Tech Tip ยท iPhone and Android
Silence your phone in seconds
Before a concert, a service, a lecture or a doctor's visit, you can quiet your phone with one or two touches. The same steps turn the sound back on afterward. The pictures show where to press; the numbers match the steps.
On an iPhone
1The silent switch or button
- Look on the upper left side of your iPhone, just above the two volume buttons.
- If there is a small switch, push it toward the back of the phone. You will see a bit of orange and the words Silent Mode On on the screen.
- If there is a small button instead (on newer iPhones), press and hold it for a moment until Silent Mode On appears.
To turn the sound back on, flip the switch forward again, or press and hold the button again.
2To stop the buzzing too
- Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen. (On an iPhone with a round Home button, swipe up from the bottom.)
- Tap Focus (the crescent moon), then tap Do Not Disturb.
Tap it again to turn it off. Alarms you set in the Clock app still ring when your iPhone is silenced.
On an Android phone
1Press a volume button
- Press either volume button on the side of your phone (on the right side of most Android phones). A volume bar appears on the screen.
2Tap the bell
- Tap the small bell at the top of that volume bar.
- Keep tapping until you see a buzzing phone (vibrate only) or a bell with a line through it (silent).
On some phones you tap three dots on the volume bar first. To turn the sound back on, tap until you see the plain bell again.
Another way
- Swipe down from the top of the screen.
- Tap the Sound button (it may say Vibrate or Mute) until it shows silent, or tap Do Not Disturb.
Alarms set in the Clock app usually still ring on Android phones.
Tip: set a habit. Silence your phone as you sit down, and turn it back on as you stand up to leave.