Do Not Disturb On iPhone: A Full Guide

Do you get distracted when somebody calls you when you’re busy doing something? Are you getting too many notifications on your iPhone?

If this sounds like you, then don’t fret! Your iPhone’s Do Not Disturb feature was created specifically for this purpose. With this feature turned on, all notifications will be silenced until you turn it off.

Sound exactly like what you need? In this guide, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about Do Not Disturb on iPhone!

Do Not Disturb On iPhone: Everything You Need To Know

As mentioned above, the Do Not Disturb feature on iPhone silences all notifications, preventing them from “disturbing” you when you’re out and about, trying to focus on something, or taking a rest.

It also does a few other things:

• Stops the lock screen from lighting up when you have text messages or notifications
• Blocks incoming calls by automatically rejecting them or sending them to voicemail
• Lets people on iMessage know that your phone is currently silenced

Keep in mind that you can customize which calls to block and whether to let people know about your Do Not Disturb status.

In the next sections, I’ll show you the various ways that you can use Do Not Disturb option on your iPhone!

How To Manually Turn On Do Not Disturb On Your iPhone

The simplest way to turn on Do Not Disturb is to do it manually. This can be done in two ways.

Via The Control Center

The first method is to turn on Do Not Disturb from the Control Center. It’s probably the quickest and most convenient way to enable Do Not Disturb.

Here’s how you can do it.

1. Swipe up from the upper-right side of your screen to open the Control Center.
2. Look for the crescent moon icon and tap on it.

Doing so will immediately enable Do Not Disturb mode on your iPhone. You’ll know it’s on when you see a tiny crescent moon icon on the top

Via Settings

The next method to turn on Do Not Disturb manually is a bit more hidden, but it gives you more options.

Follow these steps.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

2. Scroll down and select Focus.

3. Click Do Not Disturb.

4. Toggle the switch to turn it on.

How To Automatically Turn On Do Not Disturb On Your iPhone

If you want to take things a step further, you can set up Do Not Disturb to automatically turn on at specific times, such as when you go to bed, or during work hours.

Here’s how to do that.

1. In the settings for Do Not Disturb, you should see a section called Turn On Automatically. You can now choose when Do Not Disturb mode should be enabled by tapping on the time.

2. Select the schedule you want Do Not Disturb to turn on automatically.

You can also choose to have Do Not Disturb turn on when you’re driving. This is a great way to make sure you’re not distracted while on the road. The exact steps will be detailed below, under customizations.

Using The Focus Feature For Do Not Disturb

Apple has recently rolled out a new feature called Focus that’s like an upgraded version of Do Not Disturb. In fact, Do Not Disturb is already under the Focus setting.

With this feature, users can choose which apps can send notifications.

To use Focus, here are the steps.

1. Go to Settings and tap on Focus.

2. You can see various modes here like Personal, Sleep (for bedtime mode), and Work. Simply select one to start setting it up.

3. Here, you can choose which apps can send you notifications.

4. You can also choose to allow other notifications from certain people, or from anyone in your Contacts app.

5. Once you’re done, you can choose to turn it on automatically or manually.

Customizing Do Not Disturb Settings

You can customize your Do Not Disturb mode settings to better suit your needs.

Here are some things you can customize.

Allowing Calls From Certain People

By default, Do Not Disturb will block all incoming calls. However, you can choose to allow calls from certain people, such as your favorite contacts, or from anyone in your Contacts app.

To do this, try the following options:

1. In the Do Not Disturb settings, go to the Allow Notifications section and click People.

2. Click Add Person and select from your contacts the people that you want to be able to call you.

3. You can also choose to allow everyone in your Favorites as a group.

Repeating Calls

If someone calls you while you use Do Not Disturb and they don’t get through, they will hear a message saying that you’re unavailable.

However, if you have repeating calls enabled and they call again within three minutes, their call will go through, unless you’ve blocked them in your Contacts.

Here are the steps to enable this:

1. While still in the Allowed Notifications setting, click on Calls From.

2. Toggle Allow Repeated Calls and tap on the option that you want to allow.

Silencing Notifications

By default, Do Not Disturb mode will silence all incoming notifications on your iPhone, including social media notifications and reminders such as WhatsApp or Facebook.

However, you can choose to allow certain types of notifications through, such as messages from your favorite contacts or from anyone in your Contacts app.

Nevertheless, silencing notifications from apps is very easy to do.

1. In the Do Not Disturb settings, click Apps under the Allowed Notifications section.

2. Tap on Add App to add which apps you still want notifications from.

Remember, if you only want to turn off certain apps like Snapchat or Messenger, you should check if they have built-in Do Not Disturb or Mute features on those apps, too. WhatsApp, for instance, allows users to mute individual chats.

Do Not Disturb While Driving

As I mentioned earlier, you can choose to have the Do Not Disturb feature turn on automatically when you’re driving. This is a great way to make sure you’re not distracted while on the road.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Go back to Focus settings and turn on the Driving feature.

2. Toggle the switch next to Driving.

From here on, your iPhone will turn on Do Not Disturb mode automatically when it detects that you’re driving. You can also customize other settings here, like auto-replies or status.

FAQs

What Happens When You Turn Off Do Not Disturb On iPhone?

When you turn off Do Not Disturb on your iPhone, all of your calls and notifications will come through as usual. You’ll still be able to see the missed notifications you had when Do Not Disturb was off, though.

What Happens When Your Phone Is On Do Not Disturb And Someone Calls You?

When your phone is on Do Not Disturb and someone calls you, it will go to voicemail or get rejected. However, if they call again within three minutes, their call will go through. You can change this setting so that repeated calls will always go through, or you can turn it off altogether.

Do Not Disturb Still Rings?

Do Not Disturb doesn’t ring. Instead, it rejects the call immediately. If there’s a voicemail service on the iPhone, it sends the caller straight to voicemail. 

Understanding Do Not Disturb On iPhone

That’s all there is to using Do Not Disturb mode on your iPhone.

As you can see, it’s a very useful feature that can help you stay focused and avoid distractions. Be sure to customize it to suit your needs so that you can make the most out of it!

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