Do Not Disturb

This article shows the quickest ways to silence the Apple Watch, as well as different ways to mute Apple Watch notifications, including enabling Apple Watch Theater Mode. Here's how to mute the Apple Watch temporarily or for longer durations.

If you're frustrated by missing important phone calls that are sent straight to voicemail, then you might have a settings issue. With iOS 13 and later, users can turn on a feature that blocks unknown callers to prevent harassing robocalls. Unfortunately, privacy settings like Do Not Disturb or Silence Unknown Callers are problematic when you're waiting for a call from a number outside your contact list. Luckily, there are few tricks you can use to maintain your privacy without sending important calls straight to voicemail. Here's how to keep calls from going straight to voicemail on your iPhone.

Have you ever wished you could set up an auto-reply text message on your iPhone for times when you can't or don't want respond to text messages? Well, Do Not Disturb While Driving has an auto-reply feature that sends a message to people who text you letting them know you're driving and can't reply. If you want to send auto-replies even when you're not driving, all you have to do is customize the message and then use Do Not Disturb While Driving instead of the regular Do Not Disturb when you are in meetings or are otherwise unable to answer texts. Here's how to set this feature to be used with ease!

Sometimes Do Not Disturb will still let messages and calls through in certain circumstances depending on your Do Not Disturb settings. Want to use your phone without receiving ANY notifications and calls? Here's the best way to set Do Not Disturb so your phone won't go off for any reason. I use it for when I'm listening to podcasts or just trying to get some work done.

Screen addiction is a very real issue for many smartphone users, and Apple is taking the problem seriously. Since the rollout of iOS 12, there's a Screen Time feature that can help iPhone and iPad users become aware of how much time they spend on their devices, then cut back if they feel the need. One of these settings is called Downtime. What does Downtime in Screen Time do? It's exactly what it sounds like; a set time of day where your device reminds you that it's time to unplug and do something else. Let's get started learning how to set up Downtime in iOS 13 now. 

If you haven't used Apple's Do Not Disturb feature yet, it's a great way to silence notifications from calls, texts, and apps while your iPhone is locked. With iOS 12 and later, DND is now more versatile and useful than ever before with some long-awaited upgrades, including a location-based setting. Learn how to turn on Do Not Disturb for specific places, so your device doesn't start buzzing and beeping just when you need it to be quiet. 

If you're getting in the zone on a good workout, listening to your music, and feeling the endorphin rush, then the interruption of a notification from your Apple Watch can mess up your rhythm. Luckily, all you have to do is open your Watch app, go to the General settings page, select Do Not Disturb, and activate Workout Do Not Disturb. Then your watch will automatically enter Do Not Disturb mode any time you start a workout, and your running or rowing will be the "me time" you need. Let's get started.

You've been trying to get in touch with a friend or family member, but they haven't returned your calls or messages. Are they just busy or have they blocked your number? How do you know if someone blocked your number? There's not a surefire way how to know if someone blocked your number, but there are a few telling signs that might indicate someone blocked your number from texting or calling. We've already gone over how to block a number, as well as how to block your number or call privately, now let's go over the clues that calls and messages from your iPhone are being blocked.

It’s wonderful to be constantly connected to friends, family, and coworkers… until it’s not. An iPhone can make you more available and productive, so you can do things like pick up last-minute items at the grocery store or lend your expertise to a client halfway around the world, but it can also encroach on time set aside for family, rest, and relaxation. Fortunately, you can utilize Do Not Disturb to mute intrusive calls, texts, alerts, and notifications.

Now that we've all got our hands on the iOS 12 update, it's worth a reminder to check a few settings. One of the biggest changes with iOS 11 was the new driving Do Not Disturb for iPhone feature. If you haven't used this driving mode for your iPhone yet, it's a safety feature that's well worth your time to set up. I’ll show you how to turn on Do Not Disturb While Driving, how to turn off Do Not Disturb While Driving, and I’ll also cover the Do Not Disturb While Driving text message auto-reply on the iPhone!

Do Not Disturb While Driving disables text message notifications on your iPhone while you drive, but did you know that you can set up an auto-reply to respond to text messages while Do Not Disturb is on? To send an auto-reply text while driving, open the Settings app, go to Do Not Disturb While Driving, and create and enable an auto-text response. Read on to learn more.

One of the big safety features of iOS 11 is the new Do Not Disturb While Driving feature. When it’s on and set up, your iPhone won’t receive notifications while you’re driving unless you let it know you aren’t the person driving. It will also send automatic text replies to those who try to reach you to let them know that you’re driving and not available. And if it’s an urgent message, the person can reply "Urgent" and the text will go through. It’s a great feature for those who get distracted by their phone when driving. Here’s how to turn on Do Not Disturb While Driving with iOS 11 on the iPhone.

Do you have a person in your Contacts whom you'd like to silence for a while? If you don't want to block a number, you can turn on Do Not Disturb mode on your iPhone for individual contacts. Whether you’re on a date and don't want to hear from that one friend who texts constantly, or you’re in a meeting and don’t want to be disturbed by texts, you need Do Not Disturb. Do Not Disturb mode is indicated by the crescent moon symbol or icon to the left of your selected contact, and allows you to mute texts from the person you don't want interrupting you. Here’s how to turn on Do Not Disturb for one contact on your iPhone.

Need iPad and iPhone help? Sign up for iPhone Life Insider and I’ll help you with all of your iPhone troubleshooting and iOS-related issues. Here’s a question from an Insider who wants only certain contacts from their Favorites to be able to call them when do not disturb is on.

The Do Not Disturb function on iPhone allows you to silence all incoming calls, texts, and notifications. Here's how to bypass Do Not Disturb for individual contacts using a feature called Emergency Bypass. This allows the people designated to reach you on your iPhone even if your Do Not Disturb settings are set to silence calls and texts from everyone. Here's how you can tweak the a contact's settings to override Do Not Disturb when it’s turned on so that you’ll still hear their incoming call or text or both. 

The Do Not Disturb setting is pretty handy, especially when you’re at work or sleeping. This feature allows you to receive all your usual notifications, minus the disruptive sounds and vibrations that tend to come with them. But what if someone on your favorites list (like your brother, mom, best friend, etc.) has an emergency and can’t get ahold of you? Well, there’s an easy way to let their call pass through the Do Not Disturb barrier. Here’s how to let Favorites contact you when Do Not Disturb is turned on.

Receiving repeated calls from unknown callers is just plain irritating. The feature to block someone or block a number on your iPhone has been around for a while, but not until iOS 13 did we got a workaround to block private numbers where there is no caller ID. You might think calling from a hidden number would be illegal! The Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, actually mandates that phone companies make it freely available to block caller ID and keep your number private. Of course, the FCC also mandates that telemarketers are not allowed to hide their numbers. Still, without a way to trace a private call back to a particular company or person, this law is decidedly toothless. If the government isn't going to stop telemarketers, scammers, and other nuisance callers from hiding their numbers, then it is up to us to put an end to unwanted calls. Fortunately, you can easily block a number on your iPhone, block unknown callers, block no caller ID, and even stop calls from hidden numbers as well. Let's get started learning how to block nuisance calls on our iPhones.