the chance to decline, so on the ladder, in the car or with the phone in your bag, nothing is sent. Google Pixel's "Take a Message" doesn't fill the gap either: it answers a missed call with your greeting and records what the caller says, like voicemail, but it doesn't text them (Google). And like voicemail, it only helps when the caller leaves a message, which many don't.
So you're left without a simple solution to a simple problem: you miss a call, the caller gets a text.
Why isn't auto replying to missed calls simple?
Here's the surprise. As soon as a phone texts callers by itself, you need rules for it. You don't want your mother to get "Thanks for calling Ridge Roofing". A customer who tries three times in five minutes shouldn't get three texts. Nobody wants a reply going out at three in the morning or on a day off. And every reply is an SMS your operator charges for, so you want a ceiling.
These are the things people ask for in reviews of auto reply apps, ours included, and they're why a missed call auto reply grows beyond a simple phone setting: a choice of who gets a reply, a cooldown per number, paused hours, and daily and monthly limits. It's also why the solutions out there vary so much in price and complexity, from free apps paid for by ads to subscriptions.
How Auto TextBack replies to missed calls
Auto TextBack is our answer: an Android app that does this one job, and it runs on Samsung Galaxy phones like any other Android app. You write your message and switch on auto-reply once. From then on, when a call ends unanswered, the app sends your message to the caller as a normal SMS from your phone number, through your mobile operator, without you touching the phone. You choose who gets a reply: everyone, saved contacts only or unknown numbers only. A cooldown per number means a caller who rings three times in a row gets one text, and paused hours and daily and monthly limits keep it within your rules. It works without internet. Your first three replies are free; after that, you pay once through Google Play, with no subscription.
Back on the ladder
Next time the phone rings while you're up the ladder, the caller gets your text before you've climbed down, and you come back to a message that tells you what they need. Keep Samsung's quick decline messages for the calls you see, and let the auto reply take the ones you can't.
Want to see how the options compare? We put the main missed call auto reply apps for Android side by side, by features and pricing model, in Best Missed Call Auto Reply Apps for Android.
Get Auto TextBack on Google Play
Frequently asked questions
Can a Samsung phone auto reply to missed calls?
Not with its built-in quick decline messages: they send a text only when you decline a ringing call. To reply automatically to calls you miss, you need an app that sends an SMS when a call goes unanswered, such as Auto TextBack. It works on Android phones in general, not only on Samsung.
Is Auto TextBack a subscription?
No. Your first three replies are free. After that, you pay once through Google Play and keep it. Google Play shows the price for your country before you buy.
Can I stop it texting my family and friends?
Yes. You choose who gets a reply: everyone, saved contacts only or unknown numbers only. Pick unknown numbers only, and the people in your contacts don't get the auto reply.
Will an auto reply app text the same caller again and again?
Not with Auto TextBack. You set a cooldown per number, from 5 minutes to 48 hours, so a caller who rings three times in a row gets one text. Daily and monthly limits, which you set yourself, cap the total.
Does the caller need an app to receive the reply?
No. The reply is a normal SMS from your own number, so any phone can receive it.
Does each automatic reply cost anything?
Yes, your operator charges each reply at its usual SMS rate, because the reply is a normal SMS from your own number. A long message may be split into several SMS parts, each charged separately.