Smartphone permanently on silent

[Focus]

Has anyone else put their permanently on silent? I think it's one of the advantages of retirement.

Nowadays, apps generally include sound notifications automatically, and it can be a pain to turn them all off individually. Best to just go silent, I think.

 

[razztazz]

Has anyone else put their permanently on silent? I think it's one of the advantages of retirement.

Nowadays, apps generally include sound notifications automatically, and it can be a pain to turn them all off individually. Best to just go silent, I think.

Mine is always just turned off. I check it for messages when I get up in the morning, sometimes in mid afternoon and before I go to bed. I also will leave it on if I am expecting an inbound call. I recharge it maybe 2 or 3 times a year

 

[Ronstar]

Mine is permanently on silent. Put it on silent before a movie some time ago and accidently left it like that. My watch shows emails, texts, phone calls for a brief few seconds. I choose to respond or not depending what I see on my watch. I don't get many texts or emails, and very few phone calls. The phone silence is great.

 

[FI by 2024]

I'm still working but my phone has been on silent for probably 8 years. I only turn the ringer on if I'm expecting an important call, and immediately turn it back off once I take that call.

The fact that I leave the ringer off drives my father crazy. He believes phones are for other people's convenience, so THEY can reach YOU whenever THEY want. Um...no.

 

[Bamaman]

I put my cellphone on silent. I got rid of it.

After spending 36 1/2 years talking on the phone, I have chosen to talk very little on the telephone. It's just another unneeded expense.

My wife has a Tracphone, and she talks enough on our home phone for us both. I do carry her phone with me whenever I'm out fishing--in case I run out of gas or if the boat doesn't start.

 

[mystang52]

Probably once every 3 weeks or so I misplace my phone "somewhere" in my house. I need that ringer on !

 

[braumeister]

I kind of enjoy hearing the ring, although I put it on silent whenever appropriate, such as a medical office, theatre, etc.

I have different ringtones set so I generally know who's calling without having to look at the phone. For example, DW's ringtone is "Hail to the Chief". She got such a kick out of that she set my ringtone on her phone to be the same.

Other contacts have their own distinctive ringtones. When I'm with people and my phone rings, they often get a kick out of connecting the song with the caller.

 

[Just_Steve]

I keep my iphone on do not disturb so only contacts on my favorites list ring through, all others go to voicemail.

 

[Marita40]

Mine is always on silent. I check it once or twice a day. I can't stand when phones ring in inappropriate places--ie. meetings, church, lectures--so I don't want to join the legions of people who REALLY MUST answer their phones at all times! I refuse to be interrupted.

 

[6miths]

Mine is usually on silent unless expecting an important call which isn't often at this point. The lost phone is an issue on occasion but thankfully 'Find my iPhone' will make it beep even when on mute.

 

[template]

I put my cellphone on silent. I got rid of it.

After spending 36 1/2 years talking on the phone, I have chosen to talk very little on the telephone. It's just another unneeded expense. ...

I've never owned a cell phone and don't miss it. Most of the calls we get on our landline are junk calls.

 

[broadway]

I have two flip phones. One for job search in my field. One for job search not in my field and doctors. They are pretty much silent these days.

The only smartphone rings when I get a junk call which is once a day.

 

[MRG]

I'd had a cell for w*rk for many years. Not too much of a problem. Actually it helped me to have the maximum amount of privacy and still be informed.

The last year and a half was pure insanity. We were getting 700+ texts nightly(only ten or so mattered) with a former marine as a manager. He didn't know what the messages meant, only that no one sat up all night reading the damn things. It was not fun! Frankly a 14 hour conference call caused my BS bucket to overflow!

Shortly after I retired my DF was dying, it became necessary to forward his calls to voice-mail as the dementia took over.

Today no problem.

 

[folivier]

I wish there was a way to put it on silent for a set period, say an hour or a few hours. Whenever I put it on silent I usually forget to turn the ringer on again.

 

[W2R]

Nowadays, apps generally include sound notifications automatically, and it can be a pain to turn them all off individually.

What apps? Why don't you just turn them off when you install the app for the first time? My apps never give me sound notifications because I set them so that they don't. I probably haven't had to set one for 5 years or so, because I already have all the apps I want.

 

[Focus]

What apps? Why don't you just turn them off when you install the app for the first time? My apps never give me sound notifications because I set them so that they don't. I probably haven't had to set one for 5 years or so, because I already have all the apps I want.

There always seemed to be one I'd miss, based on the early morning dings. Going permanently silent resolved that.

 

[robnplunder]

I don't have a smart phone. I have a dumb cell phone which is turned off most of the time. My relatives call my home or my wife's smart phone if they want to contact me. This system suits me fine. I found that having a smart phone is good only if I need something urgent.

 

[FIREmenow]

I wish there was a way to put it on silent for a set period, say an hour or a few hours. Whenever I put it on silent I usually forget to turn the ringer on again.

There a number of apps for that. Do a search.

 

[Aerides]

Pretty much always silent here - also I have very few apps. Starbucks, Flashlight, Maps, Bank, not much else really, so none of them have notifications.

App Schmap, if I really want to do something, I have a very nice gaming PC. Google on my desktop, and fitbit on my wrist, tell me when my phone is ringing.

 

[RunningBum]

When I got a new phone, I found out just how many apps I had shut notifications off. It was a real annoyance to reinstall all these apps and get dings and popups.


My Moto G4 does have a feature where if you put it down on it's face (with a case the glass doesn't touch and scratch), you aren't bothered by calls and notifications.

 

[nuke_diver]

I use a different trick. I created a ringtone that has no sound and made that the default. Then for friends and family I made another couple of unique ringtones (one for friends and a very special one for the wife). Therefore when my phone rings and I hear it I know for certain it is call I want to take. If I don't hear it it's either someone who needs to leave a message (cause they need to get a hold of me) or more likely a wrong number/robocall and I don't even bother to look at the phone.

 

[jebmke]

Mostly silent (vibrate) but I rarely have it with me anyway - only if I know I may need it. We don't get cell service at home so I leave it in the desk. More often than not I will forget it even when I think I might need it. Maybe I should just leave it in the car. Nobody has the number except my spouse so calls are infrequent. I mainly use it for streaming music at the gym and GPS when we are out bird watching.

 

[DayDreaming]

Mine is always on silent, and it's usually in airplane mode.
I very rarely use my smartphone as a phone,
and only a few people have it's phone#.
I use it mainly for email, texting, and GPS. And as an expensive clock.
I still use a landline for my main phone.

GPS tracking of my runs, hikes and bike rides works fine in airplane mode and the battery lasts a lot longer this way. I just take it out of airplane mode if I want to check for texts or email.

I like the idea of being 'disconnected' when I'm away from home, and I don't want the phone actively alerting me of any incoming message. I guess some people would think that's weird.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I unfortunately do not have mine on silent. Since my Dad is almost 90 years young, I am tethered to it in case of an emergency. I have been using a call blocker that forces any call that isn't in my contact list to voice mail...so thankfully, it doesn't ring often at all...maybe twice a week.

When my dear Dad departs, I will keep the phone, but it will most likely be stuffed in the glove box of the car and never really turned on.

And yeah...no landline since about the year 2000, I *think*.

 

[fosterscik]

I'm not as hardcore as you all appear to be. I do use the "do not disturb" setting on my Iphone to go silent from 9 PM to 7 AM (and especially like the feature to allow calls etc. from a chosen list of people in this silent period; I never stop worrying about kids...). I keep the "ringer" on at all other times, but generally ignore calls unless they are from someone in my phonebook.