How to Use iOS 12's New Do Not Disturb Options

[MacRumors]

In iOS 12, Apple has given users the tools to cut down on disturbances to get more time away from their devices if desired, and one of these new tools is an expanded set of Do Not Disturb options.

Thanks to these changes, there are more convenient options for using Do Not Disturb in iOS 12, and it's also a lot smarter.

How to Get to the New Do Not Disturb Options

Your Do Not Disturb options in the Settings app are largely the same, with the new Do Not Disturb features housed in Control Center.

1. Open Control Center, through a right-side swipe downwards on the screen of an iPhone X or iPad or by swiping upwards from the Home button on other devices.
2. 3D Touch or long press on the Control Center icon that looks like a moon, which is the icon for Do Not Disturb.
3. A 3D Touch or a long press brings up all of the Do Not Disturb options, which can be selected with a tap.

Do Not Disturb is a default widget within the Control Center and it's always available, so it's not an option that needs to be enabled through the Control Center customization options.

All of the Ways You Can Use Do Not Disturb in iOS 12

There are multiple new limited-time settings for Do Not Disturb in the Control Center, which automatically turn off after the specified time elapses.

[*]For one hour
[*]Until this evening (or afternoon/morning depending on the time - it's generally a few hours)
[*]Until I leave this location
[*]Until this event ends (if you have a timed event set in your calendar)
[*]A single tap on the icon without selecting an option turns on Do Not Disturb until you tap it again.
Not all of these options will be visible at all times. If you're not in a set location or you don't have any events scheduled, these two options won't appear. The first two, allowing you to set Do Not Disturb for an hour or until the evening/afternoon/morning are always available.

Underneath these options, there's a "Schedule" button (see screenshot at top) that will open up the Settings app so you can set a specific time period for when you want Do Not Disturb to turn on. This is also where you can turn on Do Not Disturb at Bedtime, a feature that prevents notifications from displaying on the iPhone's display at night.

Check out our Do Not Disturb at Bedtime how to for more details on this feature.

Managing Do Not Disturb Settings

Your general Do Not Disturb settings are available in the Settings app, which can be accessed by going to Settings > Do Not Disturb or through the above mentioned "Schedule" section of the No Not Disturb Control Center widget.

Most of these settings aren't new, but we thought it would be useful to offer a quick primer on Do Not Disturb's other settings alongside what's new in iOS 12.

In the Settings app, you can enable or disable Do Not Disturb, set a specific time for Do Not Disturb to turn on and off, or enable Bedtime Mode.

You can also choose whether Do Not Disturb should mute calls and notifications only while the iPhone is locked or at all times, and there are options to select whether calls from certain people should bypass your Do Not Disturb settings. This section is also where you'll find your Do Not Disturb While Driving options.

Article Link: How to Use iOS 12's New Do Not Disturb Options

 

[SandboxGeneral]

What about using DNDWD while also using CarPlay? Is that a thing yet?

 

[Thekevan]

I wish they would allow a more customizable schedule for “Do not disturb,” such as:

I work 5pm - 3am Tuesday through Friday, (so I schedule DND for 3am - 11am), but Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I sleep normal people’s hours (during the night), so my scheduled DND does not apply, and I have to remember to turn the schedule off.

 

[eyeseeyou]

I need FULL mute for individual group texts.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I really like the DND feature. I use it every night. So glad I don't have to worry about getting woken up from text rings, email and app notifications, and the occasional work related call in the middle of the night, which isn't a priority.

 

[Braderunner]

I wish they would allow a more customizable schedule for “Do not disturb,” such as:

I work 5pm - 3am Tuesday through Friday, (so I schedule DND for 3am - 11am), but Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I sleep normal people’s hours (during the night), so my scheduled DND does not apply, and I have to remember to turn the schedule off.

I use the Bedtime feature in the Clock app as my alarm. You can “turn on DND during bedtime” under the options of Bedtime in the Clock app. I get up at 6 am, M-F. Then change the wake time to 9 am for Sat. and Sun. DND then mirrors my Bedtime schedule, and I only have to change one schedule, instead of two. I forgot about this option until earlier today.

 

[jonnysods]

Almost need an encyclopedia for all the features of the iPhone now!

 

[TheSkywalker77]

I need FULL mute for individual group texts.

Thank God I'm not the only one!

 

[NoBoMac]

I wish they would allow a more customizable schedule for “Do not disturb,” such as:

I work 5pm - 3am Tuesday through Friday, (so I schedule DND for 3am - 11am), but Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I sleep normal people’s hours (during the night), so my scheduled DND does not apply, and I have to remember to turn the schedule off.

Ditto re: more customizable. iOS12 gets me closer with "while at this location", or "this event", but still not quite there.

Will have to see how it works. For example, I like to go for a run at lunch, so, location might not be ideal. And big thing for me is to be able to mute phone, text, email, but allow calendar and reminders to get through while at work (eg. At a meeting and want notification of have to get to next meeting).

Current DND is ok, and I have developed a decent muscle memory to turn everything back on when leaving work, but even then, will space it from time to time.

 

[Randall2018]

I wish they would allow a more customizable schedule for “Do not disturb,” such as:

I work 5pm - 3am Tuesday through Friday, (so I schedule DND for 3am - 11am), but Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I sleep normal people’s hours (during the night), so my scheduled DND does not apply, and I have to remember to turn the schedule off.

I would also like to see changes like that, but for now the ones they have put in are welcome changes.

 

[kstotlani]

I love these posts. Thanks Macrumors contributors.

 

[eyeseeyou]

Thank God I'm not the only one!

I’m talking about I don’t even want to see the red dot in messages lol. Completely muted.

 

[TheSkywalker77]

I’m talking about I don’t even want to see the red dot in messages lol. Completely muted.

Yeah I get that. But not leave the group entirely cause for one, it's just plain rude. And two if you want to access previous messages or send future ones you can't. To be entirely honest they should've added an option for this long ago.

 

[evoga]

Is there a way to mute everything apart from a selected app?

I only want alerts from my Ring Pro doorbell if someone walks on property while I am sleeping.

 

[EdAnson]

I use the Bedtime feature in the Clock app as my alarm. You can “turn on DND during bedtime” under the options of Bedtime in the Clock app. I get up at 6 am, M-F. Then change the wake time to 9 am for Sat. and Sun. DND then mirrors my Bedtime schedule, and I only have to change one schedule, instead of two. I forgot about this option until earlier today.

Tying DND to the wakeup app is a great idea. But I use a different app (Nightstand) as an alarm clock. I find that it adapts to my varying schedule better than others. Unfortunately, I'm still tied to a fixed and inflexible DND schedule. I wish I could tie both DND and wakeup time to my calendar.

 

[RangerOne]

I hope they allow apps outside of emergency/health to override DoNotDisturb. I use a number of apps to monitor our infrastructure and would love to be able to allow our system alerts through while blocking Amazon shipment notifications and mis-directed text messages at 2am.

Please Apple, please!

 

[akbarali.ch]

I wish they would allow a more customizable schedule for “Do not disturb,” such as:

I work 5pm - 3am Tuesday through Friday, (so I schedule DND for 3am - 11am), but Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I sleep normal people’s hours (during the night), so my scheduled DND does not apply, and I have to remember to turn the schedule off.

I've given several feedback just about that. I have different sleep pattern during weekdays and different weekends and DND does align.

 

[eyeseeyou]

Yeah I get that. But not leave the group entirely cause for one, it's just plain rude. And two if you want to access previous messages or send future ones you can't. To be entirely honest they should've added an option for this long ago.

Oh and another thing.

For muted group texts, why do I still receive notifications on my Apple Watch?!

 

[Amstrman]

Is it synced across all my ‘Apples’??

Turn on DND on iPhone, and my iMac MacBook iPad will be silenced too?

 

[trusso]

Um... you guys are aware that iOS 12 is still, for most intents and purposes, not a public release yet?

I know there's a public beta, but sheesh. This is like opening Christmas presents in July. No need to attach yourself to Apple at the hip.

 

[sirozha]

About 8 years ago, there was an app on Cydia that allowed the iPhone’s ring to be put in silent mode (with vibrate enabled) for every Calendar event marked as “busy”. This was a great solution, as the phone would never ring during a scheduled meeting, but would go back to the ringing mode as soon as the scheduled event ended. For those who are in meetings on and off during the day, that’s an invaluable feature. In fact , I jailbroke my iPhone back then just to get this functionality.

Why can’t Apple implement this in iOS? Isn’t it a basic function that is required for anyone using the iPhone in a business environment? That and being able to see the status of the “mute” during the call so that if you have to step into a noisy environment, you can make sure that your iPhone is muted with a single glance at the lock screen.

Why is it taking Apple over a decade to implement these two basic features?

 

[xtwentyseven]

About 8 years ago, there was an app on Cydia that allowed the iPhone’s ring to be put in silent mode (with vibrate enabled) for every Calendar event marked as “busy”. This was a great solution, as the phone would never ring during a scheduled meeting, but would go back to the ringing mode as soon as the scheduled event ended. For those who are in meetings on and off during the day, that’s an invaluable feature. In fact , I jailbroke my iPhone back then just to get this functionality.

Why can’t Apple implement this in iOS? Isn’t it a basic function that is required for anyone using the iPhone in a business environment? That and being able to see the status of the “mute” during the call so that if you have to step into a noisy environment, you can make sure that your iPhone is muted with a single glance at the lock screen.

Why is it taking Apple over a decade to implement these two basic features?

I would like an option when scheduling an event on the calendar. If I could just check a DND box when setting up an event, I wouldn’t have to turn it on manually and select ‘until the end of the event’ each time.

 

[Ldubrov]

iOS 12/iPhone X: Has anyone experienced the issue where Do Not Disturb is unavailable for Exchange Calendar events (work calendar), specifically on the iPhone? I can get to to turn on until the end of an iCloud calendar event. And interestingly, my Apple Watch (Watch OS 5) allows me to Do Not Disturb until the end of an MS Exchange, but it will not mirror to the iPhone, even though mirroring is on for Do Not Disturn and works with other settings (such as Do Not Disturb for 1 hr).

 

[dastly75]

I need to exempt my security apps from DnD...if only.

 

[C DM]

Is there a way to mute everything apart from a selected app?

I only want alerts from my Ring Pro doorbell if someone walks on property while I am sleeping.

I hope they allow apps outside of emergency/health to override DoNotDisturb. I use a number of apps to monitor our infrastructure and would love to be able to allow our system alerts through while blocking Amazon shipment notifications and mis-directed text messages at 2am.

Please Apple, please!

I need to exempt my security apps from DnD...if only.

Could perhaps something like Downtime from Screen Time be used in some way for something like that?
[doublepost=1537401280][/doublepost]

I wish they would allow a more customizable schedule for “Do not disturb,” such as:

I work 5pm - 3am Tuesday through Friday, (so I schedule DND for 3am - 11am), but Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I sleep normal people’s hours (during the night), so my scheduled DND does not apply, and I have to remember to turn the schedule off.

I’m talking about I don’t even want to see the red dot in messages lol. Completely muted.

I've given several feedback just about that. I have different sleep pattern during weekdays and different weekends and DND does align.

The Bedtime feature in DND (and/or in Clock along with DND) might be able to provide something that can help with that.