Forward SMS

How to get battery alerts from your iPhone

iOSBy Forward SMS TeamUpdated 3 min read

Forward SMS is a versatile iOS app that seamlessly forwards SMS to emails, Slack, Discord, URLs/APIs, or Telegram.

Forward SMS can also send your iPhone's battery level and charging state to your receivers, for example when the battery gets low. This guide walks you through setting up a Shortcuts automation and a Battery rule.

Prerequisites

In the Shortcuts app

Set up an automation in Shortcuts

The Shortcuts app runs an automation when the battery reaches the level you choose and asks Forward SMS to send the battery status. Follow these steps to create it:

  1. Open Automation

    Open the Shortcuts app and tap Automation in the Library.

  2. Add a new automation

    Tap the + button at the bottom.

  3. Tap Edit

    Tap the Edit button at the top right. If you don't see this screen and the list of actions opens straight away, skip to the next step.

  4. Select Automation

    In the list of actions, select the Automation category.

  5. Choose the Battery Level trigger

    Select the Battery Level automation from the available options.

  6. Set the battery level

    Choose Falls Below and drag the slider to the level you want an alert at, for example 20%. You can also choose Equals or Rises Above, for example to know when the battery is charged.

  7. Enable the automation

    Make sure the Automation toggle is on so that it runs automatically when the battery reaches that level.

  8. Add the Forward Battery Status action

    Tap Search at the bottom of the screen, search for Forward SMS and select the Forward Battery Status action. It has nothing to fill in.

  9. Done

    There's no save button: the automation is saved automatically. Go back or leave the Shortcuts app. Now let's create a rule in the Forward SMS app.

In the Forward SMS app

Create a Battery rule in the app

After setting up the automation, follow these steps to create a rule in the Forward SMS app:

  1. Create a Battery rule

    Open the app, tap the Create Rule button and choose Battery as the rule type.

  2. Name the rule

    (Optional) Change the Rule Name if needed.

  3. Add receivers

    Enter the receivers you want the battery status sent to. You can add multiple receivers, for example an email address, a Telegram chat or a webhook URL. For a webhook, see the properties you can use.

  4. Set a schedule

    (Optional) Define the schedule for when the rule should be active. You can select specific weekdays and time ranges. If no schedule is set, the rule is always active.

  5. Send a test battery status

    Tap Send Test Battery Status to make sure forwarding works as expected. The test uses your iPhone's current battery level.

  6. Save the rule

    Save the rule.

Congratulations! Your receivers now get an alert whenever your iPhone's battery reaches the level you chose.

For REST API receivers

Sending battery alerts to a REST API?

Use these properties in the URL, headers or body of a REST API receiver. Forward SMS replaces them with the battery details when it sends the request.

Available properties

{msg}
Battery status message, e.g. "Battery Level: 20%, Status: Not Charging"
{battery-level}
Battery level in percent (e.g. 45, or -1 if unknown)
{battery-state}
Battery state: charging, full, unplugged or unknown
{device-time}
Device time when forwarding was triggered
{device-time-iso}
Device time in ISO format when forwarding was triggered
{rule-name}
Rule name
{app-name}
Application name

Still stuck? Email help@forward-sms.com and we'll help you set it up.

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