Forward SMS from iPhone: send verification codes to your computer, browser and API

What your iOS version can do

• iOS 27: one link installs the shortcut together with its automation. The automation arrives switched off, and turning it on is the one manual step.
• iOS 17 to 26: fully automatic, even with the phone locked, once you have built the automation, which takes a few taps.
• iOS 16: works, but iOS asks for a tap on every message, because Message automations could not run on their own before iOS 17.
• iOS 14 and 15: no app; the ready-made shortcut (iOS 15 imports it, on iOS 14 you build it by hand), with a tap per message.
• iOS 13 and older: not supported, because there is no Message trigger.

To check your version, open Settings → General → About → iOS Version.

Set up forwarding without the app

This path works for everyone on iOS 15 and later. Do it on the iPhone itself, so you can paste the key.

1. 1

   Get the iPhone key

   Open busysms.net/dashboard in Safari and sign in. Under Devices, choose Set up an iPhone, enter the iPhone's number and tap Get the iPhone key. Copy it, and treat it like a password: anyone with it can send texts into your inbox.

2. 2

   Add the shortcut

   On iOS 27, tap Add the shortcut with its automation, paste the key when asked, then Add Shortcut. On earlier versions, tap Add the BusySMS shortcut, choose Set Up Shortcut, paste the key and Add Shortcut.

3. 3

   Create or switch on the automation

   On iOS 27, open the BusySMS Forward automation in Shortcuts and turn it on, with Confirm Before Run off and Allow Running When Locked on. On iOS 17 to 26: Shortcuts → Automation → + → Message, set Message Contains to a single space, choose Run Immediately, then add Run Shortcut → BusySMS Forward and set its input to Shortcut Input.

4. 4

   Verify the number

   Back in the dashboard, tap Send the check text. When your automation forwards it, the number shows as verified, which also proves the automation works.

With the BusySMS iPhone app

The app (iOS 16 and later, in beta) does the same job with fewer moving parts. Sign in, enter the iPhone's number and connect it. On iOS 27, Install the BusySMS automation adds the shortcut and its automation from one link; you then switch the automation on in Shortcuts → Automation. On earlier versions, the app walks you through building the automation around its Send to BusySMS action. A setup check confirms each part: shortcut added, automation runs, number verified, test text arrived.

The app also has a pause switch on its home screen. While it is paused, nothing leaves the iPhone, and codes that arrive in the meantime are never sent later.

Where the forwarded codes show up

• In Chrome on your computer: the BusySMS OTP Autofill extension fills the code into the website and presses Enter.
• In the dashboard: Received SMS lists each code with its sender and the time it arrived.
• In your scripts: the receive SMS API long-polls for the next code.
• In AI agents: MCP lets Claude or another agent wait for the code itself.
• For your team: share the number's codes with up to five other BusySMS users.

Things to know

• After a restart, unlock the iPhone once. Until then iOS keeps the BusySMS key locked and nothing is forwarded.
• After an iOS update, check that the automation is still switched on.
• Only texts that look like a code are forwarded. This is not a way to forward all your messages to another phone or to email.
• Not yet confirmed: whether the trigger fires for texts filtered to Unknown Senders or Junk, or in Focus and Low Power Mode. Send yourself a test code before you rely on it.
• An iPhone number is billed like any other: $5 per verified number per month after the 7-day free trial.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions