What Is Do Not Disturb on Your Phone?

For those moments when you need to clear your head and get a few minutes of peace, the Do Not Disturb feature on your phone can be a blessing. Both iPhone and Android devices have a Do Not Disturb option that functions the same way. When you turn on Do Not Disturb, calls, texts and other notifications will not make your phone ring or light up as they normally would. Your phone will still receive calls, texts and notifications, but you will not be actively notified. Your phone will store these notifications for you to check and respond to at a later time.

The difference between using Do Not Disturb and Silent modes on your phone is that in Silent mode, your phone lights up and presents notifications as it normally would, albeit without sound. In Do Not Disturb mode, your home screen can remain blissfully blank until you manually turn it on.

How to Use Do Not Disturb on iPhones

Enabling Do Not Disturb on your iPhone can be done in one of two ways. You can manually switch it on when you enter a situation in which you want to disable notifications, like an important meeting, or you can set it to go into Do Not Disturb mode at the same time every day—before you go to bed, for example.

To manually turn on Do Not Disturb:

1. To manually turn on Do Not Disturb, pull up your phone’s Control Center by swiping up or down (depending on your device and operating system).
2. Tap the Do Not Disturb icon that looks like a crescent moon. Now Do Not Disturb is on!
3. When you’re ready to disable Do Not Disturb, simply tap the icon again to turn it off.
4. To further customize your Do Not Disturb experience, press and hold the Do Not Disturb icon. Here, you’ll see a few options pop up. Select whichever is preferable for your situation.

To set a repeating Do Not Disturb:

1. Open your iPhone’s Settings and select Do Not Disturb.
2. Select Scheduled.
3. Choose the range of time that you’d like your phone to automatically go into Do Not Disturb mode every day.

How to Use Do Not Disturb on Android Devices

Like the Do Not Disturb function on iPhone, Do Not Disturb on Android can also be scheduled or turned on manually.

To enable Do Not Disturb manually:

1. Swipe downwards on your screen and tap the Do Not Disturb icon, which looks like a circle with a line through it.
2. When you’re ready to end Do Not Disturb mode, simply tap the icon again to exit.

To schedule a recurring Do Not Disturb:

1. Navigate to Settings, select Sound and then Do Not Disturb.
2. From here, navigate to Turn on automatically and select Add rule.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen to enter the details about when you’d like your phone to go into Do Not Disturb mode.

Next time you need a break from the endless news cycle, all of your group texts or the stress of your social media feed, try turning on Do Not Disturb and see if it helps you manage your screen time more effectively. We hope this article has helped you understand what Do Not Disturb mode is and how to use it. To learn more about tech topics like this one and find out about buying or selling a device, check out the Trademore blog and available phones.

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