The Do Not Disturb function, or DND is a useful feature on iPhones. The DND allows iPhone users to suppress certain notifications when they want to be left alone and undisturbed. Texts, phone calls, social media alerts, and more can be silenced in DND mode, but what about valuable alarms?
An alarm will still sound when an iPhone is set on DND mode. Ensure your Do Not Disturb settings are set up to receive alarm notifications. In the alarm settings, ensure both a sound and vibrate mode is toggled on.
If your phone is in DND Mode and you do not receive an alarm notification, there are several ways to troubleshoot the problem. Ensure that your alarm is set to an audible volume and the time of day is correct.
Another common mistake is accidentally toggling the alarm off, especially if it is an early morning alarm. If you plan on using the silent mode rather than the Do Not Disturb Mode, be sure your alarm has a vibrate pattern set, so you’ll still receive your alarm notification. If your phone is not vibrating on silent, check out this article.
How is Do Not Disturb Designed?
DND, or Do Not Disturb, is a new phone feature that many users enjoy. The DND feature allows users to silence certain notifications, especially during late night hours when they sleep. The iPhone designers realized that chances are people still want to be awakened by a morning alarm, even while they are suppressing notifications and alerts.
The DND is designed to allow still an alarm to sound, even when DND is enabled. Settings within iPhone will allow you to determine precisely what notifications (and from whom) are allowed to reach your phone and which will be suppressed.
This DND setting can control the alarm functionality, which still allows an audible alarm to sound, even when other notifications are quieted.
Why Didn’t My Alarm Go Off in Do Not Disturb Mode?
Missing an alarm can be catastrophic for people. A missed alarm can make you late for work or could burn those tasty chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.
If you keep your phone in Do Not Disturb Mode and miss your alarm notification, chances are you have a setting that prevents the alarm from sounding.
Here are some common reasons why your alarm didn’t go off while still in Do Not Disturb Mode.
Volume
If you have your phone volume turned down to an inaudible level, there’s a chance you can miss a scheduled alarm, even in Do Not Disturb Mode. When in DND mode, the phone will not change the volume level of the alarm or the time the alarm is set to go off.
To adjust the volume for the alarm ringer, you’ll need to go into the alarm settings menu. In the menu, you’ll be able to control the volume of the ringer for the alarm.
If the volume is too low, you run the risk of not hearing the alarm when it sounds. It may be a good idea to also set up vibration settings to accompany an audible alarm as a backup option.
Incorrect Time
An easy mistake to make when setting a new alarm is to pick PM instead of AM, or vice versa. Most phones will allow you to adjust the hours and minutes for the alarm separate from the time of day. If you were expecting an early morning alarm but didn’t get an alert, there’s a strong chance that you inadvertently set the alarm time for PM by mistake.
Regardless of when you set your alarm, either AM or PM, your alarm should still sound when your phone is in Do Not Disturb mode. If you missed your alarm, double-check your alarm settings to ensure the alarm is set for the right time of day.
Toggled Off
Even if you are in Do Not Disturb Mode, your phone will still sound an alarm. If you are using your alarm to wake up in the morning, there’s a strong chance you accidentally toggle your alarm off without even realizing it.
When the alarm is toggled to the off position, it will no longer sound unless enabled. Toggling the alarm off one day will prevent the alarm from sounding the next. Without the audible alarm, people may mistakenly assume the fault is in the Do Not Disturb Mode setting rather than simply disabling the alarm.
A good way to protect against this common mistake is to set a backup alarm just a few minutes after the main alarm. That way, even if you inadvertently toggle one alarm off, the secondary alarm will still be enabled for the following day.
Restart
Sometimes, an alarm simply won’t go off because of a glitch in the iPhone settings. Usually, a quick restart will help clear up this problem. I’ve recently had to troubleshoot my iPhone swipe up not working by performing the same simple restart action.
To restart your iPhone X or newer phone, you’ll want to:
- Volume Button – Press the Volume Up button and release
- Volume Button – Now, press the Volume Down button and release
- Side – Press and hold the button on the side of the phone until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
- Apple – Once the logo appears, slide the button to the side to restart your phone.
To restart an older Apple iPhone, you’ll need to:
- Side – Press and hold the button on the side of the phone.
- Slide – Once the slide bar appears on the screen, slide the bar to the right to power down the phone.
- Restart – After the phone has been powered off for a few minutes, try to power the phone back on.
Once your iPhone is powered back on, set a test alarm in a few minutes while in DND mode. If you hear the alarm, the quick restart has fixed the issue.
Using an Alarm with Do Not Disturb
Keeping your phone on Do Not Disturb while you are sleeping is a great way to ensure notifications, texts, and calls don’t awaken you. But, you certainly still want an audible alarm to wake you up, even when your phone is on Do Not Disturb.
You can rest assured your phone will still sound an alarm, even in Do Not Disturb Mode, by ensuring your settings are properly adjusted. You’ll want to ensure the following settings are in place to guarantee your alarm goes off even while in Do Not Disturb Mode:
- Settings – You’ll want to navigate the Notifications tab in Settings. Once inside the Notifications tab, select the Do Not Disturb menu.
- Do Not Disturb – Once inside the Do Not Disturb menu, you’ll see several options that allow you to restrict the settings surrounding your notifications properly. In this menu, you’ll see alarm settings. Make sure your alarm settings are properly adjusted to your preferences.
- Clock – After the proper settings are adjusted in your Do Not Disturb menu, you’ll want to navigate to the Clock application. Inside the Clock app, tap the Alarm symbol toward the screen’s bottom.
- Alarm – Make sure you have the right ring and vibrate functions set up in the alarm menu. You will want the volume loud enough to hear and a vibration pattern strong enough to awaken you, even from a deep sleep.
While it may feel intimidating to fall asleep for the night with your phone still in Do Not Disturb Mode, your alarm will still sound as long as you have the right settings and preferences established first.
Alarm Via Text
A popular option for the iPhone is to have an alarm alert the user via text. Unfortunately, if you are in DND mode, you may not receive this notification. Often, the Do Not Disturb mode silences texts to prevent interruption.
If you only have an alarm set to alert via text, you could be missing valuable alarm notifications. The text alert will still go through to your phone, but you will not get an audible alert.
If you would like to receive the alarm via text while in Do Not Disturb mode, ensure you are editing the settings correctly when you set your alarm. This is similar to changing your settings so you can get other types of texts such as verification text messages.
Will My Alarm Go Off in Silent Mode?
Silent Mode is a little different from Do Not Disturb Mode. In Silent Mode, you can still receive telephone calls, notifications, and texts, but your phone will not sound an audible alert. Depending on your settings, your phone might still vibrate during Silent Mode, or it may not vibrate at all.
You are still able to use your alarm, even when your phone is in Silent Mode. Be sure when you are setting up your preferences in your Alarm settings that you enable a vibration. This way, even if your phone is in Silent Mode, you will still feel the vibrating alert when your alarm sounds.
