Share Alarm Texts With a Group Chat

If an alarm sends an SMS to an iPhone, a Shortcuts Message automation can match the alert and run Fwrd’s action to send its text to Slack, Discord, or Telegram. This can share routine updates from a freezer sensor, sump pump monitor, or generator with a group. It is not a life-safety monitoring system and does not guarantee delivery time.

What you need: An iPhone that receives the alarm texts, a Slack, Discord, or Telegram destination, permission to share the alert, and a safe way to test the setup.

Set up a group-chat alert

1. Confirm that the alarm sends a text to the iPhone number. Note a word that appears in each alert.
2. Set up Slack, Discord, or Telegram, and add only the people who should receive the alert.
3. Add that destination in Fwrd.
4. In Shortcuts, create a Message automation on the iPhone that receives the alarm text. The screen names differ by iOS version; follow our current setup guide.
5. Set Message Contains to the alert keyword and add Fwrd’s Forward Message action.
6. Set the action and automation to run without another tap, using the controls shown for your iOS version in our current setup guide.
7. Send a safe test alert, if the alarm supports one. Check the chat and Fwrd’s forwarding history.

See our Shortcuts message automation guide for trigger steps. The destination guides also show the setup in video: Slack, Discord, or Telegram. A narrow keyword reduces unrelated forwards, but an alert that does not contain the word will not match. If the alarm uses different words for different alert types, test each one and make a separate automation when needed.

What the group receives

Fwrd sends the text of matching new messages. It does not forward photos or the sender’s phone number. A reply in the group chat does not go back to the alarm or come from the iPhone number. The iPhone must stay on and connected to the internet for the chat service to receive the alert.

The automation does not send earlier alerts from message history. Phone, network, alarm, or chat-service problems can delay or prevent a message. Check that the iPhone still has power and network access, and review its forwarding history after a test.

Use it for routine updates only

A chat copy can help family members or a small team see the same routine status update. It can be useful when one phone receives a device’s texts and several people need to know that the freezer is warm or the sump pump sent an alert.

Do not rely on this route for fire, medical, security, or other urgent events. Shortcuts, the phone’s internet connection, and the chat service add points of failure. Use the alarm maker’s supported alert path and keep its local alert in place. Treat Fwrd as a convenience copy, not a monitoring service.

Before adding a destination, consider what the alert contains. Invite only people who should see those details. Avoid sending access codes or other sensitive information to a broad group.

Limits of sharing alarm texts

This setup only acts on new messages that match the rule. It does not recover missed alerts or copy old messages. Fwrd sends text only; it does not include images or the sender’s number. The source phone must be on, and internet access is required for chat destinations.

A successful test shows that the path worked once. It does not guarantee future delivery. Repeat the test after changing the alarm, phone, Shortcuts automation, destination, or network.

Troubleshoot a missing alert

If an alert does not appear, first check whether the alarm sent a new SMS to the iPhone. Then check whether the exact text contains the selected keyword. Next, confirm that the iPhone is online, the Fwrd destination is active, and the chat service can receive messages. Re-test after changing any part of the route.

Use a private channel or group intended for these updates. Check what the alarm text contains before you enable forwarding. If several people need the alert, confirm they can access the chat and know they are seeing a forwarded copy.

Test without creating a false alarm

Use the alarm maker’s safe test mode if it has one. Confirm the test reaches the iPhone, matches the Shortcuts rule, and appears in the intended group chat. Do not create a hazardous condition just to test an alert. If the alarm has no safe test, follow its manual or ask the maker how to check SMS delivery.

Check the route again after changing the phone, alarm number, chat destination, automation rule, or Wi-Fi setup. Keep a second approved alert method in place for anything that needs a dependable response.