Guide
How to get homework reminders by text
Neither Google Classroom nor Google Calendar will text you. Here is what will, from built-in phone tricks to an AI that texts you first.
Write It teamUpdated 3 min read
Texts get read. App notifications get swiped. That is why so many students want homework reminders as actual text messages, and why it is annoying that the school tools you already use will not send them.
What will not text you
| Tool | Texts you? | What it does instead |
|---|---|---|
| Google Classroom | No | Email and app notifications, including one for unsubmitted work due within 24 hours |
| Google Calendar | No, not since 2019 | Phone notifications and email, including for your class calendars |
| Your school’s own system | Sometimes | Some schools text families about grades or attendance. Ask yours. |
Apollo is coming to iMessage
It reads Google Classroom and texts you before things are due. Join the waitlist to hear first.
Option 1: Make Classroom alerts as loud as a text
You cannot make Classroom send a text, but you can make its alerts hard to miss. On iPhone, open Settings, then Notifications, then Classroom. Turn on Allow Notifications, turn on the Lock Screen alert, and set the banner style to Persistent so it stays until you deal with it.
Then check Classroom’s own switches under Settings and Notifications in the app. The full walkthrough is in how to get Google Classroom reminders.
Option 2: Text yourself on a schedule
- iPhone. The Shortcuts app can send a message at a set time. Make a time-of-day automation that texts you something like “Check To-do in Classroom” every school night.
- Android. In Google Messages, hold the send button to schedule a text, including one to yourself.
It is a blunt tool, since it does not know what is actually due, but a text at 8 PM is hard to ignore.
Option 3: Calendar alerts days ahead, not hours
Every Classroom class has a Google Calendar with its due dates already on it. Add a phone notification two or three days before the big assignments, so the reminder lands while there is still time to start. The steps are in how to see all your assignments in Google Classroom.
Option 4: An AI that texts you first
Everything above reminds you to go look. Apollo, the AI from Write It, is coming to iMessage to do the looking for you. Connect Google Classroom and it texts you about what is due before it is due, like a friend who actually read the syllabus. Say yes and it gets the work done, with realistic typing and our humanizer built in.
Get your reminders from Apollo
Apollo in iMessage is in a small test. Join the waitlist and you will hear first.