TL;DR
The fastest no-code fix is an Android auto-reply app such as Auto Text or Auto Message, both free to install, which texts every caller you miss from your own number. Add busy-call forwarding to a colleague and a WhatsApp Business away message. For a team sharing one number, a business number with automatic callback, such as TalkEasy, calls missed customers back 24x7.
The fastest missed call auto reply needs no code: put an auto-reply app such as Auto Text or Auto Message on the shop phone, write one message, and it texts every caller you miss. Both are free to install on Android, setup takes about 10 minutes, and the reply comes from your own number, so customers recognise it.
That covers one phone. If calls reach several technicians, or you want customers called back rather than texted, the other four options below add forwarding, WhatsApp, automatic callback and AI answering, each with its cost and its catch.
Which no-code setup fits your business?
Start from how calls reach you today, not from the tool.
| Your situation | Best no-code setup | Example and cost |
|---|---|---|
| One technician, one phone | Auto-reply app on that phone | Auto Text or Auto Message, free to install |
| A second call rings while you're on one | Forward busy calls to a colleague | Jio's forwarding service is free |
| Customers WhatsApp you when you don't pick up | WhatsApp Business away message | Free in the WhatsApp Business app |
| Three or more people, one shared number | Business number with automatic callback | TalkEasy missed-call automation |
| Calls at night and on Sundays need answering | AI receptionist | Superfone, ₹9,000 per 6 months + GST |
How we compared: prices and features from each provider's official page or Google Play listing, checked in September 2026. Prices exclude 18% GST unless stated.
Most small AC and appliance service shops combine the first three at little or no cost, then add the fourth when the team grows. Here is how to set up each one.
1. An auto-reply app on the shop phone
An auto-reply app watches your call log and sends an SMS whenever a call goes unanswered. Three Google Play apps do this:
- Auto Text, Schedule Messages (Bizcraft Apps): 4.5 stars from 33.7K reviews and more than 10 lakh downloads. It replies to missed calls and messages, and you choose who gets replies. Free to install, with ads and in-app purchases (Google Play).
- Auto Message: send SMS & reply: 4.2 stars from 9.5K reviews and more than 10 lakh downloads, with custom replies for missed and ended calls (Google Play).
- Auto TextBack, Missed call SMS (Mesensei, Finland): built only for missed calls, with a 7-day free trial and then a one-time purchase. It sends one reply per number within a window you choose, from 1 to 48 hours (Google Play).
Auto Text and Auto Message are free to install and sell paid upgrades inside the app. Set one up in 10 minutes:
- Install the app on the phone that holds your business SIM.
- Allow the SMS, phone and notification permissions it asks for, and turn off battery optimisation for the app so Android doesn't close it.
- Create a rule with "missed call" as the trigger.
- Paste your reply. Our missed-call reply templates have versions for each situation in English and Hinglish.
- Limit replies to one per caller every few hours, and exclude family contacts.
- Call the shop phone from another mobile, let it ring out, and check that the SMS arrives.
The catch: it only works for calls that ring on that handset while it is switched on, and each reply uses your plan's SMS allowance. Keep it a plain reply about the caller's request. Since TRAI's February 2025 amendment, commercial communication must use registered headers or special number series such as 140 (TRAI); a one-to-one reply from your own SIM is a grey area, and an offer or a link in it moves it firmly into promotion.
2. Forward busy and unanswered calls to a colleague
Conditional call forwarding sends a call to a second number only when your line is busy, unanswered or unreachable, so the customer reaches a person instead of a text. On Jio, the forwarding service is free with an active plan, and you set it in the phone's call settings or the MyJio app (Jio). Vi documents dial codes, and Airtel sets each condition in the Airtel Thanks app (Airtel).
Three things trip people up:
- Jio will not forward to BSNL numbers, to your own Jio number or to international numbers.
- Jio notes that an iPhone's own settings only offer forwarding for all calls, so on an iPhone use the carrier's app, such as MyJio, instead (Jio).
- Vi forwards unanswered calls after 30 seconds by default. Setting 20 seconds, about 7 rings, gives a technician time to answer without leaving the caller hanging (Vi).
The full code list for Jio, Airtel and Vi, and what forwarding costs, is in our conditional call forwarding guide.
3. A WhatsApp Business away message
WhatsApp Business away messages answer people who message you, not people who call (WhatsApp Help). They still matter, because a customer who can't get through on a hot afternoon may send a WhatsApp next.
- Open WhatsApp Business and go to the Tools tab.
- Tap Away message and turn on Send away message.
- Edit the text and pick a schedule: Always send, Custom schedule, or Outside of business hours. The last one needs your business hours set in your profile.
- Turn on a greeting message as well. It goes to first-time chats and to customers who return after 14 days of silence (WhatsApp Help).
- Save your rate card and service areas as quick replies, which are shortcuts for saved messages (WhatsApp Help).
If you want WhatsApp on a business number rather than a personal SIM, read whether a virtual number works for WhatsApp Business.
4. A business number that calls missed customers back
The first three options send a message. The fourth puts the customer back on the phone with your team without anyone having to remember to dial.
TalkEasy by GrowEasy gives your team one business number that runs in an Android app alongside each person's own SIM. With missed-call automation turned on, it automatically calls back customers whose calls were missed, 24x7, following your routing and availability rules (TalkEasy).
TalkEasy Pro costs ₹999 a month plus GST for unlimited users, with 3 hours of talktime a day; the pricing page lists what each plan includes.
Heavier business phone systems also cover missed calls. Exotel lists "missed call services" in every small-business plan, starting with Dabbler at ₹9,999 for 5 months (Exotel), and MyOperator's Sedan plan costs ₹5,000 a month, billed yearly, for 10 users (MyOperator). Both add IVR and suit higher call volumes.
One rule to know: TRAI's Third Amendment, notified on 18 September 2026, treats a call placed by software without a person dialling as an "A2P call", which the sender must declare to its operator in advance (TRAI PR 119/2026). That part starts 60 days after the amendment is published in the Gazette, so ask any automatic-callback provider how it declares these calls.
5. An AI receptionist for nights and Sundays
An AI receptionist picks up the call instead of letting it become a missed call. Superfone's AI Receptionist costs ₹9,000 for 6 months plus GST, with 1,800 AI minutes and 3,000 WhatsApp sessions (Superfone pricing), and Superfone says it speaks 10 languages (Superfone). TalkEasy's AI receptionist answers after hours, on weekends and on holidays, captures lead details, and transfers the call or books a callback (TalkEasy).
At about ₹1,770 a month with GST (our calculation), Superfone's plan pays only if many enquiries arrive while the shop is closed. Our AI receptionist guide for India covers languages and prices.
What should the auto reply say?
Keep it under 160 characters, the length of one SMS, with three things in it: your business name, when you will call back, and one question.
English: "Sorry we missed your call. [Shop name] here, we're on a job and will call you back by 3 pm. Please reply with your area and AC problem."
Hinglish: "Namaste, [Shop name]. Abhi site par hain, 3 baje tak call back karenge. Apna area aur AC ki problem reply karein."
The full set of 12, for after hours, busy lines, urgent no-cooling calls and repeat callers, is in our reply message templates.
Which one should you start with?
- Solo technician: the auto-reply app, today. It is free to install.
- Two or three people: the app, plus busy and no-answer forwarding to whoever is on phone duty, plus a WhatsApp away message for evenings.
- A team sharing one number, or more than about 10 missed calls a day: a business number with automatic callback.
- Many enquiries after closing time: add an AI receptionist.
Before paying for anything, work out what missed calls cost you; our worked example for an AC service business shows the arithmetic. If you run newspaper or hoarding ads that ask people to "give a missed call", that is a different product, a missed call alert service, with its own prices.
When TalkEasy is not the right pick: one technician with a handful of calls a day needs only an auto-reply app. If you want a text reply from a registered sender name, use an SMS provider, because TalkEasy's missed-call automation works by calling the customer back.
See how automatic callback works: TalkEasy missed-call automation.
Last reviewed 24 September 2026.
