No Ticket Needed

Appearance

4 min fix 7 min read Recently reviewedBeginner

By , IT support technician

Quick Answer

Type your message, then right-click the Send button and choose Schedule send. Pick a date and time, and Teams delivers it then — even if your computer is switched off.

How to Schedule Send a Chat Message in Teams ​

Applies to: Microsoft Teams (Windows, macOS, web, iOS, Android)
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-07-29

Summary ​

Teams can hold a chat message and deliver it at a time you choose. This is the fix for writing at 11pm and not wanting to light up a colleague's phone — you finish the thought now, and it lands at 8am when they are actually working. This article covers scheduling a message, finding it before it sends, editing or cancelling it, and doing the same from your phone.

Prerequisites ​

  • Microsoft Teams desktop app, the Teams web app, or the Teams mobile app.
  • A one-to-one chat or group chat. Channel posts do not support scheduling.
  • No admin rights required.

Instructions ​

1. Open Schedule send from the Send button ​

Write the message first — the scheduling panel does not appear until there is something to send.

  1. Open a one-to-one chat or a group chat from the Chat list in the left sidebar.
  2. Type your message in the compose box at the bottom of the window. Format it, attach files, or add an emoji as normal.
  3. Right-click the Send button — the paper plane icon at the bottom-right corner of the compose box. Do not left-click it, or the message goes out immediately.
  4. A small panel opens above the compose box headed Schedule message.

Note: On the Teams web app, right-clicking sometimes opens your browser's own context menu instead. If that happens, press Esc to dismiss it and right-click the Send icon itself rather than the space around it.

2. Pick the date and time ​

The panel offers shortcut times plus a custom picker.

  1. In the Schedule message panel, select one of the suggested options — typically Tomorrow morning and Tomorrow afternoon, each showing the exact time beside it.
  2. For any other time, click Custom time (labelled Pick date and time in some builds). A date field and a time field appear.
  3. Set the date, then set the time. Teams uses the time zone your computer is set to, not the recipient's.
  4. Click Send at followed by the time you chose. The compose box empties.

Verification: The message appears in the chat thread with a clock icon and a line reading This message will be sent on followed by your chosen date and time. That line is visible to you only — the recipient sees nothing until delivery.

3. Find your scheduled messages ​

Scheduled messages wait inside the chat they belong to, not in a separate outbox.

  1. Open the chat you scheduled the message in.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the conversation. The pending message sits below the most recent real message, greyed out with the clock icon and its delivery time.
  3. If you scheduled messages in several chats, check each chat in turn. Teams has no single list of every pending message.

Tip: Pin the chat while a message is pending. Right-click the chat in the Chat list and select Pin — it stays at the top of the list so the pending message stays in front of you.

4. Edit or cancel a scheduled message before it goes ​

Nothing is locked in until the delivery time passes.

  1. Hover over the scheduled message in the chat thread. A small toolbar appears in its top-right corner.
  2. To change the wording, click the Edit icon (a pencil). The text drops back into the compose box. Rewrite it, then right-click Send again and set a new time.
  3. To change only the time, click the delivery-time line on the message itself, or open ⋯ (More options) on the message and select Reschedule. Pick the new date and time and confirm.
  4. To cancel it altogether, click ⋯ (More options) and select Delete. Confirm at the prompt.

Note: Once the delivery time passes, the message becomes an ordinary sent message. From that point you can still edit or delete it, but the recipient has already been notified.

5. Schedule a message from the Teams mobile app ​

The mobile app uses a long press instead of a right-click.

  1. Open the chat and type your message in the compose box.
  2. Press and hold the Send button (the paper plane, to the right of the compose box) for about a second, then release.
  3. A sheet slides up from the bottom of the screen with quick options and Custom time.
  4. Tap a suggested time, or tap Custom time and use the date and time wheels.
  5. Tap Send at and the chosen time. The pending message appears in the thread with its clock icon, exactly as on desktop.

Tip: Mobile is also where Quiet hours live — the setting that silences your own Teams notifications overnight. Scheduling protects your colleagues; quiet hours protect you. See How to Manage Teams Notifications to set them up.

6. Know where Schedule send does not work ​

Scheduling is a chat feature, not a universal one.

  • One-to-one chats — supported.
  • Group chats — supported.
  • Channel posts and announcements — not supported. Right-clicking Post in a channel does nothing. To time a channel announcement, write it in a draft and post it manually, or send the same content to the members as a group chat.
  • Meeting chats — support varies by build. If right-clicking Send produces no panel in a meeting chat, treat it as unsupported.
  • Replies inside an existing channel thread — not supported, for the same reason as channel posts.

If your work depends on timed channel announcements, tell IT: "Our team needs a scheduling option for channel posts — can we look at Microsoft Planner reminders or a Power Automate scheduled flow?" That gives them a concrete request rather than a complaint.

Troubleshooting ​

TIP

Set a scheduled message for the start of the recipient's working day rather than the start of yours. If a colleague is three time zones east, 8am your time is lunchtime theirs — the courtesy is lost. Check their time zone in their Teams profile card before picking the hour.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
Right-clicking Send does nothingYou are in a channel, not a chatScheduling works in one-to-one and group chats only. See Step 6 for the full list.
Schedule send is missing from the menuOlder or classic Teams buildClick ⋯ beside your profile picture and select Check for updates. Teams updates in the background and prompts you to refresh.
The message never arrivedIt was edited and left in the compose boxEditing a scheduled message returns the text to the compose box and cancels the schedule. Right-click Send again to reschedule it.
Recipient received it at the wrong hourTime zone mismatchTeams schedules against your computer's time zone. Confirm it under Settings > Time & language > Date & time on Windows before scheduling across regions.
The Reschedule option is greyed outDelivery time has already passedThe message has been sent. Delete it if it went out in error and send a short correction.
Colleague still got a notification overnightTheir own notification settingsScheduling controls when the message is sent, not how their device alerts them. Point them at How to Manage Teams Notifications to set quiet hours.