Do Not Disturb mode enables you to filter out disruptive notifications on your iPhone. You have the option to tailor the mode to silence specific apps while permitting others, like phone calls, etc. Additionally, you can choose to allow or block notifications from particular contacts.
How to turn on Do Not Disturb on iPhone
- Swipe down from your lock screen to access the Control Center
- Select Focus > Do Not Disturb. The icon will turn white and toggle to ON.
- To personalize your Do Not Disturb preferences or create schedules for specific timeframes, navigate to Settings > Focus > Do Not Disturb.
How to turn off Do Not Disturb on iPhone
- Access the Control Center. (For iPhone X and newer models, swipe down from the top-right corner; for earlier models, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.)
- Select the Do Not Disturb icon (depicted as a crescent moon) to deactivate it.
- To ensure that your device doesn’t activate Do Not Disturb according to set schedules, navigate to Settings > Do Not Disturb > disable the Scheduled option.
Useful things to know about Do Not Disturb mode
Do Not Disturb only works when the screen is locked
Do Not Disturb operates exclusively when your phone screen is locked. While locked, your phone’s screen remains unresponsive to touch inputs but can still receive texts, calls, and other notifications. Your iPhone automatically locks after a period of inactivity, typically about a minute, and you can unlock it by pressing either the “Sleep/Wake” button or the “Home” button and then swiping the slider. You can adjust your iPhone’s Auto-Lock settings within the “Settings” section of your iPhone.
Scheduled Do Not Disturb
You can establish a regular period of quiet, known as quiet hours, during which Do Not Disturb activates daily, by configuring Do Not Disturb to “Scheduled” within “Settings” and specifying your preferred timeframe. Scheduled quiet hours prove beneficial if there’s a consistent time each day, such as during overnight sleep, when you prefer not to be disturbed. Once you’ve set up Scheduled Do Not Disturb, your iPhone will activate it automatically during the designated hours every day.
Configuring Do Not Disturb Exceptions
Within your iPhone’s settings, you have the option to enable two types of exceptions for your Do Not Disturb. The first type is contact-based, allowing you to designate certain contacts whose calls will always come through. This feature proves beneficial when you cannot afford to miss a call from specific individuals. The second type of exception is frequency-based, enabling you to allow repeated calls (defined as a second call from the same person within three minutes) to bypass Do Not Disturb. This exception ensures you do not overlook urgent matters, as it is likely someone will attempt to reach you multiple times in such cases.
Do Not Disturb in iOS 15 and higher
In iOS 15 and higher, several distinct Do Not Disturb settings are provided:
- Standard Do Not Disturb: When activated from the Control Center, you can swiftly select duration options like “for one hour,” “until this evening,” or “until I leave this location.”
- Driving: You can opt for automatic or manual connection to your car’s Bluetooth. It enables you to send a customizable reply message to chosen contacts indicating you’re driving.
- Sleep Mode: This enables you to schedule specific hours during which you prefer uninterrupted sleep.
- Personal: This can be tailored to your individual needs and features “Smart Activation,” which can automatically activate this mode based on schedule, location, and/or app usage.
- Work: Similar to other modes, you can designate specific people and apps from which you still wish to receive notifications, such as your boss or other essential contacts.
In the “Contacts” section of “Settings,” there’s also a setting called “Emergency Bypass,” allowing you to receive calls and vibrations from selected individuals even when any Do Not Disturb mode is enabled.
When Do Not Disturb is active, a crescent moon symbol will appear on your lock screen. Other iPhone users will notice that your Do Not Disturb is enabled when they open Messages to text you.