It’s embarrassing to have your phone’s ringer go off at the wrong time. Hearing your ringtone blasting during an important meeting or wedding ceremony is enough to make anybody cringe. But having your ringer turned off and missing an important call can be a big problem, too.
If you don’t trust yourself to put your Android phone on silent when needed and then turn the ringer back on manually, here are ways to automatically turn your phone’s silent mode on and off.
1. Toggle Silent Mode Using Do Not Disturb
The easiest way to toggle silent mode automatically is Android’s built-in Do Not Disturb mode. This allows you to turn off distracting notifications both on-demand and during scheduled times.
Do Not Disturb’s location and options vary a bit by device. On stock Android 11, you’ll find the options under Settings > Sound & vibration > Do Not Disturb. Here, you can set up how the mode functions and which alerts can break through.
Use the People section to choose which calls and messages can send alerts. Apps lets you pick which notifications will still alert you. And Alarms & other interruptions holds toggles for alarms, calendar events, and other miscellaneous noises.
Once you’ve set up Do Not Disturb to behave how you like, tap Schedules to choose one or more rules for when you want it to turn on automatically. You can choose either certain times of the day/week, or during events on your Google Calendar.
To use specific settings for a schedule, tap the Gear icon next to it, then choose Do Not Disturb behavior.
This allows you to, for example, let calls from your trusted contacts through while you’re sleeping, but silence all alerts when you’re in work meetings. Spend a bit of time setting up schedules based on when you typically need your phone silenced, and this feature will really come in handy.
Just remember that Do Not Disturb will use the settings you’ve chosen, so having Do Not Disturb on doesn’t necessarily mean your phone is totally silenced. Have a look at our guide to Android’s Do Not Disturb mode for more help.
2. Control Your Android Ringer With IFTTT
IFTTT is another way to set up scheduled times to keep your Android phone on silent mode. It’s a popular tool that lets you link all sorts of services together, including functions on your Android device.
To start, install the IFTTT app on your Android phone. If you don’t have an account yet, create one using any of the available options. Once you’re signed in, you can start making applets, which are IFTTT’s workflows for connecting services.
Download: IFTTT (Free, subscription available)
Creating Android Silent Mode Applets With IFTTT
Open IFTTT on your phone and hit Create to start a new applet. You start with a trigger (If This), which prompts the action. You can pick from any of IFTTT’s many supported services here, such as Location, Date & Time, or Android Battery. For now, let’s make a simple example where your phone turns to silent mode when you arrive at work.
Search for and choose the Location service. It, like most IFTTT services, offers several triggers. Choose You enter an area, since you want to silence your phone when you enter work. Next, search for your work’s address using the box and hit the check in the top-right when it looks right, followed by Continue.
Now your trigger is done, so you’ll need to chose the action (Then That). Search for the Android Device service, which has many actions available under it. Pick Mute ringtone; on the next screen, you can choose if your device should vibrate as well.
When you’re done, you’ll see an overview of your applet. Choose Continue once more to proceed to the final review screen. Change the Applet title to something clearer. Enable the Receive notifications when this runs slider if you want to make sure it’s firing properly; this isn’t necessary and could get annoying, though.
Once you click Finish, you’ve created your applet. Depending on your version of Android, you may need to grant the app access to your location all the time and/or allow it to control Do Not Disturb settings.
If you used the location method above, you’ll need to repeat the steps to make a second applet that turns on your Android ringer when you leave your workplace. Otherwise, your phone will stay muted until you turn the ringer back on manually.
For your second applet, change the following:
- Choose You exit an area for the Location trigger; make sure you set the same area
- For the Android Device action, choose Set ringtone volume and pick the desired percentage
Your phone should now go to silent mode when you enter work and turn your ringer back on when you leave.
Making More IFTTT Applets
To have a look at your applets later, select Created by me on IFTTT’s home screen. Tap one to open it so you can make changes, turn it off, archive it, and similar.
The location example we provided above is just one way to automatically silence your phone. Take a look around IFTTT’s many services to see what else you can come up with. You might choose to raise your phone’s ringer when it drops to a critical battery level, or even do something out of the box like mute your ringer when it starts raining.
Keep in mind that IFTTT’s free plan limits you to just three applets. If you want to use more, you’ll have to upgrade to the paid plan. This also includes access to multi-step applets.
3. Advanced Control Over Silent Mode With Automation Apps
The two options above should be suitable for most people who want to turn their Android phone’s ringer on and off automatically. However, if you’re an advanced user and want to go further, you can try using Android apps that offer more functionality.
Tasker is a longtime Android favorite that lets you do as much as is possible on Android without rooting. You can create scripts that connect all kinds of actions on your Android device, which of course includes silent mode. Tasker isn’t particularly beginner-friendly, but if you give it some time, you’ll be able to make powerful creations.
If you find Tasker too confusing, MacroDroid is alternative option. It’s also powerful, but has a slightly more approachable interface. You can set it up to toggle silent mode when you open a certain app, or anything else you can dream up.
In the old days of Android, there were lots of one-off apps for toggling silent mode. But thanks to these more comprehensive automation apps and Do Not Disturb, you don’t really need to bother with those.
Download: Tasker ($ 3.49)
Download: MacroDroid (Free, in-app purchases available)
Turn Your Ringer On and Off Just When You Need
We’ve looked at a few different ways to silence your Android phone and turn the ringer back on automatically. These make it easy to keep your phone from going off at an inopportune moment. Just make sure you test your setup so you know it works properly.
Also, have a look at getting more Android ringtones, so your ringer sounds cool when you have it on.
Image Credit: pabmap/Shutterstock
