Turn Off Do Not Disturb While Driving on iPhone (iOS 11)

Do Not Disturb While Driving is an iOS 11 feature that automatically silences incoming calls, texts, and notifications when it detects you are driving. It can also send an auto-reply to people who text you, letting them know you are behind the wheel. If you’re a passenger, using public transit, or simply want to receive alerts while moving, you’ll need to turn it off—either temporarily for one trip or permanently in Settings. This guide covers both methods.

What You’ll Need

An iPhone running iOS 11 or later
Access to the Settings app
If you want to disable it for a single drive, you’ll need to unlock your phone while the feature activates (or use the Control Center)

Step-by-Step

Method 1: Turn It Off for the Current Drive (Quick Toggle)

Unlock your iPhone while you are in the car, either as the driver or passenger. The lock screen will show a banner that says “Do Not Disturb While Driving is On.”
Tap the banner that says “Do Not Disturb While Driving is On.” This opens a pop-up menu.
Tap “Turn Off Until Tonight” if you want to disable it only for this trip. This turns off the feature until the next evening (around 9:00 PM) or until you manually re-enable it.
If you prefer, tap “I’m Not Driving” instead. This also disables the feature for the current trip and tells the iPhone that you are a passenger, so it won’t re-activate automatically while you’re moving.
Your phone will immediately resume normal notifications. You’ll see texts and calls come through as usual.

Method 2: Turn It Off Completely in Settings (Permanent)

Open the Settings app on your iPhone. It’s the gray gear icon on your home screen.
Scroll down and tap “Do Not Disturb.” It is usually located in the third group of settings, below “Control Center” and above “General.”
Find the section labeled “Do Not Disturb While Driving.” It is the third section on the screen, below “Silence” and “Allow Calls From.”
Tap “Activate.” This opens a menu with three options: “Automatically,” “When Connected to Car Bluetooth,” and “Manually.”
Select “Manually.” This disables the automatic detection. The feature will only turn on if you manually enable it from Control Center.
If you want to keep the feature off entirely, you can also toggle off “Auto-Reply To” if you don’t want it sending automatic responses when you do use it manually.
Press the home button (or swipe up from the bottom on iPhone X or later) to exit Settings. The feature is now off and will not activate on its own.

Method 3: Turn It Off via Control Center (Quick Toggle for Future Drives)

Swipe up from the bottom of the screen (on iPhones with a home button) or swipe down from the top-right corner (on iPhone X and later) to open Control Center.
Look for the crescent moon icon. It is in the first row of toggles, usually next to the screen rotation lock.
Tap the crescent moon icon. If it is highlighted (white on a dark background), Do Not Disturb is on. If it is gray, it is off.
To specifically toggle “While Driving,” press firmly (3D Touch) or long-press the crescent moon icon. This opens a sub-menu.
Tap “Do Not Disturb While Driving” to turn it on or off for the current session. If it’s off, it will stay off until you turn it back on manually.

Common Mistakes

Tapping “I’m Not Driving” when you are driving: This is fine for passengers, but if you are the driver, it defeats the purpose of the feature. It will disable the feature for the trip, but you’ll still be driving without the safety net.
Confusing “Turn Off Until Tonight” with a permanent off: The “Until Tonight” option only disables it for a few hours. If you want it off for good, you must change the “Activate” setting in Settings.
Not realizing the feature re-enables automatically: If you set “Activate” to “Automatically,” the phone will turn the feature back on every time it detects motion. You must change this to “Manually” to prevent that.
Forgetting about the auto-reply: Even if you turn off the driving detection, the auto-reply message will still be sent if you manually enable Do Not Disturb While Driving from Control Center. If you don’t want that, turn off “Auto-Reply To” in Settings.

Tips

Use “When Connected to Car Bluetooth” if you have a car stereo: This is a good middle ground. The feature only activates when your phone connects to your car’s Bluetooth, so it won’t trigger on a bus or train.
Customize the auto-reply message: In Settings > Do Not Disturb > Auto-Reply To, you can edit the default text. The default is “I’m driving right now. I’ll check my messages when I get where I’m going.” You can change it to something shorter or more personal.
Allow calls from favorites: In the “Allow Calls From” section, you can choose “Favorites” or “All Contacts” so important calls still ring through even when the feature is on.
Use the “Manually” option if you only want it on for long road trips: You can turn it on from Control Center when you start a long drive and turn it off when you arrive.

Troubleshooting

I turned it off, but it still activates: Check that “Activate” is set to “Manually.” If it’s on “Automatically,” the phone will keep turning it back on. Also, make sure you’re not accidentally hitting the crescent moon icon in Control Center.
The banner doesn’t appear when I’m driving: The banner only appears when the feature activates. If you’ve set it to “Manually,” it won’t appear at all. If you want to test it, set it to “Automatically” and drive for a minute or two.
I can’t find the “Do Not Disturb While Driving” section in Settings: This section only exists if your iPhone is running iOS 11 or later. Go to Settings > General > Software Update to check your iOS version. If you’re on iOS 10 or earlier, this feature is not available.
My phone still sends auto-replies even after I turned off the feature: The auto-reply is tied to the feature itself. If you’ve set “Activate” to “Manually” and you haven’t turned it on, it shouldn’t send replies. If it is, check that you haven’t accidentally turned it on in Control Center.
The feature turns on when I’m a passenger on a bus or train: This is common. The phone uses motion sensors, not GPS, to detect driving. Change “Activate” to “When Connected to Car Bluetooth” or “Manually” to prevent this.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does turning off Do Not Disturb While Driving affect my regular Do Not Disturb schedule?
A: No. The two are separate. Your regular Do Not Disturb schedule (e.g., at night) will still work as set. Turning off the driving feature only affects the driving-specific mode.

Q: Will I still get calls from my favorites when it’s on?
A: Yes, if you set “Allow Calls From” to “Favorites” or “All Contacts.” By default, it is set to “Favorites,” so calls from your starred contacts will ring through.

Q: Can I turn it off while I’m driving without pulling over?
A: Yes. If you’re a passenger, you can unlock the phone and tap the banner. If you’re the driver, it’s safer to wait until you’re stopped. You can also use Siri: say “Hey Siri, turn off Do Not Disturb While Driving,” and it will do it.

Q: What happens if I text someone while I’m driving with the feature on?
A: The feature blocks incoming notifications, but it doesn’t block outgoing texts. You can still send texts if you unlock the phone and type, though this is not recommended while driving.

Q: Does this feature work on older iPhones?
A: Yes, as long as the phone supports iOS 11. That includes iPhone 5s and later models.

Q: If I set it to “Manually,” how do I turn it on for a specific trip?
A: Open Control Center, long-press the crescent moon icon, and tap “Do Not Disturb While Driving.” It will stay on until you turn it off the same way, or until the next day.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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