Android notifications can be annoying at times, but they don’t have to be. Enabling “Do Not Disturb” mode is one way to mute pesky notifications at times when you don’t need them. Here’s how to set it up on your Google Pixel.
Most Android devices include some form of Do Not Disturb settings. There’s a lot that you can do with these settings, and taking some time to customize them can greatly improve your smartphone experience.
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How to Customize Do Not Disturb
The “Do Not Disturb” options are found in the “Sound” settings. First, swipe down from the top of the screen twice, and then tap the gear icon to open the Settings menu.
Go to Sound (or Sound & Vibration) > Do Not Disturb.
We’ll start in the top section. This is where you can decide which people and apps can break through “Do Not Disturb” mode. Tap “People” to get started.
Tap “Calls” to choose which people will be able to ring your phone while it’s in “Do Not Disturb” mode.
Choose one of the following options from the list.
Starred Contacts: Anyone who you’ve saved as a starred contact. Contacts: Anyone who is saved in your contacts. Anyone: Anyone who calls your phone. None: All calls will be muted during Do Not Disturb mode.
If you choose “Starred Contacts,” you can tap the gear icon to add or remove people.
Select the icon in the top-right corner to add starred contacts, or tap the star icon to remove a starred contact. Tap the Back arrow when you’re done.
Next, toggle the switch on for “Allow Repeat Callers” if you would like any person to be able to get through when they call a second time within 15 minutes. Tap the Back arrow when you’re done.
Now, we’re going to do the same thing for text messaging. Tap “Messages.”
You’ll see the same options that were available in the “Calls” section.
If you choose “Starred Contacts,” you can customize your starred contacts again by tapping the gear icon. Tap the Back arrow when you’re done.
The last thing to set up in the People section is “Conversations.” Starting in Android 11, you can highlight specific conversations in messaging apps. In the context of Do Not Disturb mode, maybe you don’t want to be notified if a friend hits you up on Facebook Messenger, but you do want to know if they send you an urgent SMS.
The options in “Conversations” are as follows. You can tap the gear icon next to the options to adjust which conversations are included.
All Conversations: Any conversation that you’ve moved to the Conversations section of the notifications. Priority Conversations: Conversations that you’ve marked as “Priority. ” None: Ignore conversations.
Now that we’ve set up Calls and Messages, we can customize which other notifications are allowed during Do Not Disturb mode. Select “Alarms & Other Interruptions.”
You’ll see a list of notification types with toggles next to them. Select the ones that you’d like to see during Do Not Disturb mode.
The last section to cover is “Apps.” This shows which apps will be able to alert you during Do Not Disturb mode.
The “Apps That Can Interrupt” will be shown at the top. Notice that they may say “Some Notifications.” You can select an app to fine-tune exactly which notifications are allowed to interrupt.
To add more apps to this list, tap “Add Apps.”
The page will expand with a full list of apps on your device. Select the app that you wish to add.
You’ll be brought to a page with all the different types of notifications that can come from the app. Toggle the switch for any that you’d like to allow during Do Not Disturb mode.
Once you’re finished adding apps, go back to the main “Do Not Disturb” settings. The next thing that we’re going to do is choose how long Do Not Disturb mode will run from the Quick Settings button.
You can choose to keep it on “Until You Turn Off,” set a custom time length, or have it “Ask Every Time.” Tap “OK” when you’re finished.
Next, select “Display Options for Hidden Notifications.” This will determine what notifications that are blocked during Do Not Disturb mode look and sound like.
From here, there are three options:
No Sound from Notifications: Notifications will still appear, but they won’t make a sound. No Visuals or Sound from Notifications: You won’t see or hear the notifications. Custom: Select this to make very specific choices about how notifications appear.
If you choose “Custom,” tap the gear icon to bring up the options. You can select several different variables to determine exactly how notifications will appear in different situations.
Lastly, we can set up a schedule for Do Not Disturb mode. Tap “Schedules.”
There will be a few different preset schedules that you can use. If you have previously set up “Bedtime Mode” on your phone, you’ll see that enabled as one of the schedules.
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To create your own custom schedule, tap “Add More” at the bottom.
You’ll be asked to choose a schedule type first. “Event” will run Do Not Disturb based on calendar events. “Time” will run Do Not Disturb at selected times.
Event-based Schedules
Select “Event” as the schedule type.
Enter a name for the schedule. Then tap “Add.”
Next, tap “During Events for” to choose which Google Calendar you want to use.
Choose one of the calendars from the drop-down menu or “Any Calendar.”
Next, tap “Where Reply Is” to specify events that you have responded to. Select one of the options from the drop-down menu.
Lastly, tap “Do Not Disturb Behavior.”
Select “Use Default Settings” to use the Do Not Disturb settings that we previously set up. If you would like to go through that process for this specific schedule, select “Create Custom Settings for this Schedule” and tap the Gear icon.
That’s it! The schedule is done.
Time-based Schedules
Select “Time” as the schedule type.
Enter a name for the schedule. Then tap “Add.”
Now tap “Days,” and select the days of the week that you want the schedule to include. Tap “Done” when you’re finished.
Select “Start Time,” and enter a time for the schedule to begin. Tap “OK” when you’re finished.
Repeat the same process for “End Time.”
Toggle the switch for “Alarm Can Override End Time” to allow Do Not Disturb mode to end if an alarm is set to go off before your chosen end time.
Lastly, tap “Do Not Disturb Behavior.”
Select “Use Default Settings” to use the Do Not Disturb settings that we previously set up. If you would like to go through that process for this specific schedule, select “Create Custom Settings for this Schedule” and tap the Gear icon.
That’s it! The schedule is done.
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How to Turn on Do Not Disturb At Any Time
In the previous section, we set up our Do Not Disturb behavior and created some schedules. If you would like to turn on Do Not Disturb at any time independently from the schedules, you can do that as well.
The easiest way to do this is from the Quick Settings toggles. Swipe down from the top of the screen twice and tap “Do Not Disturb.” (You may have to swipe to the right to see the toggle.) The action of this toggle is determined by the “Default Duration” selection that we made above.
Alternatively, you can go to Settings > Sound > Do Not Disturb and tap the “Turn On Now” button.
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