Text While Screen Off

I like to use a quiet, unobtrusive notification sound for texting, since conversations tend to include a lot of messages. However, this quiet notification isn't enough to get my attention if my phone is in my pocket. My solution is to have Tasker give me a short period of time after the text is received to turn the screen on. If the screen is not turned on, Tasker will make a louder noise and announce the name of the person texting to me.

For this I use two tasks. The first is a reusable task "Wait For Screen" which can be used in many situations.

1. Return Value 1 [IF %SCREEN ~ on] [LABEL LOOP]
2. Variable Subtract Name %par1 Value 1
3. If %par1 > 0
4. Wait Seconds 1
5. Goto Action Label LOOP
6. End If
7. Return Value 0 Stop On

For this action, the parameter passed will be the number of seconds to wait (checking the screen once per second) and the return value will be 1 if the screen was turned on and 0 if not (though you can just check the screen in your action after the subtask finishes).

The profile which calls it uses the following conditions

• Received Text Any *,*
• Display State Off
• Variable Value %SILENT Doesn't Match on

And performs the following task

1. Perform Task Name [Wait For Screen] Parameter 5
2. If %SCREEN ~ off
3. Play Ringtone Notification Sound (choose your preferred sound)
4. Variable Split %SMSRN
5. Say Text from %SMSRN1 (say the sender's first name)
6. Else
7. Load App Messagine
8. End If

If the screen is turned on within 5 seconds, the messaging app is automatically started. If not, the extra notification sound is played and the sender's name is announced.