If you’re in a situation where you want to share updates quickly via text message but you don’t want to take your eyes off the road, you can trick your iPhone into sending pre-written text messages with the help of Airplane Mode.
Lifehacker reader Drew Sikora shares a clever technique for tricking your iPhone into staggering pre-written text messages. The trick relies on the method the iPhone uses for handling errors while text messaging. First put your phone in Airplane Mode and then write all the text messages you wish to compose ahead of time — like travel updates. When you attempt to send them they will error out. This creates a queue of unsent messages. When you turn Airplane Mode off, they don’t automatically send, they just sit there waiting for some action from you. Now when you are travelling you can easily send text messages — like “I’m just crossing the California border into Oregon” by simply tapping the message to attempt a resend.
Check out the full article at for a detailed run down of the technique including how to use it to update social networks as well as notify people via text. If you’re sporting an Android phone you may be curious if this trick works with Android. Alas, it doesn’t — Android sends all text messages automatically once you turn Airplane Mode off. Thanks for sharing Drew!
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