What’s the Difference Between Do Not Disturb, Airplane, and Silent Mode on iPhone?

In the last decade, people have used phones mostly for calling and texting. Eventually, smartphones started to become more than that. Today, smartphones tend to drown in the whole barrage of random notifications. Sometimes it becomes necessary to take a break from your smartphone. You have three options on your iPhone and iPad – silent mode, airplane mode, and do not disturb (DND). Although they serve a similar purpose, there are times when you have to choose between these three options for a moment.

Most users are often confused with three options on their phones. ‘Is airplane mode the same as do not disturb’ and ‘Why use DND mode instead of mute iPhone?’ they wonder. In this post, we will answer all such confusions about the differences between airplane, silent and do not disturb mode on iOS and iPadOS.

Let’s check out the purpose of each mode, then which one to use and when.

What is Silent Mode on iPhone?

Silent mode is the basic feature you should be familiar with. It mutes your phone so that notifications are not heard or muted. Notifications can be received from a call, message, chat apps, email, social apps, etc. it could be. All notification types are silenced. However, the device screen will light up every time you receive a notification. Notification banners will also appear, but the tone will not be heard.

Usually your iPhone will vibrate in silent mode, but you can disable this by going to Settings > Sound. Turn off Vibrate on mute.

Pro Tip: iOS 13 and later offers a special feature known as Silence Unknown callers. To enable it, go to Settings > Phone. Silent Enable toggle for unknown callers.

How to Enable and Disable Quiet Mode

Open the Control center on your iPhone or iPad to enable or disable silent mode. Tap the bell icon to activate. When the ring icon is red, your phone is on silent. Tap the icon again to turn off silent mode. Alternatively, minimize the ringtone.

What is Do Not Disturb Mode on iPhone?

Do not disturb mode is a customized version of silent mode. It is a silent mode with additional features. Apart from silencing the notifications, the device screen will not light up. The phone does not vibrate. No notification banner will appear when you receive any notification in DND mode.

When you enable DND, you won’t see or hear incoming alerts. But if you check your notification panel or lock screen, all notifications received during the DND period will happily sit there waiting for you to act on them. Essentially, with DND mode enabled, you won’t be distracted by your current task. Do you understand the idea behind the name? Do not bother.

Note: Alarms persist when do not disturb mode is enabled. So don’t worry.

As for the do not disturb mode features, you can customize DND to allow incoming calls from certain contacts. Use to mute everyone except those in your favorites list. You can even schedule DND to activate and turn off automatically at a specific time. Interestingly, you get a Recurring call setting where a second call from the same person can be heard within three minutes. Useful in an emergency if your phone is in do not disturb mode. You can find all these customizations under Settings > Do Not Disturb.

Quick fix: Do you receive calls when do not disturb mode is on? Learn how to fix this on iPhone, iPad and Android.

How to Enable and Disable Do Not Disturb Mode

To enable do not disturb mode, go to Settings > Do Not Disturb. Turn on the toggle for Do Not Disturb. Alternatively, tap the crescent icon in the Control Center. You can also program the mod to activate automatically.

When enabled, you’ll see the crescent moon icon in your iPhone’s status bar if there’s room due to your phone’s notch size. You will also see the DND notification on the lock screen. To disable it, repeat the steps and disable the mod.

What is Airplane Mode on iPhone?

It is mainly designed for flights – hence the name airplane or flight mode, this mode needs to be enabled on flights for safety reasons to avoid interference with airplane signals. But you can also use it in your daily life.

Unlike mute or do not disturb modes, which do not affect your network connections, activating airplane mode turns off anything that requires a signal. This will automatically disable your cellular network, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.

Note: On iOS 13 and above, Bluetooth connections remain active when airplane mode is turned on. This is done to keep your paired Bluetooth devices connected, such as Bluetooth headphones. You can listen to music in airplane mode.

However, you can manually enable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth after enabling airplane mode. This means you can use your Wi-Fi at your home, office, or during flights (if available). However, your cellular network cannot be activated.

How to Enable and Disable Airplane Mode

Similar to DND mode, airplane mode can be enabled from Control Center and Settings. You will find Airplane Mode in Settings. Turn on the switch next to it or press the airplane icon in the Control Center. Once enabled, you will see an airplane icon in the notification bar. Then repeat the steps to disable it.

Fly: Airplane mode can be one of the reasons why iPhone not receiving calls. Check other ways to fix iPhone not receiving calls issue.

Difference Between Quiet, Do Not Disturb and Airplane Mode

If you’re still confused about what happens to the most important functions on your phone (messages, calls, notifications and data), here are your answers.

You normally receive your messages, calls and notifications from other apps in both silent and do not disturb mode. However, you will not receive alerts when muted or in DND mode. You can create exceptions while in DND mode. You can use your phone in both modes as you normally would. You can still access all the apps and data inside them. You can even listen to music in both modes. To summarize, the do not disturb mode is the silent mode on steroids.

Rather, airplane mode is a toned down version of turning off your phone. As opposed to hanging up, you can review your photos, notes and other offline data. However, when you enable airplane mode, you will be disconnected from the rest of the world. When you disable the mod, you will get missed alerts depending on the app.

Pro Tip: If you’re an Android user, learn the difference between silent, DND and airplane mode on Android.

When to Use Mods

Silent mode comes in handy when you want to quickly turn off alerts on your phone. Use silent mode when you want to silence everything on your phone without exception. For example, you can use it at the cinema while watching a movie or game.

Use Do not disturb mode when you do not want to be disturbed – even when the screen is bright. This mode can be used while working or when your phone is lying on the table next to the computer. Putting your phone on DND will keep it from flashing frequently and alerting you about incoming notifications. You can work in peace without distractions. DND can also be used at night or when you just want to allow alerts from certain people while keeping others muted.

Airplane mode has several advantages. For starters, use it when you want to take a break from the internet or calls. Airplane mode also helps conserve battery as most signal receivers are disabled. It also comes in handy when traveling to a different country where roaming charges are higher. Putting your phone on airplane mode will help you save money. Finally, airplane mode is useful for troubleshooting various issues on your iPhone or iPad. If you’re having issues with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or mobile, turn airplane mode on or off to fix them.

Which one to use

The answer depends on your need. If you want to mute your phone, choose between silent or do not disturb mode. But if you want to completely disconnect from the outside world, switch to airplane mode. I like the do not disturb mode more than others as it offers customizations. DND mode lets you choose how and when you want to disconnect from the world. The power is in my hands.

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