Tagged: Contacts

Basics: How to Schedule Do Not Disturb Mode on the iPhone

iPhone Tips
January 10, 2013
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Do Not Disturb mode is a useful feature of the iPhone and iPad that silences calls, ringtones, notifications, and alerts when turned on. You can turn on Do Not Disturb manually, or you can schedule it to turn on and off automatically during a certain period of the day, say, when you are sleeping or trying to go to sleep. For example, mine is set to turn on at 10 PM and turn off at 5:45 AM. Note that your iPhone’s screen also won’t light up from notifications when Do Not Disturb mode is turned on. Here’s how to schedule Do Not Disturb mode.

1. Open Settings:

2. Tap Notifications:

3. Now tap Do Not Disturb:

Tap Do Not Disturb in Notifications Settings

4. Slide Schedule to On:

5. Tap the time range below to set a range of time:

6. Set a range of time by first tapping the From field to create a start time, then tap the To field to create an end time:

Tap From and To fields and set time using the slider below

And that’s it, Do Not Disturb mode will turn on/off automatically during this period of time. Now, you can do something else kind of neat. You may still want some important people to be able to ring your phone when Do Not Disturb mode is on. After all, who is going to bail Junior out of jail at 3 AM? Check out our instructions for How to Allow VIP Contacts to Call You When Do Not Disturb Mode is On, and also, How to Create Groups of Contacts.

iPhone Tip: How to Receive Notifications for Emails From VIP Contacts Only

iPhone Tips / Notifications
October 8, 2012
2

Want to get a notification for only when a specific contact sends you an email? It’s now possible thanks to the VIP contacts feature in the Mail app. It’s easy to set up, just follow the step-by-step instructions below.

1. Open the Mail app:

2. Tap the buttons in the top left corner to navigate to Mailboxes view:

3. Tap VIP:

4. Tap Add VIP…:

5. Tap a contact to add it to your VIP list (see note below if you aren’t able select a contact):

Select a Contact for VIP Notification Treatment

Note: A contact must have an email address assigned to it in order to add it to the VIP list. To add an email to a contact, quit out of Mail, open the Contacts app, tap the contact’s name, tap Edit in the top right corner, and enter an email.

6. To add another, tap Add VIP… again:

Note: To add more contacts to the VIP list in the future, tap the blue and white arrow button in Mailboxes view:

7. When finished adding contacts, next tap VIP Alerts:

8. Adjust the various settings to your liking:

And that’s it, you’ve set up VIP email notifications. Also note that VIPs get their own special inbox, so emails from VIPs will appear in the VIP inbox in addition to the original inbox (in other words, your Gmail account, etc).

Be sure to check out more of our iPhone Tips.

Tip: How to Allow Some Contacts to Ring the iPhone When Do Not Disturb Mode Is On

iPhone Tips
September 25, 2012
0

The new Do Not Disturb mode is an incredibly useful feature for the iPhone that, when turned on, will silence all calls and notifications. With DND turned on, you won’t be suddenly awoken at night by an app’s notification or a phone call. You may, however, still want to let some important phone calls through. Below are instructions for how to allow a special group of VIP contacts to call you even when Do Not Disturb is turned on.

Quick Instructions:

Go to Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb. Swipe Scheduled to On > select a time range > tap Allow Calls From > select Favorites or another group of contacts (for how to create groups, click here).

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Open Settings:

2. Ignore Do Not Disturb, and tap Notifications instead:

3. Now tap Do Not Disturb:

4. Set a time for DND to automatically turn on and off:

Set time for Do Not Disturb to automatically turn on and off

5. Tap Allow Calls From and select a group of contacts (see note below if you wish to create a new group of contacts):

Tap Allow Calls From in Notification's Do Not Disturb Settings

Note about creating groups of contacts: Bizarrely enough, other than adding/removing contacts to the Favorites group, you can’t create/edit groups of contacts on the iPhone. However, check out our instructions for alternative methods for creating groups of contacts for use on the iPhone.

And that’s it. Please note that this VIP list of contacts will only work when the scheduled version of Do Not Disturb mode is turned on. When you manually turn on DND (see screenshot in step 2), this VIP list will not function.

Bonus Tip: Alarms from the iPhone’s Clock app (for example, wake me up at 6:00am) will still sound even when Do Not Disturb is turned on, or even when the mute switch is turn on, for that matter.

Tip: How to Create a Group of Contacts As Exceptions for the iPhone’s Do Not Disturb Mode

iPhone Tips
September 25, 2012
1

When turned on, the useful new Do Not Disturb mode blocks all calls and notifications from ringing your iPhone, allowing you to sleep or work in peace. But you can also assign a special group of contacts as exceptions while Do Not Disturb is turned on. When anyone in this group of special contacts calls, your iPhone will still ring, even though Do Not Disturb is turned on.

There’s only one problem though: Apple still hasn’t supplied a way to create groups of contacts on the iPhone (it’s a headshaker, I know). The lone exception is the Favorites group, which you can add/remove contacts from. Fortunately, you can use third-party apps and iCloud.com to create, edit, and delete groups. Check out the instructions below for:

How to add contacts to the Favorites group.
A suggestion for a good free third-party iPhone app for creating groups.
How to create groups on iCloud.com.

How to Add Contacts to the Favorites Group:

1. Select a contact in the Contacts or Phone app.

2. Tap the Add to Favorites button:

And that’s it. To delete contacts from the Favorites list, open the Phone app > tap the Favorites tab > tap Edit > tap the red circle > tap Delete.

A Free App for Creating Groups of Contacts:

Groups (free) is a solid but somewhat barebones free app for creating new groups on contacts on your iPhone. Any group created within the app will show up in the iPhone’s default Contacts and Phone apps. To create a group in the app, tap the All Contacts drop-down list at the top, then tap Add New Group.