How to schedule a phone call on Android and iPhone

What an iPhone can do

An iPhone has no built-in way to place a call automatically at a set time. The Phone app dials when you tap a contact. It does not keep a clock and then dial that contact while the phone sits on the table. The Clock app can sound an alarm at a time you pick. That alarm is a noise on your phone. It is not a call to you from another line, and it is not a call to someone else.

Reminders or Shortcuts can prompt you to call. A reminder can say "call the clinic at 9" and show a notification. You still open it and tap through. A Shortcut can be built so that running it starts a call, or so that it shows you the contact. Running it is still an action you take. A prompt is useful when you are awake and you only need a nudge. It is a poor fit when you want the other phone to ring whether or not you are holding yours.

The iPhone Focus mode can also silence unknown numbers and calls during sleep hours. That is the phone setting, not the Focus plan. If a call is supposed to get through at 6am, the person who owns the phone has to allow that number. See calls not ringing for Silence Unknown Callers and Do Not Disturb.

What Android can do

On Android it depends on the phone and the dialer app. There is no single Android screen that every phone shares for "call this person at 7am." Some dialer apps include a way to place a call later. Many stock dialers only show recents, contacts, and a keypad. A manufacturer can add a menu on one model and leave it off the next. An update can move or remove that menu.

Because of that, this page does not name a brand feature. If you want the handset itself to dial, open the dialer on that phone and look for a schedule, a later call, or a similar control. If it is not there, do not install a random dialer from a search result just to get one. Check the app you already use, then decide. A feature that exists on a friend's phone is not evidence that your phone has it.

A scheduler is a different job from a prompt

A phone call scheduler, in the sense people usually mean, places the call at the clock time without someone standing there to tap Call. A calendar alert, a reminder, and a shortcut prompt all fail that test. They tell a person to act. They do not ring the other handset by themselves.

That gap shows up in ordinary plans. You want your own phone to ring at 6:30 with a message you recorded last night. Or you want a parent's phone to ring at noon with a short check-in, and you will be in a meeting. Neither of those works if the method depends on you being awake and tapping a button at the exact minute. The next section is the option that rings a phone and plays a message, for you or for someone else.

Send an automated phone call at a set time

If you want a phone to ring at a set time with a recorded message, for you or someone else, On Time Call does that. You pick the number, the time, and the message. At that time the service calls the number and plays the recording. You can record it in your own voice on every plan, including Starter. AI text-to-speech is AI TTS from Focus and up. The recording limit is 55 seconds, so write a short message and read it once before you save it.

Be clear about what the call is. It does not connect you live to the other person. There is no two-way conversation. If they say hello, the message plays anyway. They cannot ask a question and get an answer on that call. If you need a real conversation, this is the wrong tool, and you should call them yourself in the normal way when you are free.

It also does not text them. On Time Call does not send SMS. The cue is the ring and the voice message. That is why it suits a wake-up, a "leave now" reminder, or a short appointment note, and why it is a poor place for a long list of private details.

Calls go to mobiles and landlines in the UK, US, and Canada only. A number outside those countries cannot be scheduled. The person does not need the app installed to receive the call. An Android app exists for scheduling, including on your own phone, but the call itself is a normal phone call.

Your number, or someone else's

Starter and Focus call your own number. Starter is 3 free calls, one-time, with no card and no recurring schedule. Focus adds recurring calls: daily, weekly on the same weekday as the first call, monthly on that day of the month, or specific days of the week. If you want the ring on your own phone, start with how to schedule a call to yourself. That guide covers your own number. This one is about the wider question, including calling someone else.

Calling someone else needs Support: you plus up to 4 other people. Ask their permission first. Tell them the time, what the message will say, and that they should save the caller ID so the phone does not treat it as spam. The numbers are US: +1 (740) 693-0907 · Canada: +1 (431) 500-0907 · UK: +44 7426 930907. Support also sends you an email if a call is not answered, which is useful when the phone belongs to a parent and you need to know the ring did not get a pickup. Focus can retry a call to your own number. It cannot add their number.

Pro lists up to 50 recipients, plus CSV upload, and is marked Coming Soon. It may roll out in phases. Do not plan a large recipient list on Pro until that plan is actually available to buy. For one to four other people, Support is the plan that does it today. Prices are on the pricing page: Focus is £4.99 per month, Support is £11.99 per month.